When an employee leaves with unused annual leave, it must be paid out using their daily rate. Here's a worked example.
An employee earning R18,000/month resigns with 8 days of accrued, unused annual leave.
Daily rate = Monthly salary ÷ 21.67
= R18,000 ÷ 21.67 = R830.64/day
21.67 is the average number of working days per month used for BCEA leave pay calculations.
R830.64 × 8 days = R6,645.12 leave payout
This amount is added to the employee's final pay alongside any outstanding salary and notice pay, and is subject to PAYE and UIF like normal remuneration. See our Final Payslip Guide for the full breakdown of what's owed.
Unlike annual leave, unused sick leave has no cash value and simply falls away when employment ends.
Try your own numbers with our Leave Calculator.
21.67 is the average number of working days per month across a year (260 working days ÷ 12), used as the standard BCEA leave pay convention.
Yes — it's added to remuneration and subject to PAYE and UIF like any other payment.
No — only unused annual leave is paid out; sick leave has no cash value on termination.
TSS Payroll calculates unused leave payouts automatically whenever an employee leaves.
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