Annual Leave in Kenya: How Many Days You Get and Whether Unused Leave Can Be Forfeited

If you are asking how annual leave in Kenya works, the answer is mainly in section 28 of the Employment Act, 2007. It sets the statutory minimum, explains how leave can be divided or postponed, and provides for a proportionate entitlement when some employment ends. Court decisions have not spoken with one voice on what happens to leave left unused beyond the statutory periods.

I’m Ashley Karimi Chege, an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya. This guide explains the statutory text and selected decisions in general terms. Your contract or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) may give you better terms.

How many days of annual leave do I get in Kenya?

Section 28(1)(a) of the Employment Act, 2007 sets the annual minimum at three weeks of leave with full pay after each 12 consecutive months of service. The provision states the entitlement in working days, not calendar days. Section 28 does not explain in detail how every work pattern or public holiday is counted. Your written employment particulars should state the annual-leave entitlement, including public holidays, and enough information to calculate holiday pay. Check your contract, applicable CBA and workplace leave policy, and ask HR to confirm how your leave dates are counted.

The statutory minimum does not prevent an employer from offering more leave. Check your written employment particulars and any CBA that applies to your role.

How is annual leave calculated?

Dividing the 21-day annual minimum by 12 gives an average of 1.75 days a month. The Act expressly uses the 1.75-day monthly calculation for qualifying termination; it does not state in section 28(1)(a) that every employee’s day-to-day leave balance must be credited monthly in exactly that way. Check how your contract, CBA or written policy handles balances and fractions.

Section 28(1)(b) separately addresses termination. If employment ends after two or more consecutive months of service during a leave-earning period, it provides at least one and three-quarter days of leave with full pay for each completed month in that period, to be taken consecutively. Ask the employer to show the completed months, any leave already taken and the resulting balance in its written calculation.

Can I split my annual leave?

Section 28(2) permits the minimum entitlement to be taken in installments with the employee’s consent. Unless the parties or an applicable CBA agree otherwise, section 28(3) requires one installment to be at least two uninterrupted working weeks where the employee’s service entitles them to that period. Keep the agreed dates in writing.

Can unused annual leave be carried forward?

Under section 28(4), the uninterrupted part of split leave must be taken during the 12 consecutive months of service in which it falls due. The remainder must be taken no later than 18 months after the end of that leave-earning period.

For example, if the leave-earning period ends on 31 December 2019, section 28(4) sets 30 June 2021 as the latest date to take the remainder of split leave, unless an agreement or CBA provides otherwise. Keep the leave-year dates, requests, responses and any agreement on postponement in writing.

Can my employer forfeit unused annual leave?

Section 28(4) sets a deadline for taking the remainder of split leave. The Act does not state a general forfeiture rule in those terms, and courts have taken different approaches to the effect of the deadline and to contractual or HR-manual clauses.

• Against forfeiture: In Rumba Mnyika Nguta v Southern Hills Development Agency Limited t/a Radio Kaya [2020] KEELRC 85 (KLR), the claimant had taken 21 leave days in 2015 and 10 in 2016, leaving 11 days. The court rejected the employer’s forfeiture position and treated untaken leave as an accrued benefit payable on demand; the leave award was Ksh 4,230.
• Applying the 18-month limit: In Maureen Nyaboke v Creative Consolidated System Limited [2021] KEELRC 26 (KLR) , the court limited an eight-year leave-pay claim to 18 months and awarded Ksh 14,700. In Ashiono v Majid & 2 others [2025] KEELRC 2512 (KLR), the court applied section 28(4) to allow Ksh 44,100 for the last 18 months of commuted leave pay, rather than the Ksh 218,464 claimed. In that case the court also noted that the employer’s records required under sections 10 and 74 had not rebutted the employee’s evidence that he had not taken leave.
• Read the contract with the Act: A workplace policy may explain how leave is scheduled, but it cannot necessarily reduce a statutory minimum. Whether a clause applies to a particular balance or claim can depend on the statutory text and the relevant decision.

These decisions do not create a simple rule that every unused day is automatically lost or that every old balance must always be paid. The statutory 18-month rule and the facts of each case matter. Apply for leave, request a written balance, and get advice promptly if your employer says a balance has expired or refuses payment.

Who keeps records of my leave?

Section 74(1) of the Employment Act requires an employer to keep records for each employee. The specified information includes annual-leave entitlement, days taken and days due. Ask HR for a leave statement and keep your own copies of applications, approvals, payslips and responses.

If a dispute arises, records may be important evidence. The existence of a record-keeping duty does not by itself decide every question about the burden of proof, so preserve your own documentation and seek advice about the particular claim.

What leave pay am I owed when I leave my job?

For example, a person who has completed eight months in the relevant leave-earning period and taken no leave has a proportional balance of 14 working days at the 1.75-day monthly rate. This illustrates the leave-day calculation only; it is not a calculation of the cash amount.

Section 28 uses “full pay” for this entitlement, but does not set out a single monthly-salary-to-daily-rate divisor for every employment arrangement. Check your contract, applicable wage order or CBA and the employer’s final-pay calculation. Ask for the daily-rate method and leave balance in writing before accepting the calculation.

Section 89 of the Act sets time limits for proceedings under the Act or a contract of service. Limitation questions can depend on when a particular cause of action arose and the nature of the claim; do not assume that an 18-month carry-forward period is the same as the court-filing deadline. Get advice promptly if leave pay is disputed.

What did the Kulati case decide?

In Kulati v Music Copyright Society Ltd [2024] KEELRC 13440 (KLR), the claimant sought accrued leave pay after her employment ended. The court considered her employer’s leave records, including a March 2019 payslip showing a balance of 136.5 days, and found that the employer had not proved the leave was taken or commuted. It rejected a general contractual/HR-manual forfeiture clause and awarded Ksh 1,477,216 for leave pay covering the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2019–20 leave years. The judgment also recognises the section 28(4) split-leave situation in which unused portions may be forfeited.

The decision is important, but it does not erase the different approaches in other cases. Read its full facts and reasoning alongside the other decisions and the applicable version of the Act before relying on it in a dispute.

How can I protect my annual-leave entitlement?

1. Confirm your leave year. Check your contract and ask HR when the 12-month period begins.
2. Apply in writing. Include the dates and number of days requested, and keep the response.
3. Record postponements. If leave cannot be taken, ask for the reason, agreed dates and deadline in writing.
4. Check your balance. Compare your own record with the statement and payslips from your employer.
5. Raise discrepancies promptly. Write to HR or your employer before the issue becomes harder to document.