{
  "$comment": "Machine-readable companion to https://valem.run/calculators/south-africa/holiday-entitlement. Formula, inputs, outputs, engine-verified test vectors, cited sources and the re-runnable Valem ModelSpec behind the page.",
  "url": "https://valem.run/calculators/south-africa/holiday-entitlement",
  "dataUrl": "https://valem.run/calculators/south-africa/holiday-entitlement.json",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "attribution": "South Africa annual leave model by Valem (https://valem.run/calculators/south-africa/holiday-entitlement), CC BY 4.0.",
    "note": "Covers the model — the expression of each rule and the arrangement of the catalog. The rates and thresholds themselves are law and are not licensed by anyone; the cited sources are where they come from."
  },
  "verificationUrl": "https://valem.run/calculators/south-africa/holiday-entitlement/verify",
  "country": "south-africa",
  "countryName": "South Africa",
  "formula": "holiday-entitlement",
  "formulaName": "Annual Leave",
  "title": "Annual Leave Entitlement 2026 — 21 Consecutive Days Or 1 Per 17",
  "answer": "Section 20(2) of the BCEA requires at least 21 consecutive days of annual leave on full remuneration for each 12-month leave cycle, or by agreement one day for every 17 days worked. Because the 21 are consecutive calendar days, they amount to about 15 working days on a five-day week — and the 17:1 method gives 14,7 to 15,3 depending on the length of the working year.",
  "lang": "en",
  "currency": "ZAR",
  "taxYear": "2026",
  "verification": {
    "claim": "internal-consistency",
    "statement": "The Valem engine reproduces this model's stated formula through 9 self-test cases (below, and re-runnable against the spec). That asserts internal consistency, NOT that the formula matches current law — the cited sources are the evidence for that, and carry the date each was last checked.",
    "selfTestCases": 9,
    "ratesAreIllustrative": false,
    "sourcesCheckedOn": "2026-10-11"
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, s.20 — labour.gov.za (21 consecutive days per annual leave cycle; one day per 17 days worked by agreement; a cycle is 12 months)",
      "url": "https://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Acts/Basic%20Conditions%20of%20Employment/Act%20-%20Basic%20Conditions%20of%20Employment.pdf",
      "checked": "2026-10-11"
    }
  ],
  "terminalOutput": "daysRemaining",
  "headlineOutput": "daysEntitled",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "name": "method",
      "type": "string",
      "label": "Which method your agreement uses",
      "enum": [
        "consecutiveDays",
        "perDaysWorked"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "daysPerWeek",
      "type": "number",
      "label": "Days you work per week",
      "minimum": 1,
      "maximum": 7
    },
    {
      "name": "monthsWorked",
      "type": "number",
      "label": "Months completed in this annual leave cycle",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 12
    },
    {
      "name": "daysWorked",
      "type": "number",
      "label": "Days you worked, or were entitled to be paid for",
      "minimum": 0,
      "maximum": 366
    },
    {
      "name": "daysTaken",
      "type": "number",
      "label": "Days already taken",
      "minimum": 0
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "name": "daysEntitled",
      "type": "number",
      "formula": "($m := $clampFloorCap($n(monthsWorked), 0, $const.cycleMonths); method = 'perDaysWorked' ? $round($n(daysWorked) / $const.daysWorkedPerLeaveDay, 1) : ($m >= $const.cycleMonths ? $round($const.consecutiveDaysPerCycle / $const.daysPerCalendarWeek * $n(daysPerWeek), 1) : 0))"
    },
    {
      "name": "daysRemaining",
      "type": "number",
      "formula": "($r := daysEntitled - $n(daysTaken); $r < 0 ? 0 : $round($r, 1))"
    }
  ],
  "testCases": [
    {
      "description": "N1 21 consecutive days is about 15 working days on a five-day week",
      "given": {
        "method": "consecutiveDays",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 12,
        "daysWorked": 250,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 15
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N2 a six-day week gets 18 working days out of the same 21 consecutive ones",
      "given": {
        "method": "consecutiveDays",
        "daysPerWeek": 6,
        "monthsWorked": 12,
        "daysWorked": 250,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 18
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N3 method (a) grants per cycle, so an incomplete cycle shows nothing",
      "given": {
        "method": "consecutiveDays",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 11,
        "daysWorked": 230,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N4 method (b) on a 250-day year gives 14,7 — LESS than (a)'s 15, not the same",
      "given": {
        "method": "perDaysWorked",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 12,
        "daysWorked": 250,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 14.7
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N5 method (b) accrues from the first 17 days, with no cycle to complete",
      "given": {
        "method": "perDaysWorked",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 1,
        "daysWorked": 17,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 1
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N6 method (b) on a 260-day year gives 15,3 — MORE than (a)'s 15",
      "given": {
        "method": "perDaysWorked",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 12,
        "daysWorked": 260,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 15.3
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N7 no days worked earns nothing under method (b)",
      "given": {
        "method": "perDaysWorked",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 0,
        "daysWorked": 0,
        "daysTaken": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysEntitled": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N8 days already taken come off the remainder",
      "given": {
        "method": "consecutiveDays",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 12,
        "daysWorked": 250,
        "daysTaken": 6
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysRemaining": 9
      }
    },
    {
      "description": "N9 taking more than the entitlement never goes negative",
      "given": {
        "method": "consecutiveDays",
        "daysPerWeek": 5,
        "monthsWorked": 12,
        "daysWorked": 250,
        "daysTaken": 40
      },
      "expect": {
        "daysRemaining": 0
      }
    }
  ],
  "spec": {
    "id": "holiday-entitlement-south-africa",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "schema": {
      "type": "object",
      "properties": {
        "method": {
          "type": "string",
          "enum": [
            "consecutiveDays",
            "perDaysWorked"
          ]
        },
        "daysPerWeek": {
          "type": "number",
          "maximum": 7,
          "minimum": 1
        },
        "monthsWorked": {
          "type": "number",
          "maximum": 12,
          "minimum": 0
        },
        "daysWorked": {
          "type": "number",
          "maximum": 366,
          "minimum": 0
        },
        "daysTaken": {
          "type": "number",
          "minimum": 0
        },
        "daysEntitled": {
          "type": "number",
          "readOnly": true
        },
        "daysRemaining": {
          "type": "number",
          "readOnly": true
        }
      }
    },
    "constants": {
      "consecutiveDaysPerCycle": 21,
      "daysWorkedPerLeaveDay": 17,
      "cycleMonths": 12,
      "daysPerCalendarWeek": 7
    },
    "library": {
      "layers": [
        {
          "id": "statutory",
          "define": "(\n  /* Shared statutory helpers — the canonical copy (docs/sandbox/d8-statutory-families.md §5.4).\n     DO NOT EDIT A SPEC'S INLINED COPY. Edit this file and run `npm run sync:helpers`; a vitest\n     assertion and a Java assertion both require every inlined copy to be byte-identical to this one.\n\n     Why inlined rather than referenced: the `library` section's `ref` form — a library shared\n     between models — is still proposed, gated on the model-references design (see\n     ../../../../docs/design/library/jsonata-library.md). Inlining keeps each spec self-contained,\n     which is what lets `#e=` embedding, `#share=` import and MCP forking work with no resolver.\n\n     TWO TRAPS, both of which fail SILENTLY and both of which bit during the debt-payoff build:\n\n       1. A library function sees ONLY its arguments. It cannot read the consuming document — not\n          through a bare field name, not through `$`, not through `$$`. Everything these helpers\n          need is passed in. (`$const` is late-bound and so would resolve, but relying on it would\n          couple a shared helper to one spec's constant names.)\n       2. ONE null member wrecks a whole aggregate, and the two engines disagree about how. The JS\n          reference implementation THROWS (\"Argument 1 of function sum must be an array of\n          numbers\"); the Java port can instead yield null for the entire aggregate. Neither gives a\n          partial total, and the null-yielding form is the dangerous one because it is silent. So\n          callers coerce with `$n()` below before aggregating, which makes the behaviour identical\n          in both engines — measured, not assumed: see helpers.test.ts.\n\n       3. A PATH STEP DIRECTLY ON A CALL RESULT RETURNS NOTHING in the Java engine. This matters for\n          every caller of $amortize, which is the one helper here returning an object:\n\n              $amortize(p, r, n, 0).months            -> empty in Java, 360 in JS.  WRONG\n              ($a := $amortize(p, r, n, 0); $a.months) -> 360 in both.               RIGHT\n\n          Bind the result to a variable, then step into it. The JS reference accepts both forms, so\n          this is invisible until the page is served by the real engine, and it fails as a blank\n          field rather than an error. Measured with a probe, not inferred — the field simply does\n          not appear. */\n\n  /* Number coercion with an explicit zero default. The guard against trap 2. */\n  $n := function($v) { $v = null or $not($exists($v)) ? 0 : $number($v) };\n\n  /* ISO date -> its year / month / day parts. String slicing rather than $fromMillis formatting:\n     these are statutory dates (\"2026-04-06\"), and a timezone-sensitive round-trip through millis\n     can shift the day, which silently moves a service anniversary across a band boundary. */\n  $isoY := function($d) { $number($substring($d, 0, 4)) };\n  $isoM := function($d) { $number($substring($d, 5, 2)) };\n  $isoD := function($d) { $number($substring($d, 8, 2)) };\n\n  /* Whole years of completed service between two ISO dates. Counts an anniversary as reached only\n     when the month-and-day has arrived, which is what \"completed years of service\" means in every\n     severance statute — not a 365.25-day division, whose drift crosses a 5-year band boundary in\n     the wrong direction roughly one year in four. */\n  $yearsBetween := function($from, $to) { (\n    $y := $isoY($to) - $isoY($from);\n    $beforeAnniversary := $isoM($to) < $isoM($from)\n      or ($isoM($to) = $isoM($from) and $isoD($to) < $isoD($from));\n    $beforeAnniversary ? $y - 1 : $y\n  ) };\n\n  /* Whole completed months between two ISO dates, same convention. */\n  $monthsBetween := function($from, $to) { (\n    $m := ($isoY($to) - $isoY($from)) * 12 + ($isoM($to) - $isoM($from));\n    $isoD($to) < $isoD($from) ? $m - 1 : $m\n  ) };\n\n  /* Inclusive count of days between two ISO dates — both endpoints counted, because a leave year\n     runs from its first day to its last and an employee present on both is present for both.\n     Pro-rata accrual is then $proRataDays(a, b) / $proRataDays(yearStart, yearEnd). */\n  $proRataDays := function($from, $to) {\n    ($toMillis($to) - $toMillis($from)) / 86400000 + 1\n  };\n\n  /* Progressive charge across bands. `$bands` is ordered lowest-first, each {\"upTo\": n, \"rate\": r};\n     the final band's `upTo` is omitted or null to mean \"no ceiling\". Each band's rate applies ONLY\n     to the slice of the amount inside it — the single most common error in a hand-written bracket\n     walk is applying the top rate to the whole amount. Returns 0 for a non-positive amount. */\n  $bandedCharge := function($amount, $bands) { (\n    $a := $n($amount);\n    $a <= 0 ? 0 : $reduce($bands, function($acc, $band) { (\n      $ceiling := $exists($band.upTo) and $band.upTo != null ? $band.upTo : $a;\n      $top := $ceiling < $a ? $ceiling : $a;\n      $slice := $top - $acc.floor;\n      {\n        \"floor\": $top > $acc.floor ? $top : $acc.floor,\n        \"charge\": $acc.charge + ($slice > 0 ? $slice * $n($band.rate) : 0)\n      }\n    ) }, {\"floor\": 0, \"charge\": 0}).charge\n  ) };\n\n  /* Clamp into [floor, cap]. Either bound may be omitted (null) to leave that side open — a benefit\n     with a cap and no floor is as common as one with both. */\n  $clampFloorCap := function($value, $floor, $cap) { (\n    $v := $n($value);\n    $withFloor := $exists($floor) and $floor != null and $v < $floor ? $floor : $v;\n    $exists($cap) and $cap != null and $withFloor > $cap ? $cap : $withFloor\n  ) };\n\n  /* Level annuity payment for a principal over `$months` at `$annualRatePct` nominal, compounded\n     monthly. Falls back to straight-line division at a zero rate, where the standard formula\n     divides by zero. */\n  $annuityPayment := function($principal, $annualRatePct, $months) { (\n    $p := $n($principal);\n    $m := $n($months);\n    $i := $n($annualRatePct) / 1200;\n    $m <= 0 ? 0 : ($i = 0 ? $p / $m : $p * $i * $power(1 + $i, $m) / ($power(1 + $i, $m) - 1))\n  ) };\n\n  /* Amortisation schedule: one row per month until the balance clears or `$months` is reached.\n     Returns {\"payment\", \"months\", \"totalInterest\", \"schedule\": [{month, interest, principal,\n     balance}]}. `$extra` is an optional monthly overpayment.\n\n     A real month-by-month fold rather than a closed form, because an overpayment changes every\n     later row — the same reason debt-payoff simulates. Bounded by `$months`, so it always\n     terminates. */\n  $amortize := function($principal, $annualRatePct, $months, $extra) { (\n    $i := $n($annualRatePct) / 1200;\n    $pay := $annuityPayment($principal, $annualRatePct, $months) + $n($extra);\n    $r := $reduce([1..$n($months)], function($acc, $month) {\n      $acc.balance <= 0 ? $acc : (\n        /* The running balance is kept UNROUNDED and only the emitted row is rounded. Rounding the\n           balance each month instead accumulates drift: at 200,000 over 360 months it left 2.83\n           still owing in the final row, which would break the \"final balance is zero\" invariant\n           (§7.3) and look to a reader like the schedule does not pay the loan off. Lenders compute\n           on the exact balance and adjust the last payment, which is what this does. */\n        $interest := $acc.balance * $i;\n        $due := $acc.balance + $interest < $pay ? $acc.balance + $interest : $pay;\n        $principalPart := $due - $interest;\n        $balance := $acc.balance - $principalPart;\n        {\n          \"balance\": $balance,\n          \"totalInterest\": $acc.totalInterest + $interest,\n          \"schedule\": $append($acc.schedule, [{\n            \"month\": $month,\n            \"interest\": $round($interest, 2),\n            \"principal\": $round($principalPart, 2),\n            \"balance\": $round($balance, 2)\n          }])\n        }\n      )\n    }, {\"balance\": $n($principal), \"totalInterest\": 0, \"schedule\": []});\n    {\n      \"payment\": $round($pay, 2),\n      \"months\": $count($r.schedule),\n      \"totalInterest\": $round($r.totalInterest, 2),\n      \"schedule\": [$r.schedule]\n    }\n  ) };\n\n  [\"n\", \"isoY\", \"isoM\", \"isoD\", \"yearsBetween\", \"monthsBetween\", \"proRataDays\",\n   \"bandedCharge\", \"clampFloorCap\", \"annuityPayment\", \"amortize\"]\n)\n"
        }
      ]
    },
    "defaultValues": [
      {
        "path": "$",
        "expr": "{ 'method': 'consecutiveDays', 'daysPerWeek': 5, 'monthsWorked': 12, 'daysWorked': 250, 'daysTaken': 0 }"
      }
    ],
    "derivations": [
      {
        "path": "$.daysEntitled",
        "expr": "($m := $clampFloorCap($n(monthsWorked), 0, $const.cycleMonths); method = 'perDaysWorked' ? $round($n(daysWorked) / $const.daysWorkedPerLeaveDay, 1) : ($m >= $const.cycleMonths ? $round($const.consecutiveDaysPerCycle / $const.daysPerCalendarWeek * $n(daysPerWeek), 1) : 0))"
      },
      {
        "path": "$.daysRemaining",
        "expr": "($r := daysEntitled - $n(daysTaken); $r < 0 ? 0 : $round($r, 1))"
      }
    ],
    "constraints": [],
    "viewDefinition": {
      "renderer": "builtin",
      "defaultView": "main",
      "views": [
        {
          "id": "main",
          "label": "Annual leave",
          "layout": "vertical",
          "components": [
            {
              "id": "note",
              "type": "staticText",
              "text": "BCEA s.20(2): “An employer must grant 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… for every 17 days on which the employee worked…” Two things follow. The 21 are CONSECUTIVE days, so on a five-day week they are about 15 working days. And the alternatives do not agree with each other — which of them applies is a matter of agreement, not of arithmetic."
            },
            {
              "id": "inputs",
              "type": "fieldSet",
              "label": "Your details",
              "components": [
                {
                  "id": "method",
                  "type": "selectField",
                  "label": "Which method your agreement uses",
                  "bind": "$.method",
                  "options": [
                    {
                      "value": "consecutiveDays",
                      "label": "s.20(2)(a) — 21 consecutive days per cycle"
                    },
                    {
                      "value": "perDaysWorked",
                      "label": "s.20(2)(b) — one day per 17 days worked"
                    }
                  ]
                },
                {
                  "id": "daysPerWeek",
                  "type": "numericField",
                  "label": "Days you work per week",
                  "bind": "$.daysPerWeek",
                  "helperText": "Converts the 21 consecutive days into your own working days. Method (b) is already in your days."
                },
                {
                  "id": "monthsWorked",
                  "type": "numericField",
                  "label": "Months completed in this annual leave cycle",
                  "bind": "$.monthsWorked",
                  "helperText": "s.20(1) makes a cycle 12 months from your start date or from the end of the last cycle."
                },
                {
                  "id": "daysWorked",
                  "type": "numericField",
                  "label": "Days you worked, or were entitled to be paid for",
                  "bind": "$.daysWorked",
                  "helperText": "Used by method (b) only."
                },
                {
                  "id": "daysTaken",
                  "type": "numericField",
                  "label": "Days already taken",
                  "bind": "$.daysTaken"
                }
              ]
            },
            {
              "id": "sep",
              "type": "separatorLine"
            },
            {
              "id": "entitledTile",
              "type": "statTile",
              "label": "Working days entitled",
              "value": "$.daysEntitled"
            },
            {
              "id": "remainingTile",
              "type": "statTile",
              "label": "Working days remaining",
              "value": "$.daysRemaining"
            },
            {
              "id": "assumptions",
              "type": "staticText",
              "text": "s.20(2) offers a third method, (c): by agreement, one hour of annual leave for every 17 hours worked. It is the same 17:1 ratio expressed in hours, so this page states it rather than duplicating it. Method (a) grants the leave in respect of each cycle and the Act provides no in-cycle pro-rata of the grant — s.21 instead requires payment on termination, including one day’s remuneration per 17 days worked for an incomplete cycle once employment has passed four months — so this page shows nothing under (a) until the cycle completes rather than inventing a fraction. Seven days to a calendar week is arithmetic rather than law and is declared as such below. s.20(3) entitles the employee to take the accumulated leave on consecutive days, and s.20(10) forbids paying it out except on termination. Bargaining council agreements and sectoral determinations may provide more."
            },
            {
              "id": "sources",
              "type": "sourceList",
              "label": "Sources",
              "layers": 1,
              "exempt": [
                "daysPerCalendarWeek"
              ],
              "items": [
                {
                  "label": "Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997, s.20 — labour.gov.za (21 consecutive days per annual leave cycle; one day per 17 days worked by agreement; a cycle is 12 months)",
                  "url": "https://www.labour.gov.za/DocumentCenter/Acts/Basic%20Conditions%20of%20Employment/Act%20-%20Basic%20Conditions%20of%20Employment.pdf",
                  "date": "2026-10-11",
                  "covers": [
                    "consecutiveDaysPerCycle",
                    "daysWorkedPerLeaveDay",
                    "cycleMonths"
                  ]
                }
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    "tests": [
      {
        "description": "N1 21 consecutive days is about 15 working days on a five-day week",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "consecutiveDays",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 12,
          "$.daysWorked": 250,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 15
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N2 a six-day week gets 18 working days out of the same 21 consecutive ones",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "consecutiveDays",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 6,
          "$.monthsWorked": 12,
          "$.daysWorked": 250,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 18
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N3 method (a) grants per cycle, so an incomplete cycle shows nothing",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "consecutiveDays",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 11,
          "$.daysWorked": 230,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 0
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N4 method (b) on a 250-day year gives 14,7 — LESS than (a)'s 15, not the same",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "perDaysWorked",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 12,
          "$.daysWorked": 250,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 14.7
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N5 method (b) accrues from the first 17 days, with no cycle to complete",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "perDaysWorked",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 1,
          "$.daysWorked": 17,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 1
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N6 method (b) on a 260-day year gives 15,3 — MORE than (a)'s 15",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "perDaysWorked",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 12,
          "$.daysWorked": 260,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 15.3
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N7 no days worked earns nothing under method (b)",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "perDaysWorked",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 0,
          "$.daysWorked": 0,
          "$.daysTaken": 0
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysEntitled": 0
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N8 days already taken come off the remainder",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "consecutiveDays",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 12,
          "$.daysWorked": 250,
          "$.daysTaken": 6
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysRemaining": 9
        }
      },
      {
        "description": "N9 taking more than the entitlement never goes negative",
        "given": {
          "$.method": "consecutiveDays",
          "$.daysPerWeek": 5,
          "$.monthsWorked": 12,
          "$.daysWorked": 250,
          "$.daysTaken": 40
        },
        "expect": {
          "$.daysRemaining": 0
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}