Sick Leave in South Africa: What the BCEA Says

This guide covers sections 22 to 24 of the BCEA: how the entitlement works, how it is paid, when an employer may refuse to pay, and what happens when the days run out. The rules on sick notes have their own guide: medical certificate requirements in South Africa. For how sick leave fits with dismissal law, see our overview of South African labour law and absenteeism.

Who is covered by the BCEA sick leave rules?

The BCEA applies to almost all employers and employees. Section 3 excludes a few groups, such as members of the State Security Agency and unpaid volunteers working for a charitable organisation (BCEA s3(1)).

• Employees who work less than 24 hours a month for an employer are not covered by the leave chapter, which includes sick leave (BCEA s19(1)).
• The earnings threshold does not apply to sick leave. The threshold set under s6(3) excludes higher earners from parts of Chapter Two (working hours and overtime) only. Senior managers and high earners still get BCEA sick leave.
• Leave above the minimum is governed by the contract or policy, not by the BCEA, unless an agreement says otherwise (BCEA s19(2)). An employer that gives more than the statutory days can set its own conditions for the extra days.

How many sick days do you get per year in South Africa?

There is no annual allocation. Section 22(2) gives "an amount of paid sick leave equal to the number of days the employee would normally work during a period of six weeks" in every sick leave cycle (BCEA s22(2)). The Department of Employment and Labour summarises it the same way (DEL basic guide to sick leave).

People often quote "10 days a year". That is 30 days spread evenly over three years. It is not the legal rule. An employee on a five-day week can use all 30 days in the first year of a cycle and then have none left for the next two years.

For employees with irregular schedules, the BCEA gives no formula for "the number of days the employee would normally work" in six weeks. Employers usually use the employee's normal pattern or an average over a recent period. Whatever method you use, write it down and apply it consistently.

How does the 36-month sick leave cycle work?

A sick leave cycle is the period of 36 months' employment with the same employer that starts when the employee starts work, or when the previous cycle ends (BCEA s22(1)). It is not a calendar year or a financial year.

Example: an employee starts on 1 March 2024. The first cycle runs from 1 March 2024 to 28 February 2027. The second cycle starts on 1 March 2027 with a new entitlement.

Unused days do not carry over. The BCEA gives a fresh entitlement for each cycle and says nothing about accumulating unused days. A contract or collective agreement can allow it.

Some payroll systems run sick leave on a fixed company cycle instead of each employee's own start date. If you do this, check that no employee has fewer paid sick days available at any point than s22 would give them.

Sick leave in the first six months of employment

During the first six months, an employee is entitled to one day's paid sick leave for every 26 days worked (BCEA s22(3)). On a five-day week, that is roughly one day for every five weeks worked, or about five days by the end of six months.

After six months, the full cycle entitlement under s22(2) applies for the rest of the first cycle. Section 22(4) then lets the employer reduce the first cycle's entitlement by the number of sick days taken in the first six months.

Example: an employee on a five-day week takes 3 sick days in the first six months. If the employer applies s22(4), the employee has 27 days for the rest of the first 36-month cycle (30 minus 3). If the employer does not apply it, the employee has 30. Section 22(4) is permissive ("may reduce"), so the employer chooses whether to apply it. It applies only to the first cycle.

The sick leave calculator handles both options.

How is sick leave paid?

For each day of sick leave, the employer must pay the wage the employee would ordinarily have received for work on that day, on the employee's usual pay day (BCEA s22(5)). The BCEA defines "wage" as the money paid for ordinary hours of work (BCEA s1). Sick pay is therefore based on the ordinary wage. Annual leave pay is based on the wider concept of "remuneration", which is covered in our annual leave guide.

Section 22(5) starts with "Subject to section 23". The duty to pay is subject to the medical certificate rule set out below.

When can an employer refuse to pay sick leave?

An employer does not have to pay sick leave in these situations:

1. No certificate when the law allows one to be required. The employee was absent for more than two consecutive days, or on more than two occasions during an eight-week period, and did not produce a medical certificate when the employer asked for one (BCEA s23(1)). The certificate must come from a medical practitioner or another person who is certified to diagnose and treat patients and registered with a professional council established by an Act of Parliament (s23(2)).
2. Employees who live on the employer's premises. If it is not reasonably practicable for such an employee to get a certificate, the employer may not withhold pay unless it gives the employee reasonable assistance to get one (BCEA s23(3)). This matters on farms, mines and for live-in domestic workers.
3. Occupational injuries and diseases. Sections 22 and 23 do not apply to inability to work caused by an accident or occupational disease as defined in the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) or the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act, except for any period for which no compensation is payable under those Acts (BCEA s24). These absences are handled through the compensation system, not sick leave.
4. The entitlement is used up. Once the cycle's days are used, the BCEA does not require further paid sick leave.

The certificate rule in s23(1) is about pay. It does not by itself make an uncertified absence misconduct. If an employer believes an employee was not ill at all, that is a separate question of dishonesty, handled through a fair disciplinary process. Our guide on sick leave abuse in South Africa covers that.

What happens when sick leave runs out?

Unpaid sick leave

When an employee has used all the paid sick leave in the cycle, further sick days in that cycle are unpaid, unless the contract or a company policy gives more. Some employers agree with the employee to cover the days with annual leave. Record the agreement in writing.

UIF illness benefits

An employee who contributes to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) may claim illness benefits when unable to work because of illness. Key rules from the Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001 (UIA):

• Minimum period. No benefit is payable if the period of illness is less than seven days (UIA s20(2)(a), as amended in 2016). Older guides still say 14 days; that figure is out of date.
• Sick pay reduces the benefit. Taking into account any sick leave paid under another law, a collective agreement or the contract, the illness benefit may not be more than the remuneration the employee would have received if not ill (UIA s21(2)). In practice, UIF illness benefits matter most once paid sick leave has run out.
• Credits. Benefits accrue at one day for every four completed days of employment as a contributor, up to 365 days in the four years before the claim (UIA s13(3)).
• Amount. Benefits are paid on a sliding scale of 38% to 60% of earnings, with lower earners receiving a higher percentage (Vuk'uzenzele UIF guide). Earnings above the UIF ceiling of R17,712 a month, in place since 1 June 2021, are not counted (SARS).
• Deadline. The application must be made within six months of the start of the illness. The UIF Commissioner may accept a late application on good cause shown (UIA s22(2)).

Incapacity, not misconduct

Running out of sick leave does not on its own make a dismissal fair. A dismissal must be for a fair reason, which can relate to the employee's capacity, and must follow a fair procedure (Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, s188). For ill health, that means investigating the condition and prognosis, considering adjustments or alternative work, and consulting the employee before any decision. Genuine illness should not be handled through the disciplinary route. Our article on incapacity versus misconduct for absenteeism explains the two routes.

Is unused sick leave paid out when an employee resigns?

No. Section 40 of the BCEA lists the payments due on termination: unused time off under s10(3) and s16(3), unused annual leave, and pro rata annual leave for the incomplete cycle (BCEA s40). Sick leave is not on the list. An employer may pay out sick leave if the contract or policy says so, but the BCEA does not require it.

An employee who falls ill during the notice period is entitled to sick leave in the normal way, if days remain in the cycle. The certificate rules in s23 still apply.

Sick leave on public holidays

If a public holiday falls on a day the employee would ordinarily work, the employer must pay at least the ordinary wage for that day whether or not the employee works (BCEA s18(2)). The BCEA has no specific rule for an employee who is sick on a public holiday. The usual reading is that the day is paid as a public holiday and is not deducted from sick leave, because the employee was not required to work that day. A sick day before or after a public holiday is ordinary sick leave.

Sick during annual leave

An employer may not require or permit an employee to take annual leave during any other period of leave the employee is entitled to under the leave chapter (BCEA s20(5)(a)). This is generally read to mean that if an employee falls ill during annual leave, the days of illness are sick leave and the annual leave days are restored. The employee should tell the employer at the time, and the usual certificate rules apply. A public holiday during annual leave on an ordinary working day gives the employee an extra day of paid leave (s20(8)). See the annual leave guide for more.

Sick leave for part-time employees

Part-time employees who work 24 hours or more a month have the same rule as full-time employees: the days they normally work in six weeks, per 36-month cycle. An employee who works two days a week gets 12 days; three days a week gets 18 days. The first-six-months rule (1 day per 26 days worked) also applies, so it takes longer for a part-time employee to earn each day.

Family responsibility leave has different qualifying rules: it only applies to employees who work at least four days a week. See our guide to family responsibility leave in South Africa.

Collective agreements, contracts and sectoral rules

• Lower daily pay for more days. An agreement may reduce the daily sick pay, but only if the number of paid sick days is increased at least in proportion, each day is paid at no less than 75% of the wage for the ordinary hours that day, and total sick pay over the cycle is at least what s22(2) would give (BCEA s22(6)).
• Bargaining council agreements. A collective agreement concluded in a bargaining council may alter many basic conditions, but may not reduce an employee's entitlement to sick leave under sections 22 to 24 (BCEA s49(1)(e)).
• Contracts can give more. A contract term that is more favourable to the employee than the BCEA applies instead of the BCEA minimum (BCEA s4(c)).
• Sectoral determinations and bargaining council agreements may have their own sick leave terms for the sector. Check the one that covers your employees.

How sick leave shows up in your absence data

Sick leave is the main input for most absence measures, including the absenteeism rate and the cost of absence. It helps to keep sick leave separate from other leave types. Annual leave is planned and family responsibility leave is a separate statutory entitlement, so mixing them in with sick leave makes the rate hard to interpret. Our absenteeism rate calculator shows the standard calculation.

Appsentia calculates the absenteeism rate and the direct wage cost from sick leave only. When you upload leave data, you mark which of your leave types count as sick leave. Other leave types are used only to flag sick days taken next to other leave. Appsentia also shows how often and when each employee is off sick (Mondays and Fridays, around public holidays and paydays), with a risk score from 0 to 100. See what Appsentia analyses. A pattern does not, on its own, show misuse. If you are writing or updating your rules, see our guide to writing an absenteeism policy.

Sources

1. Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (as amended), gov.za: sections 1, 3, 4, 6, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 40 and 49.
2. Department of Employment and Labour, Basic guide to sick leave.
3. Unemployment Insurance Act 63 of 2001, s13, s20, s21, s22 (Acts Online).
4. Vuk'uzenzele (GCIS), All you need to know about the UIF, May 2019.
5. SARS, Unemployment Insurance Fund ceiling earnings, 2021.
6. Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, s188.

This page is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the BCEA as amended up to 2026. A draft Labour Law Amendment Bill was published for comment in February 2026 and had not been passed when this page was written. Check the current Act, and any sectoral determination or bargaining council agreement that covers your employees, before acting.