Understanding the Types of Leave in SA
Published in Labour Law · 1 January 2019
Everyone knows what Annual Leave is, but do you know how many types of leave an employee is entitled to and do you know when an employee can use the different types of leave?
Employers and employees need to know how leave entitlement works and use this information to plan adequately in advance.
As of January 2019, the different types of leave recognised by our law are as follows:
Annual Leave, Sick Leave, Family Responsibility Leave, Maternity Leave, Parental Leave, Adoption Leave and Commissioning Parent Leave.
Annual leave – This is described as paid days off that are accumulated by the employee as he or she works. The Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) states that an employee is entitled to 21 consecutive days of annual leave. The BCEA allows for various methods of calculating how an employee’s annual leave is accrued depending on what is agreed upon between the employer and employee. A common annual leave clause can define 15 working days of leave per annum for an employee who works 5 days a week.
Sick leave – the amount of paid sick leave an employee is entitled to in a 3-year cycle is the number of days the employee would have worked in a 6-week period. If an employee works a 5-day week then this translates to 30 days of sick leave for a 3-year cycle. This entitlement only triggers after 6 months of employment. During the first 6 months, sick leave is accumulated as the employee works. The BCEA also allows for the employer to request a proof of incapacity in the form of a valid medical certificate. If an employee takes sick leave for more than 2 consecutive days or more than twice in an 8-week period and does not provide a valid medical certificate upon request, then the sick leave may be regarded as unpaid leave. This does not prevent an employer from taking further disciplinary measures should it be found that an employee is abusing sick leave.
Family responsibility leave – Employees who are working for more than 4 months and work for at least 4 days per week are entitled to 3 days paid family responsibility leave per annum. This leave applies to the sickness of the employee’s child or the death of the employee’s: spouse/partner, parent, adoptive parent, child, adopted child, grandparent, grandchild and sibling. The employer still has the right to request proof of the sickness or death of the family member before paying the employee. Family responsibility leave unfortunately cannot be used to attend aunties/uncles’ funerals or to attend the child’s sports day.
Maternity leave – A pregnant employee is entitled to 4 months of unpaid maternity leave. An employee may take maternity leave not later than 4 weeks before the expected date of birth of the child and may not return to work prior to 6 weeks after the birth of the child. The employee may claim maternity benefits from the Department of Labour.
In the next article we will discuss the new types of leave that came into effect in January 2019.
This article does not constitute legal advice and is based on the author’s interpretation of legislation and case law. Book a consult for legal advice or assistance pertaining to your specific matter.