Under the Shop & Office Employees Act No. 19 of 1954 (Labour Department guidelines), annual leave depends on your calendar year of employment: no annual leave is granted in the first calendar year (the days accrue for use in the next year); in the second calendar year the entitlement depends on the quarter of your start date — started Jan–Mar: 14 days, Apr–Jun: 10 days, Jul–Sep: 7 days, Oct–Dec: 4 days; and from the third calendar year onward the full 14 days of paid annual leave.

From the third year, at least 7 days of the annual leave must be taken consecutively. Unused leave is typically paid in lieu on termination — the Leave calculator computes the grant for your exact join date and today.

Casual leave accrues at 1 day per 2 completed months of service in the first year (0.5 days per completed month), then 7 days per year afterwards. It is meant for short personal errands — and, importantly, for illness.

The Act does not create a separate statutory 'sick leave' category for private-sector employees: casual leave is the category used for health issues, illness and urgent personal business. Some employers still grant sick leave by company policy (often 21 days) — where that exists, enter the policy rate in the calculator; the statutory default is 0.

Employers may ask for proof of illness; the documentary rules follow company policy provided it stays within the Act.

Employees working at least 28 hours a week get a fully paid weekly holiday of one full day plus one half-day (≈1.5 paid days/week). Full Moon Poya days and up to 9 gazetted public/mercantile holidays per year are also paid — they do not come out of your annual-leave balance.

None of these paid holidays count as 'leave taken', so they do not reduce your annual, casual or sick entitlements.

Government officers follow the Establishments Code, not the Act: annual leave vests as a full block per completed year of service (pro-ration only on termination, paid in lieu), casual leave 14 days per year and sick leave 14 days full-pay plus 14 half-pay.

The comparison table on the Leave eligibility page puts both systems side by side — useful when moving between the private sector and public service or vice versa.

On termination, accrued but unused annual leave should be paid in lieu — the calculator shows an estimate of that amount for the private sector using your basic salary. Payment is typically based on your salary at the time of leaving.

Record keeping matters: keep your own copy of leave letters and payslips; HR systems can and do make errors that are hard to fix years later.

Enter your join date and today's date in the Leave eligibility calculator to see exact figures — with the sector switch for private (14/7/0) versus government (28/14/14) rates. Related reading: the maternity guide if you are planning leave for a new child.