South African Leave Payout and Accrued Leave Calculator

The Basic Guide to Annual Leave describes a minimum of 21 consecutive days per annual leave cycle, or—by agreement—one day of leave for every 17 days worked or entitled to be paid, or one hour for every 17 hours worked or entitled to be paid.

These alternatives are not interchangeable without context. Twenty-one consecutive days does not automatically mean 21 paid working days. This calculator therefore asks you to choose a days or hours mode and makes the conversion method visible.

For monthly pay, the ordinary daily rate is estimated as monthly pay × 12 ÷ (52 × workdays per week). The hourly rate uses annual pay divided by 52 and ordinary weekly hours. A known remaining balance is multiplied by the matching rate.

When you estimate accrual, the tool divides the entered worked days or hours by 17, subtracts leave already taken, and prevents the displayed remaining balance from falling below zero. Employer records should remain the starting point whenever they are available.

The BCEA guide says employers may not pay workers instead of granting annual leave except on termination of employment. The result is therefore most useful when checking a resignation or termination estimate, or when understanding the gross value recorded by an employer.

The displayed amount is gross. Payroll may apply PAYE and may use a remuneration definition or policy that differs from the simple base-pay conversion here. Sick leave, notice pay, severance and public-holiday pay are outside this tool.