How many days of annual leave do I have? The 11, 15 and 25-day rules and unused-leave pay

Days of leave by years of service — the whole table

The formula is simple: 15 days plus the integer quotient of (years of service minus 1) divided by 2, capped at 25.

• Under one year — one day per full month worked, up to 11 days
• Years 1-2 — 15 days
• Years 3-4 — 16 days / Years 5-6 — 17 days / Years 7-8 — 18 days
• Years 9-10 — 19 days / Years 11-12 — 20 days / Years 13-14 — 21 days
• Years 15-16 — 22 days / Years 17-18 — 23 days / Years 19-20 — 24 days
• Year 21 and beyond — 25 days, the ceiling

One question comes up constantly. Across the first two years the total is 11 days plus 15 days, or 26 days. The older rule deducted leave taken in the first year from the following year's 15, but the law changed and there is no such deduction now. Using all 11 days in year one leaves the 15 days of year two untouched.

Exactly one year then resigning gives 11 days — the ruling that changed the maths

This is where mistakes cluster. If you work one year, 365 days, and the employment relationship ends that same day, the 15-day entitlement never arises.

In October 2021 the Supreme Court held that a worker on a one-year fixed-term contract whose contract simply expired is entitled to at most 11 days (case 2021Da227100). The reasoning is that the 15-day entitlement arises on the day after the year of service is completed — the 366th day — and so requires the employment relationship to still exist then. In December 2021 the Ministry of Employment and Labor revised its long-standing administrative interpretation to match.

In practice the difference turns on a single day of leaving date. Someone who starts on 1 January and works through 31 December gets 11 days; if the relationship continues into 1 January of the following year, 15 days accrue and unused days can be claimed as pay. If your leaving date is negotiable, this is worth checking first.

How the 80% attendance rate is counted

The "80% or more attendance across one year" condition for the 15-day entitlement compares actual attendance against contractual working days. What matters most is that certain periods are treated as attendance: time off for occupational injury or illness, maternity leave before and after childbirth, and parental leave.

In other words, taking a year of parental leave does not wipe out the following year's entitlement. Unpaid personal leave, by contrast, may be handled differently, so check the employment rules and the actual calculation your employer used.

Employers that grant leave on a fiscal-year basis — is that a loss?

The statute works from the hire date, but larger employers often grant leave collectively on a fiscal-year basis, typically 1 January, for administrative simplicity. That practice is not unlawful in itself.

There is a condition, though. On separation the entitlement must be recalculated from the hire date, and any shortfall settled. Fiscal-year administration must not leave the worker worse off. So when you resign, it is worth working out the hire-date figure yourself and comparing it with the settlement statement.

What unused leave is worth — ordinary wages, not average wages

Leave you could not take is paid out. The basis is ordinary wages, not average wages, and the calculation is hourly ordinary wage multiplied by contractual daily hours multiplied by unused days.

If the hourly ordinary wage is 12,000 won and the working day is eight hours, one day is worth 96,000 won; five unused days come to 480,000 won. The amount hinges on what counts inside the ordinary wage. Allowances paid regularly and uniformly may be included alongside base pay, so the figure can differ from one computed on base pay alone.

The limitation period for wage claims, including pay for unused leave, is three years. Unpaid amounts from earlier years may still be claimable if they fall inside that window.

Leave-use promotion — the condition under which the payout vanishes

"If I do not use it, I get the money anyway" is not always true. Where an employer properly follows the leave-use promotion procedure in Article 61 of the Labor Standards Act, the obligation to pay for unused leave can be extinguished.

The procedure is prescribed.

1. Within ten days counted from six months before the entitlement period ends, the employer notifies each worker of unused days and urges them in writing to designate when they will take the leave.
2. If the worker does not respond within ten days, the employer must set the dates and notify the worker in writing by one month before the period expires.

The critical elements are the written form and the deadlines. Verbal notice or a general announcement is unlikely to satisfy the requirement, and missing a deadline defeats the promotion. It is also settled that where a worker actually attends and works on a designated day and the employer does not refuse that labour, the day is not treated as leave taken.

If the workplace has fewer than five employees

Workplaces with fewer than five regular employees are outside the annual leave provisions. Statutory leave and the associated pay cannot be demanded there.

Two exceptions are worth remembering. First, if the employment contract or the employment rules promise annual leave, the employer must honour that promise. Second, "five regular employees" is not the owner's opinion but an average headcount over a defined period. Part-time and fixed-term staff count, so workplaces described as under five sometimes are not.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. I joined mid-year. What happens to my first year?

One day accrues for every full month worked without absence. Joining in July means up to 11 days accrue, one per qualifying month, until the first anniversary of your hire date.

Q2. Can I take leave in advance?

It is not a statutory arrangement, but some employers allow it by agreement. If yours does, confirm in advance how it will be settled if you leave.

Q3. Do half-days and quarter-days come out of the same balance?

These are not statutory units; they are company arrangements. Typically the hours used are deducted, with the detail set by the employment rules.

Q4. Can I use up my remaining leave on the way out?

While still employed you may request it. The employer can shift the timing if the business would be seriously disrupted, so it is realistic to agree the dates alongside the handover schedule. Whatever remains unused is settled in cash. If you are heading for resignation, working out the insured unit period for unemployment benefit at the same time makes the leaving date much easier to fix.

Q5. Where do I go if the calculation looks wrong?

Start by comparing your payslip, the employment rules and your own hire-date calculation. If that does not resolve it with your employer, you can consult the Ministry of Employment and Labor counselling centre on 1350 or your regional labour office. This article explains the general structure of the system and is not legal advice on an individual case; outcomes vary with the employment contract, the employment rules and the working pattern. For a specific determination, consult a certified labour attorney or another qualified professional.