South African sick leave is not an annual entitlement. It runs on a 36-month sick leave cycle, and the total allowance for that whole three-year period is the number of days the employee would normally work in six weeks. For a standard five-day worker that is 30 days — for three years, not for one.

That single design choice is behind most South African sick leave disputes, because employees and managers alike tend to read “30 days” as an annual figure and are surprised when the balance is exhausted in year two.

Key takeaways

  • Section 22 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) gives employees paid sick leave equal to the number of days they would normally work in six weeks, per 36-month cycle.
  • For a five-day week that is 30 days per three years; for a six-day week, 36 days.
  • During the first six months of employment, the employee accrues 1 day of paid sick leave for every 26 days worked.
  • An employer may require a medical certificate where the employee is absent for more than two consecutive days, or on more than two occasions in an eight-week period.
  • Sick leave is paid at the employee’s normal wage — full pay, not a percentage.

The 36-month cycle

Section 22 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 defines a sick leave cycle as the 36 months of employment with the same employer immediately following the start of employment or the end of the previous cycle. The cycle starts on the employee’s first day of employment and runs for 36 months. At the end of the cycle, any unused entitlement falls away and a new cycle begins with a fresh allowance.

The entitlement for the whole cycle is defined as the number of days the employee would ordinarily work in a six-week period:

Working pattern Sick leave per 36-month cycle
5 days per week 30 days
6 days per week 36 days
4 days per week 24 days
3 days per week 18 days

Part-time employees working fewer days a week get proportionally fewer days, calculated the same way. Employees working fewer than 24 hours a month for an employer are excluded from the BCEA’s sick leave provisions entirely.

Unused sick leave is not paid out on termination and does not carry into the next cycle. It is an insurance-style entitlement, not an accrued benefit.

The first six months

New employees do not get the full cycle entitlement immediately. Section 22(2) of the BCEA, restated in the Department of Employment and Labour’s Basic Guide to Sick Leave, sets the first-six-months rate: sick leave accrues at one day for every 26 days worked — roughly one day a month for a standard five-day worker.

After six months, the employee moves to the full cycle allowance, less whatever they have already used. An employer may, by agreement, advance the full entitlement earlier — but if the employee then leaves having used more than they accrued, the employer may reduce the entitlement in the following cycle rather than recover the pay.

Medical certificates

Section 23 of the BCEA sets the threshold. An employer is not obliged to pay sick leave if the employee:

  • Is absent for more than two consecutive days, or
  • Has been absent on more than two occasions during an eight-week period

and fails, on request, to produce a medical certificate.

The certificate must be issued by a medical practitioner or other person certified to diagnose and treat patients and registered with a statutory professional council — which includes registered nurses, traditional health practitioners registered under the relevant Act, and others, not only doctors.

Note that the trigger is “more than two consecutive days”, so a two-day absence cannot normally require a certificate. The eight-week rule then catches repeat short absences: from the third occasion in eight weeks, a certificate can be required even for a single day.

A certificate covering a Monday or Friday absence cannot be demanded on that basis alone. Requiring certification only for absences adjacent to weekends is a well-established discriminatory practice and is not supported by the Act.

Occupational injury and disease: COIDA

Absence caused by a workplace injury or occupational disease is not sick leave. It falls under the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA) and is compensated through the Compensation Fund.

Under COIDA, the employer generally pays 75% of earnings for the first three months, and claims reimbursement from the Compensation Fund; the Fund pays thereafter. Critically, those days are not deducted from the employee’s BCEA sick leave — a distinction employers routinely get wrong, effectively charging an injured employee for their own workplace accident.

Long absence and incapacity

Extended illness is dealt with through the incapacity procedure in Schedule 8 of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995 — the Code of Good Practice on Dismissal. Where an employee is unable to work for a prolonged period, the employer must:

  • Investigate the extent of the incapacity and the likely duration
  • Consider alternatives short of dismissal, including adapted duties and alternative work
  • Consult the employee and allow representation

Dismissal for incapacity is lawful where those steps have been genuinely followed and no reasonable alternative exists. Skipping them turns a legitimate incapacity dismissal into an unfair one, regardless of how long the absence has run.

Employer obligations

South African employers have six core duties:

  1. Grant the six-week entitlement per 36-month cycle, calculated from the employee’s actual working pattern.
  2. Apply the 1-day-per-26-days accrual during the first six months of employment.
  3. Pay sick leave at the normal wage the employee would have received for working that day.
  4. Only require certificates within the section 23 thresholds, and accept certificates from any registered practitioner entitled to diagnose and treat.
  5. Route workplace injuries through COIDA, without deducting from the BCEA sick leave balance.
  6. Follow the incapacity procedure in Schedule 8 before considering dismissal for prolonged illness.

Common pitfalls

1. Treating 30 days as an annual entitlement

It is 30 days for a three-year cycle. Resetting the balance every January gives employees roughly three times the statutory entitlement and is very difficult to claw back once it has become established practice.

2. Demanding a certificate for a two-day absence

The statutory trigger is more than two consecutive days. A blanket “certificate for any absence” rule exceeds the BCEA and cannot be used to refuse payment.

3. Requiring certificates for Monday and Friday absences

Singling out absences adjacent to weekends is not supported by the Act and has repeatedly been found to be an unfair practice.

4. Deducting COIDA absence from sick leave

Injury-on-duty absence is compensated separately and must not reduce the BCEA entitlement. This is one of the most common — and most costly — South African payroll errors.

5. Dismissing for long absence without the incapacity process

Prolonged illness can justify dismissal, but only after investigation, consideration of alternatives, and consultation. Without those steps it is substantively and procedurally unfair.

For more South African context, see our guide to annual leave entitlement in South Africa, the overview of the main types of leave employers manage, and our guide to absence management.

Frequently asked questions

How many sick days do South African employees get?

The number of days they would normally work in six weeks, per 36-month cycle — 30 days for a five-day worker, 36 for a six-day worker.

Does sick leave reset every year?

No. The cycle is 36 months. Unused days fall away at the end of the cycle and a new full allowance begins.

When can an employer require a medical certificate?

Where the employee is absent for more than two consecutive days, or on more than two occasions in an eight-week period. Below those thresholds, payment cannot be refused for lack of a certificate.

Who can issue a valid sick note?

Any medical practitioner or other person certified to diagnose and treat patients who is registered with a statutory professional council — including registered nurses and registered traditional health practitioners, not only doctors.

Is unused sick leave paid out when an employee leaves?

No. Sick leave has no cash value on termination and is not carried over into the next cycle.

What happens if an employee is injured at work?

The absence is handled under COIDA, with compensation from the Compensation Fund, and the days must not be deducted from the employee’s BCEA sick leave entitlement.

Putting it into practice

Five checks cover most South African sick leave risk:

  1. Configure sick leave as a 36-month cycle anchored to each employee’s start date, not the calendar year.
  2. Set the first-six-months accrual at one day per 26 days worked, then switch to the full cycle balance.
  3. Encode the section 23 certificate thresholds so the system knows when a certificate can lawfully be required.
  4. Create a separate COIDA absence type that does not draw down the sick leave balance.
  5. Flag employees approaching the end of their cycle allowance early enough to start an incapacity conversation properly.
You can take advantage of the free 14 days trial and explore Leave Balance.

A leave management system that runs each employee’s own 36-month cycle, separates injury-on-duty from ordinary sick leave, and applies the certificate thresholds automatically removes the two errors that generate most CCMA sick leave referrals.

Sources

Last updated: 26 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Sectoral determinations and bargaining council agreements can improve on the BCEA — confirm which apply to your workplace.