Leave Payout Calculator South Africa
An employee is leaving and you need the leave payout figure today. Enter the salary and the untaken days and get the BCEA Section 21 amount with the daily-rate working shown, plus an accrual check so the days themselves are right.
Leave Payout Calculator
What accrued, untaken annual leave is worth when employment ends, per BCEA Section 21, at the rate the employee would have earned. Add every employee you are paying out, then email yourself the schedule.
How it works
Enter salary and days
Monthly remuneration and the accrued untaken leave days from your tracker or payroll system. Half days are fine.
Check the accrual
Add the months worked this cycle and the tool shows what should have accrued, so you catch an inflated or stale balance before you pay on it.
Hand payroll the number
The payout is ordinary income under PAYE in the month of payment. If the exit is a retrenchment, calculate severance separately; it has its own tax treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate leave days payout in South Africa?
Take the employee’s monthly remuneration, convert it to a weekly rate (monthly times 12, divided by 52), divide by the number of working days in the week (usually 5) to get the daily rate, and multiply by the accrued untaken annual leave days. BCEA Section 21 requires this payout on termination for any reason.
Do you get paid out for leave days when you resign?
Yes. BCEA Section 21 requires payment for all accrued, untaken annual leave whenever employment ends, including resignation and dismissal for misconduct. An employer cannot forfeit accrued statutory leave as a penalty, and the payout must be included in the final pay run.
How many leave days do employees accrue per month?
On the statutory cycle, annual leave accrues at 1 day per 17 days worked. In practice that is 1.25 working days per month on a 5-day week (15 days per year) or 1.5 per month on a 6-day week (18 days per year). Contracts commonly grant more, and the payout must use the actual contractual entitlement.
Is a leave payout taxable in South Africa?
Yes, in full, as ordinary income under PAYE in the month it is paid. Unlike severance pay, a leave payout never qualifies for the SARS severance lump-sum tax-free band, even when it is paid as part of a retrenchment package.
Can unused leave from previous cycles be paid out?
Statutory leave from a completed cycle must be taken within 6 months of the cycle ending, but South African courts have held that leave beyond the statutory minimum is governed by the contract. Many contracts allow carry-over that must then be paid on termination. When in doubt, pay what the record shows was accrued and untaken.
Stop reconstructing leave balances at exit
Synthro tracks every BCEA leave type live, approvals happen in one tap, and the balance that feeds this payout is always current. Book a demo and watch a leave request go from phone to payroll in under a minute.