Domestic worker leave calculator
Enter when your worker started and how many days a week they work. The calculator shows the current leave cycles, what is due and what is left.
Your details
Annual leave remaining
15 days
Leave cycle 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027
- Sick leave remaining
- 30 days
- Family responsibility left
- 5 days
- Maternity leave
- 4 mo
How we worked it out
- Months employed1 yr 7 mo
- Annual leave due this cycle (days)15 days
3 weeks a year = 3 × 5 working days
- Annual leave remaining15 days
- Sick leave due this cycle (days)30 days
6 weeks' worth of normal working days (6 × 5) per 36-month cycle, less any sick days taken in the first 6 months
- Sick leave remaining30 days
- Family responsibility leave (days)5 days
5 days per annual leave cycle; unused days lapse at the end of the cycle
- Family responsibility remaining5 days
- Working days are estimated from days per week. Use your own records if the worker's pattern changed.
Sick leave cycle: 1 March 2025 to 29 February 2028. Annual leave earned so far this cycle at 1 day per 17 days worked: 10.24 days.
The leave rules for domestic workers
- Annual leave (SD7 clause 19): 3 weeks per leave cycle of 12 months from the start date. A public holiday during annual leave on a normal workday adds a day.
- Sick leave (clause 20): 6 weeks' worth of normal working days per 36-month cycle. You may ask for a medical certificate if the worker is off for more than 2 days in a row, or more than twice in 8 weeks.
- Family responsibility leave (clause 21): 5 days a year, for a child's birth or illness, or the death of a spouse or partner, parent, adoptive parent, grandparent, child, adopted child, grandchild or sibling. Part days are allowed.
- Maternity leave (clause 22): 4 consecutive months, starting up to 4 weeks before the expected birth.
SD7 or the BCEA?
Where the Sectoral Determination and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act both deal with a matter, the Sectoral Determination applies (BCEA section 57). That is why domestic workers get 5 days of family responsibility leave, not the BCEA's 3. Since 2020 the BCEA no longer lists a child's birth as family responsibility leave because new parents get parental leave instead; SD7 has not been changed to match, so this calculator follows SD7.
Working days are estimated from the days a week your worker normally works. If their pattern has changed, count from your own records.
Frequently asked questions
How much annual leave does a domestic worker get?
3 weeks on full pay per 12 months of employment: 15 working days for a 5-day week, 9 days for a 3-day week. By agreement it can instead be 1 day for every 17 days worked.
How much sick leave does a domestic worker get?
The number of days normally worked in 6 weeks, over a 36-month cycle (30 days for a 5-day week). In the first 6 months, 1 day for every 26 days worked.
How much family responsibility leave?
5 paid days a year under SD7, for workers employed longer than 4 months who work at least 4 days a week. Unused days do not carry over.
Can I pay out annual leave instead of the worker taking it?
No, except when employment ends. Leave must be taken within the cycle, and leave pay is paid before the leave starts.
What about maternity and parental leave?
At least 4 consecutive months of maternity leave. Since the Constitutional Court's October 2025 Van Wyk judgment, parents may share 4 months and 10 days of parental leave until Parliament changes the law. The law does not require you to pay wages during maternity leave unless you agreed to; the worker can claim UIF maternity benefits.