Holidays Act 1981-2003-2007

Lets talk of different types of holidays/leave. This blog only covers overview of holidays/leave, please refer to Holidays Act 1981-2003-2007 for complete details.

Quick Overview

	Commencement period after employment	Encashment	Days/year	Carry forward
Annual	12 months	Yes, depends on employer	20 (4 weeks)	Yes
Sick	6 months	No	10	Yes, but you can’t accumulate more than 20
Public Holiday	Immediate	No	11	N/A
Bereavement	6 months	No	3	No

Annual Leaves

All employees are entitled to four weeks paid annual holidays. An individual employee becomes entitled to four weeks paid annual holidays on the anniversary of the date they started their current job.

Public Holiday

All employees are entitled to a paid day off on a public holiday. For employment purposes, there are 11 public (also known as statutory) holidays provided under the Holidays Act 2003. The Act lists the holidays, but does not generally set dates for them.

Sick Leave

There is a minimum provision of five days paid sick leave after the first six months of continuous employment. An additional five days' paid sick leave is gained from that point on, after each subsequent 12 month period

The maximum accumulation of leave under the Act is 20 days .Accumulated sick leave cannot normally be exchanged for cash, nor form part of any final payment to the employee on resignation or termination, unless the employment agreement requires this.

Bereavement Leave

There is a minimum entitlement to bereavement leave after the first six months of continuous employment. On the death of an immediate family member, the Holidays Act 2003 provides a minimum entitlement of three days’ paid bereavement leave.