Family Responsibility Leave: Three Days and When You Can Take It

Family responsibility leave, often called compassionate or bereavement leave, is a short paid leave entitlement in section 27 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (the BCEA). It is narrow by design: three days a year, for a short list of family events.

All figures are current as of October 2026. Section references follow the SAFLII consolidation of the BCEA updated to 1 May 2026.

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, consult an attorney, or contact Legal Aid South Africa (0800 110 110) if you cannot afford one.

Who is eligible

Section 27(1) applies to an employee "who has been in employment with an employer for longer than four months; and who works for at least four days a week for that employer." Both conditions must be met, so a new employee in their first four months, or someone who works three days a week, has no statutory entitlement, although a contract or policy may give one.

Salary does not matter. The 2026 earnings threshold of R269,600.90 a year does not switch off any leave rights. A collective agreement may vary the number of days and the circumstances in which the leave is granted (s27(7)), so check any agreement that covers your workplace.

Domestic workers are covered by a sectoral determination with its own family responsibility leave rule, which differs from section 27. See domestic worker rights.

When you can take it

Your employer must grant the leave at your request, "which the employee is entitled to take" (s27(2)):

• When your child is sick.
• When someone close to you dies: your spouse or life partner, or your parent, adoptive parent, grandparent, child, adopted child, grandchild or sibling.

That list is closed. The Act does not include a sick spouse, partner or parent, and the death list does not name parents-in-law, aunts, uncles or cousins. Leave for those situations depends on your contract, a workplace policy, or agreement with your employer, for example using annual leave or unpaid leave.

One interpretation point: the BCEA defines a "child" as a person under 18 years of age, which suggests the sick-child ground covers children under 18. The death ground separately lists "child" and "adopted child". That is a reading of the definitions rather than a settled rule, so if the age of a sick child matters in your case, check your contract or workplace policy, or take advice.

The birth of a child is no longer a ground

As originally enacted in 1997, section 27(2)(a) allowed family responsibility leave "when the employee’s child is born". Section 4 of the Labour Laws Amendment Act 10 of 2018 repealed that paragraph with effect from 1 January 2020. Since then, section 27 does not allow family responsibility leave for a birth. Domestic workers are the exception: their sectoral determination still lists the birth of the worker's child as a ground (Sectoral Determination 7, clause 21).

Leave around a birth or adoption is now parental leave. Since the Constitutional Court’s judgment in Van Wyk and Others v Minister of Employment and Labour [2025] ZACC 20 on 3 October 2025, the interim parental leave rules differ significantly from the published Act; see maternity and parental leave for how they work now.

Three days per cycle, paid at your normal wage

The entitlement is three days in total per annual leave cycle, not three days per event. The annual leave cycle is the 12 months from your start date, or from the end of your previous cycle (s20(1)).

Each day is paid at "the wage the employee would ordinarily have received for work on that day", on your usual pay day (s27(3)). You may take the leave for the whole or part of a day (s27(4)), so a few hours to take a sick child to a clinic uses only part of a day.

Proof your employer may ask for

Section 27(5) states: "Before paying an employee for leave in terms of this section, an employer may require reasonable proof of an event contemplated in subsection (2) for which the leave was required."

The Act does not list specific documents. What is reasonable depends on the event: for a sick child, a note from the health professional who saw the child would usually be enough; for a death, a death certificate, funeral notice or similar document. The proof is a condition of payment, so if you cannot provide it, your employer may decline to pay for the days.

Unused days lapse

Section 27(6) provides that "an employee’s unused entitlement to leave in terms of this section lapses at the end of the annual leave cycle in which it accrues." Unused days do not carry over and, unlike annual leave, are not paid out when you leave a job.

Related leave

If you are ill yourself, see sick leave. For holidays and time off generally, see annual leave. The South Africa labour law section links every guide in this series, and the South Africa Laws hub covers the wider site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I take family responsibility leave when my baby is born?

Not under section 27 of the BCEA: the birth-of-a-child ground was repealed with effect from 1 January 2020 by the Labour Laws Amendment Act 10 of 2018, and leave around a birth now falls under the parental leave rules. Domestic workers are the exception, because their sectoral determination still lists the birth of the worker's child.

Which family members count for family responsibility leave?

For a death: your spouse or life partner, parent, adoptive parent, grandparent, child, adopted child, grandchild or sibling. For illness, only your child being sick counts. In-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins are not on the list in section 27.

Can I take family responsibility leave to look after a sick parent or spouse?

Not under the BCEA. The only illness ground in section 27 is a sick child. Your contract or workplace policy may allow it, or you could ask to use annual or unpaid leave.

Do unused family responsibility leave days carry over to next year?

No. Section 27(6) says unused days lapse at the end of the annual leave cycle in which they accrue, and they are not paid out when you leave.

Can my employer refuse to pay family responsibility leave without proof?

Section 27(5) allows your employer to require reasonable proof of the event before paying you. If you do not provide reasonable proof, your employer may decline to pay for the leave.