Sick leave calculator: how many sick days you have left
Put in your start date, the days you carried over and the sick days you have taken this year. The calculator checks you are entitled, adds this year's 10 days to what you carried over (never more than 20), takes off what you have used, and shows what carries into next year.
Worked out for the example. Change the boxes to make it yours.
Only 10 unused days carry over (s 66), so 3 days will lapse on Friday 20 November 2026 unless used.
| Sick leave since | Wednesday 20 November 2024 |
|---|---|
| This 12-month period | 20 Nov 2025 to 19 Nov 2026 |
| Carried over from last year | 6 days |
| New days this period | 10 days |
| This period's total | 16 days |
| Taken this period | 3 days |
| Sick days left | 13 days |
| Next top-up, 20 Nov 2026 | 10 days carried + 10 = 20 days |
- Sick leave is counted in days you would otherwise have worked, so a part-time week still carries 10 days a year.
- Unused sick leave is not paid out when you leave (s 67).
- From 6 August 2028 the Employment Leave Act 2026 changes this: sick leave builds up from your first day, at least 0.0385 of an hour for each standard hour, to a balance of 160 hours (ss 73 and 75).
Your Career keeps your sick leave balance and tops it up on each anniversary, to at most 20 days. Part of the Career and Timesheets plan, after asking.
When sick leave starts
Under section 63 of the Holidays Act 2003, you are entitled to sick leave once you have completed six months' current continuous employment with your employer, whatever your hours. If your work is casual or irregular, so the six months are not continuous employment, there is a second test: over a period of six months you averaged at least 10 hours a week, and worked at least 1 hour in every week or 40 hours in every month. The hours test can be met over any six months, not only your first six (section 63(1)(b)), so if you do not meet it now you may meet it later. Either way, your sick leave year starts at the end of those six months and repeats every 12 months after.
Ten days, carried over to at most 20
You get 10 days' sick leave for each of those 12-month periods (section 65). Days you do not use carry over, up to 10 days, so your total in any year is never more than 20 (section 66). The calculator adds this year's 10 days to what you carried over, takes off the days you have used, and shows how many of the days left will carry into next year. Anything above 10 unused at your top-up date lapses, unless your agreement is more generous. Unused sick leave is never paid out when you leave (section 67).
What counts as a sick day
You can take sick leave when you are sick or injured, or when your spouse or partner, or someone who depends on you for care, is sick or injured (section 65). A day of sick leave is a day you would otherwise have worked, so a part-time worker still has 10 days a year. It is paid at your relevant daily pay, or your average daily pay where your daily pay varies or cannot be worked out: our pages on relevant daily pay and average daily pay explain both. Your employer can agree to let you take sick leave in advance (section 63(3)). Otherwise days past your balance are unpaid.
From 6 August 2028
The Employment Leave Act 2026 replaces this on 6 August 2028. Sick leave will build up from your first day, at least 0.0385 of an hour for each standard hour, to a balance of 160 hours (sections 73 and 75). Our article on the Employment Leave Act 2026 sets out the change.
Questions
How many sick days do you get in NZ?
Ten days for each year, once you have completed six months with your employer. Unused days carry over up to 10, so you can have at most 20 at a time (Holidays Act 2003, sections 65 and 66).
Do I get sick leave in my first six months?
Not as of right. Your employer can agree to let you take sick leave in advance (section 63(3)), and it comes off the 10 days you get at six months.
Do casual workers get sick leave in NZ?
Yes, once you have worked for the employer for six months averaging at least 10 hours a week, with at least 1 hour in every week or 40 hours in every month (section 63(1)(b)).
Do part-time workers get 10 sick days?
Yes. A sick day is a day you would otherwise have worked, so the 10 days are your working days, however many you work a week.
What happens when I save the balance?
Your account fills in your sick leave balance in Your Career, after asking, and tops it up on each anniversary to at most 20 days. Your Career is part of the Career and Timesheets plan, with a 7-day free trial.
Sources
- Holidays Act 2003, sections 63 to 67.
- Employment Leave Act 2026, sections 2, 73 and 75.
- Employment New Zealand: sick leave.
- Employment New Zealand: pay for sick, bereavement and family violence leave.
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