Labor Standards Act §60

Annual Leave Calculator

Hire date, salary, unused days — get accrued leave and unused-leave compensation in one go. Sub-1-year monthly accrual and 2-year increments are auto-handled.

Result

Enter your hire date and click Calculate.

What this tool does

The annual leave calculator applies the three-tier rule of Article 60 of the Korean Labor Standards Act automatically. Employees with under one year of service accrue 1 day per fully-worked month, up to 11 days; those with one year or more and at least 80% attendance receive 15 days; from the third year, 1 extra day is added every two years, capped at 25 days. Enter your hire date and reference date to instantly see accrued leave days and unused-leave compensation (based on monthly salary or daily ordinary wage).

Who uses this

New hires: see how many months in (including probation) leave starts to accrue
HR staff: compute leave entitlement per employee by length of service
Departing employees: convert remaining unused leave to cash and combine with severance
Contract and part-time workers: check monthly accrual rules in the first year
Dispute prevention: pinpoint the every-two-years increment at years 3, 5, 7, etc.

How to use (4 steps)

1Enter your hire date in YYYY-MM-DD format. The reference date defaults to today — change it to calculate as of a specific date.
2Select whether attendance is 80% or higher. Below 80%, the monthly 1-day accrual rule (Article 60(3)) applies instead of 15 days.
3Enter unused leave days and monthly salary (or daily ordinary wage) to auto-calculate compensation. Skip this if you don't need the cash value.
4Review the step-by-step breakdown on the result screen. It also shows the leave you will accrue at your next anniversary (1st year, 2nd year, etc.).

Formula (Labor Standards Act Article 60)

Under 1 year: accrued leave = completed months of service (max 11 days) 1 year or more: accrued leave = 15 days (attendance 80% or higher) 3 years or more: accrued leave = 15 + ⌊(years − 1) ÷ 2⌋ days (cap 25 days) e.g., year 3 = 16 days / year 5 = 17 days / year 9 = 19 days / year 21 = 25 days (cap) Unused leave pay = daily ordinary wage × unused days Daily ordinary wage = monthly ordinary wage ÷ 209 × 8 Basis: Labor Standards Act Article 60(1)(2)(4), MOEL administrative interpretation (209 hours)

Real examples

Example 1: Employee at 7 months of service

Seven full months worked. Under 1 year, so 1 day accrues per month → 7 days of leave. After the first year ends, an additional 15 days accrue separately, granted independently of the 7 days earned in the first year (regardless of whether they were used).

Example 2: Employee at 5 years (monthly salary KRW 3.5M, 5 days unused)

Five years or more, so leave = 15 + ⌊(5−1)÷2⌋ = 15 + 2 = 17 days. Daily ordinary wage = 3,500,000 ÷ 209 × 8 ≈ KRW 133,971. Unused pay = 133,971 × 5 = about KRW 669,856.

Example 3: 21+ years of service (reaching the leave cap)

Year 21: 15 + ⌊(21−1)÷2⌋ = 15 + 10 = 25 days, reaching the statutory cap. Years 22 and 23 stay fixed at 25 days. A company may set a higher cap via work rules, but the statutory floor at this point is 25 days.

Frequently asked questions

Does the probation period count toward length of service?

Yes, probation counts as continuous service. Even if you are confirmed as a regular employee after 3 months of probation, accrual is counted from the hire date, so the leave accrual timing does not change.

Is no leave accrued at all if attendance is below 80%?

No. In a year with attendance below 80%, the 15 days do not accrue, but 1 day still accrues per fully-worked month that year (Article 60(3)). For example, at 75% attendance in year 2, leave accrues for each fully-worked month (up to 11 days).

Is the under-1-year leave (max 11 days) separate from the 15 days at 1 year?

Since the May 2018 amendment, yes — they are separate. In the first year you accrue up to 11 days (1 per month), and at the one-year anniversary an additional 15 days accrue independently. The 15 days are newly granted at the anniversary regardless of whether the first-year leave was used.

When must unused leave pay be paid?

Workplaces that lawfully run a leave-usage promotion scheme are exempt from paying compensation for unused leave. Without such promotion, payment is due by the wage payment date of the month following the leave expiry (typically the one-year expiry date).

Do fixed-term employees accrue leave?

Regardless of contract length, leave accrues if weekly contractual hours are 15 or more. A one-year fixed-term worker can be paid for the leave days accrued before the contract ends. However, very-short-time workers (under 15 hours per week) are excluded from leave entitlement.

What if the company refuses to pay unused leave on departure?

Unused leave pay must be paid within 14 days of the departure date (Labor Standards Act Article 36). If unpaid, you can file a wage-arrears complaint with a regional MOEL office, and the claim must be exercised within 3 years.

Cautions

•This calculator computes statutory leave under the Labor Standards Act and does not reflect leave granted above the statutory standard via work rules or collective agreements.
•Attendance calculation (actual days worked vs. scheduled working days) varies by workplace in its details (holiday treatment, whether parental leave is included, etc.), so confirm the actual figure with HR or a labor attorney.
•The 'ordinary wage' used for leave pay includes regular, uniform allowances beyond base pay. Reimbursement-type allowances such as meal or transport allowances are usually excluded from ordinary wage, but this can vary by workplace.
•Workplaces that run a leave-usage promotion scheme may be exempt from paying for unused leave — verify lawful promotion separately.
•Results are for reference only; for precise leave calculation, consult your workplace work rules and a labor attorney.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-17

LSA §60

15 days of paid leave per year for ≥ 80% attendance. Sub-1-year or < 80% gets 1 day per fully-attended month. From year 3, +1 day every 2 years; cap 25 days.

Unused-leave pay

Unused days are paid as daily ordinary wage × unused count. Daily wage = monthly ÷ 209 × 8 (base + fixed allowances).

Workplaces under 5

Workplaces with fewer than 5 regular employees are exempt from annual leave provisions (LSA §11). Collective agreements may override.