The Basic Conditions of Employment Act provides that as an employee you have the right to utilise your annual leave on completion of a year of continuous service with your employer. You are entitled to 21 consecutive days of paid annual leave, alternatively you are entitled to one day of leave for every 17 days worked.
As an employee, you are entitled to take leave that is accumulated in an annual leave cycle, on consecutive days. This means that if for example, you have accumulated 7 days during an annual leave cycle; you are entitled to take those 7 days consecutively. Annual leave not taken during an annual leave cycle is automatically carried over to the next annual leave cycle, unless there exists any agreement to the contrary.
WHAT IF I FALL ILL DURING MY PERIOD OF ANNUAL LEAVE?
If you are on annual leave, and you fall ill during that period of annual leave, you can visit the doctor and if the doctor certifies that you are unfit for work for a certain period of time, then upon your return to work from annual leave you can hand the medical certificate to your employer, and your employer must credit your annual leave with the number of days sick leave, and debit your sick leave.
CAN I TAKE MY ANNUAL LEAVE AT ANY TIME?
Your employer and you must agree on when annual leave can be taken, and if there is no agreement, annual leave is taken at the time to suit your employer.
During the period of December, your employer may have a shutdown period and if this is the case, then your employer is entitled to stipulate that annual leave must be taken to coincide with the shutdown period. If you had already utilised your annual leave at another time during the year, then the shutdown period will be treated as unpaid leave
CAN MY EMPLOYER CANCEL MY LEAVE, WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN GRANTED?
In ordinary circumstances, your employer may (within reason) retract your leave based on certain operational requirements as leave it given at the discretion of your employer. If you do not arrive at work despite your leave being retracted, then you could be disciplined. However, this is also dependent on the individual circumstances (for example illness)
(This article is provided for informational purposes only and not to provide legal advice. For more information on the topic, please contact our offices.)
