Annual, sick, family responsibility, maternity and parental leave — what South African labour law actually requires, and how to stay compliant without the spreadsheets.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets the minimum leave every South African employee is entitled to. Here's what each type means — and the days you're legally required to give.
Equal to 15 working days of paid annual leave per 12-month leave cycle. Leave may be taken by agreement, but it cannot be paid out instead of taken except on termination.
Paid sick leave equal to the number of days normally worked in six weeks, over a 36-month cycle. During the first six months, employees earn one day of sick leave for every 26 days worked.
Three days paid leave per annual cycle for qualifying events — the birth or illness of a child, or the death of a close family member. Applies to employees employed longer than four months who work at least four days a week.
At least four consecutive months of maternity leave. It is unpaid under the BCEA, though employees may claim from UIF, and dismissal connected to pregnancy is prohibited.
Ten consecutive days of parental leave for a parent who is not taking maternity leave — including fathers and adoptive parents — introduced by the 2020 amendment.
South Africa's 12 official public holidays are paid days off. Leave that spans a public holiday should not count that day against an employee's balance.
This guide summarises the statutory minimums and is for general information, not legal advice. Many employers offer more than the minimum — and YayLeave makes the extras easy to configure.
The Basic Conditions of Employment Act sets minimum leave entitlements for every South African employee. YayLeave enforces these by default — so you're compliant before you've even customised anything.
Many South African companies offer more than the BCEA minimum — and YayLeave makes it easy. Add extra leave types, boost entitlements for senior grades, and reward long service automatically.
South African public holidays are built into the leave calendar. Leave spanning a public holiday is correctly calculated — no manual adjustments needed.
Paid vs. unpaid leave is tracked separately per employee. Export clean data your payroll team (or payroll system) can use directly — whether you're on Sage, PaySpace, SimplePay, or anything else.
Knowing the rules is one thing — applying them correctly for every employee, every cycle, is another. YayLeave does it for you, automatically.
Annual, sick, family responsibility, maternity and parental leave ship pre-configured with the correct BCEA entitlements. You can offer more, but you can't accidentally drop below the legal minimum.
South Africa's public holidays are part of the leave calendar. Leave spanning a public holiday is calculated correctly — no manual day-counting or spreadsheet adjustments.
Configure lump-sum or monthly accrual, set carry-over caps, and define how long carried-over leave stays valid. Balances update in real time and notify staff before leave expires.
Every application, approval and change is logged with who did it and when — compliance-ready records for disputes, audits, and CCMA hearings.
Under BCEA section 20, employees are entitled to 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full pay per 12-month leave cycle — the equivalent of 15 working days for someone on a five-day week. Employers can offer more, but not less.
BCEA section 22 entitles employees to paid sick leave equal to the number of days they'd normally work in six weeks, over a three-year cycle (typically 30 days for a five-day week). During the first six months of employment, employees earn one day of sick leave for every 26 days worked.
Family responsibility leave (BCEA section 27) gives qualifying employees three paid days per year for events such as the birth or illness of a child, or the death of a close family member. It applies to employees employed longer than four months who work at least four days a week.
Maternity leave is at least four consecutive months (BCEA s.25), and is unpaid under the BCEA though UIF may be claimed. Parental leave (s.25A, 2020 amendment) gives a parent not taking maternity leave 10 consecutive days.
No. South Africa's 12 official public holidays are paid days off in their own right. If an employee's leave spans a public holiday, that day should not be deducted from their leave balance. YayLeave calculates this automatically.
Yes. YayLeave ships with the BCEA leave types pre-configured at the correct statutory minimums, builds in South African public holidays, and keeps full audit logs. You can add company-specific leave types and more generous entitlements, but you can't accidentally fall below the legal minimum.