Vacation and sick leave: how accrual works
Two people in the same office can accrue vacation at different rates, and both be right. Understanding why is the key to knowing how many days you actually have.
Accrual is monthly, not annual
Leave doesn't appear in full on January 1: it accrues month by month. Accruing 1.25 vacation days a month means you have 7.5 days at midyear, not 15.
It also means that if you leave the job midyear, what you accrued up to that point is what counts.
What a qualifying month is
Not every month counts automatically. For a month to accrue, you must have worked a minimum number of hours within it.
If you had a light month — reduced schedule, unpaid leave, started mid-month — it may not qualify. When calculating your balance, count only the months that actually hit the minimum.
Why your rate can differ
The accrual rate that applies depends on several things at once: when you were hired, employer size, years of service and whether your position is exempt or non-exempt.
That's why a longer-tenured coworker can accrue faster doing the same job. The reliable source for your case is your contract, collective agreement or employee handbook — not what the person next to you accrues.
Caps, carryover and payout
Many employers set a cap: past a certain balance you stop accruing until you use days. Others let you carry a maximum into the next year and you forfeit the rest.
When employment ends, accrued and unused vacation is usually paid out. Sick leave doesn't always get the same treatment.
The leave calculator doesn't model caps or carryover: it gives you the clean accrual so you can compare it against what your employer says.
Leave accrues by hours worked, not months on the payroll
The most common mistake is assuming a year on the job automatically grants a block of vacation. Accrual depends on hours worked within the month, with a minimum that has to be met for that month to accrue at all.
That is why a part-time employee can work all year and accrue far less than a full-time colleague, and why months with unpaid leave or long absences may accrue nothing.
Vacation and sick leave are not one pool
They are two separate accruals, with different rates and different rules of use. Spending sick days as vacation, or the reverse, is usually outside policy even when the combined day count looks sufficient.
Ask for the balances separately. A combined total hides which of the two is running out, which is exactly the figure you need before planning.