Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997 (Act No. 75 of 1997)Sectoral DeterminationsSectoral Determination 1 : Contract Cleaning Sector, South Africa18. Annual Leave |
| (1) | An employer must grant to an employee at least: |
| (a) | 21 consecutive days’ annual leave on full remuneration in respect of each annual leave cycle; or |
| (b) | by agreement, one day of annual leave on full remuneration for every 17 days on which the employee worked or was entitled to be paid; or |
| (c) | by agreement, one hour of annual leave on full remuneration for every 17 hours on which the employee worked or was entitled to be paid. |
| (2) | An employer must grant an employee an additional day of paid leave if a public holiday falls on a day during an employee’s annual leave on which the employee would ordinarily have worked. |
| (3) | The employer shall pay an employee in respect of the leave prescribed in subclause (1) an amount not less than three times the weekly wage which the employee was receiving immediately prior to the date on which the leave commenced. |
| (4) | The leave prescribed in subclause (1) shall be granted and be taken at a time to be fixed by the employer: Provided that— |
| (a) | if such leave has not been granted earlier, it shall be granted and be taken not later than six months after the end of the annual leave cycle; |
| (b) | the period of leave shall not be concurrent with any period— |
| (i) | during which an employee is absent on sick leave in terms of clause 19 amounting in the aggregate to not more than 10 weeks in any period of 12 months; |
| (ii) | during which the employee is under notice of termination of employment in terms of clause 23. |
| (c) | If so requested an employer may grant an employee 12 days occasional leave on full pay in an annual leave cycle. |
| (d) | An employer may reduce an employee’s entitlement to annual leave by the number of days of occasional leave granted on full remuneration to the employee in a annual leave cycle. |
| (5) | The remuneration in respect of the leave prescribed in subclause (1), read with subclause (3), shall be paid not later than the last working day before the date of commencement of the leave. |
| (6) | Upon termination of employment the employer shall pay the employee the pay in respect any period of leave which has accrued to the employee but was not granted to the employee before the date of termination of the employment. |
| (7) | If the employee has been in employment longer than four months, in respect of the employee’s annual leave entitlement during an incomplete annual leave cycle as defined in subclause (1)— |
| (i) | one day’s remuneration in respect of every 17 days on which the employee worked or was entitled to be paid; or |
| (ii) | remuneration calculated on any basis that is at least as favourable to the employee as that calculated in terms of subparagraph (i). |
| (8) | For the purposes of this clause the expressions "employment" and "period of employment" shall be deemed to include any time during which the employer requires an employee not perform emergency work. |
| (9) | Closing of establishment: |
| (a) | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this clause, an employer may for the purpose of annual leave at any time, but not more than once in any period of 12 months, close the establishment for 21 consecutive days, and in that case the employer shall remunerate the employee in terms of subclause (3) read with subclause (4)(d) as the case may be; |
| (b) | An employee who at the date of the closing of an establishment or the portion thereof in which the employee is employed, is not entitled to the full period of annual leave prescribed in subclause (1) shall, in respect of any leave due to the employee be paid by the employer at the employee’s rate of remuneration immediately before the closing of the establishment, and for the purposes of annual leave thereafter employment shall be deemed to commence on the date of such closing of the establishment or portion of the establishment, as the case may be. |