Annual leave in South Africa is governed by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which states that every employee is entitled to 1 day for every 17 days worked, or 1 hour for every 17 hours, or 21 consecutive days of paid annual leave per 12-month cycle.

What does this mean for you as an employer?

– Annual leave accrues as the employee works, and it must be granted in the cycle in which it accrues.
– If an employee’s contract is terminated for any reason, they must be paid for any unused annual leave that has accrued up to that date.
– The employee must take leave: By law, they may not receive a leave payout (unless their contract is terminated).
– Statutory annual leave carried over must be taken within 6 months of the end of the leave cycle, or it will be forfeited, and the employer is not obligated to pay out or extend leave.

As NPOs, leave is paid as part of a salary contribution and often covered by donor contributions. However, if there is unpaid leave when someone resigns, that leave is often not paid by the donor, but by the organisation.

How can you limit your NPOs liability when it comes to leave?

1. Set up a leave policy and ensure your staff are familiar with it.
2. Keep accurate leave records during the year and keep your staff informed as to how much annual leave they have used.
3. At the end of each year, calculate the cost of unspent leave days and include that in your budget for the following year (leave days unspent at year end x daily salary rate).
4. Encourage staff to take leave regularly, for their own mental and physical health.
5. Set up a policy to limit extension of leave (for example, your organisation can choose to have a policy that states that all leave carried over should be used up within 3 months, not 6 months).

Don’t get caught unawares by leave pay – make provision up front.