Leave Days Calculator

Under the Employment Code Act 2019, employees are entitled to a minimum of 2 days of paid leave per month of service, which adds up to 24 days per year. Section 36(1) grants it after twelve consecutive months of continuous employment with the same employer.

Leave pay uses the Fifth Schedule formula, which Section 37 applies: Leave Value = (Full Pay x Leave Days) / 26. Full pay means basic pay plus allowances, but excludes bonuses. The 26 is written into the Schedule and assumes a six-day week - if you work Monday to Friday your employer most likely divides by 22 instead, which makes each leave day worth about 18% more.

Full pay includes your basic salary plus regular allowances like housing, transport, and lunch allowances. It does not include bonuses, overtime, or one-off payments. This is the figure used as the numerator in the leave pay formula.

Yes. Leave pay is treated as regular employment income and is subject to PAYE income tax, NAPSA contributions (5%), and NHIMA (1%). The same tax bands that apply to your monthly salary apply to leave pay.

Yes. Under Section 36(5) of the Employment Code Act 2019, an employer may, with the employee's agreement, pay wages in lieu of any leave due. If leave has accumulated by the time your contract ends, the employer must pay out the balance.

When employment ends - whether by resignation, termination, or contract expiry - you are entitled to payment for any accrued leave days that you have not yet taken, calculated at 2 days per completed month of service.

No. Annual leave is separate from public holidays. If a public holiday falls during your leave period, that day does not count against your leave balance. Zambia has around 11 gazetted public holidays per year.

Divide your monthly pay by your working days per month. Take basic pay of K11,000 with K2,000 of allowances, so full pay is K13,000. On a six-day week that is K13,000 / 26 = K500.00 a day, and 24 accrued days are worth K12,000.00. On a five-day week the same pay is K13,000 / 22 = K590.91 a day, and those 24 days are worth K14,181.82 - about K2,182 more for identical pay. If your employer values leave on basic alone, the rate becomes K11,000 / 22 = K500.00.

It depends on your working week, and it changes the answer materially. 26 is the figure in the Employment Code Act and assumes a six-day week. If you work Monday to Friday, 22 is the realistic divisor and most payroll systems use it. Divide the same pay by 22 instead of 26 and every leave day is worth about 18% more, so it is worth checking your payslip rather than assuming.

Example: An employee earns K12,000/month (basic + allowances) and has 15 unused leave days. Daily rate = K12,000 / 26 = K461.54. Leave pay = K461.54 x 15 = K6,923.08. This is subject to PAYE, NAPSA (5%), and NHIMA (1%) deductions.