"How many leaves do I have left?" is the question HR answers most, and the one most spreadsheets get wrong for new joiners and mid-year exits. Leave accrues pro-rata — a 24-day annual quota is 2 days a month, so someone who joined on 15 July has earned about 13 days by year end, not 24. This calculator computes the available balance as of any date from the annual entitlement, the joining date, the leave year (January or April), carry-forward and leave already taken, and shows the accrued-to-date figure that matters for encashment at exit.
The pro-rata rule
Balance as of a date = carried forward + (annual quota × months elapsed in the leave year ÷ 12) − leave taken. For a new joiner, months elapsed count from the joining month. A 24-day quota, joined 10 April, leave year from 1 April, as of 30 September: 24 × 6 ÷ 12 = 12 days accrued; with 3 taken, the balance is 9. Some companies credit leave in advance (the full quota on 1 January) and recover excess on exit; others credit monthly. The calculator supports both by letting you enter carry-forward and choose the accrual basis.
What the law provides
- Factories Act: one day of earned leave for every 20 days worked in the previous year (after 240 days' attendance) — roughly 15 days a year for a six-day week; carry forward up to 30 days.
- Shops and Establishments Acts vary by state: Maharashtra gives 21 days' privilege leave a year, Karnataka 18 (one for every 20 days worked), Delhi 15, plus casual and sick leave of 7–12 days. Carry-forward limits of 30–45 days are common.
- Encashment: unavailed earned leave is encashed at exit on basic (or basic + DA) ÷ 26 or 30 per day, depending on state and policy; it is tax-free up to ₹25 lakh for non-government employees on retirement or resignation.
- Maternity leave is 26 weeks under the Maternity Benefit Act for the first two children; paternity leave is policy, not statute, for private employers.
- The Labour Codes standardise earned leave at one day per 20 days worked and allow encashment of leave beyond 30 days at year end; see The four Labour Codes are in force.
How to use the calculator
- Enter the annual leave entitlement (earned/privilege leave) and the date of joining.
- Choose whether the leave year starts 1 January or 1 April.
- Enter carry-forward from last year and leave taken this year.
- Set the "as of" date — today, or a planned last working day.
- Read the balance, the accrued-to-date figure and the projected year-end balance. For exits, multiply the balance by the per-day rate to estimate encashment.
Practical policies for small teams
- Publish the leave types and quotas in a one-page policy; ambiguity costs more than leave.
- Credit earned leave monthly to avoid recovery arguments when someone leaves in February after taking 20 days in January.
- Decide sandwich rules (weekends between leave days) and state them.
- Keep a register — the team payroll calculator accepts leave-without-pay days when computing monthly salary.
- On exit, show the encashment on the F&F sheet and the wage slip; settle within two working days of the last day.
Related tools
- Notice period calculator — adjust leave against notice or plan the LWD.
- Business days calculator — count working days for a leave request.
- Team payroll calculator — LWP deductions and encashment in payroll.
- In-hand salary calculator — the per-day rate from monthly gross.
- Experience letter generator — exit paperwork.