See exactly how many leave days you have left
Enter your start date and the leave days you have already taken, and the calculator works out what you have accrued to date, the balance you have left, and the cash value of the unused days. The reference is article 109 of the Saudi Labour Law issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, or article 61 of the Jordanian Labour Law when you pick Jordan.
How the balance is calculated
A leave balance is not a fixed number handed out once at the start of the year. It builds up over time: entitlement is credited for each completed year of service, and for part of a year in proportion to the time actually served. The formula the calculator uses is:
Remaining balance = balance carried over + accrued to the balance date − days taken
The accrued figure adds up each completed service year at its own rate, then adds the current year in proportion to the days elapsed within it. That is why the calculator returns exact whole numbers on every anniversary of your start date: 21 days at one year, 42 at two, 63 at three, and so on.
The difference between this and simply dividing service days by 365 is not academic. The shortcut returns 63.06 days for three years of service that happen to include a leap day, and it moves the five-year upgrade a day either side of its real anniversary.
Annual leave under the Saudi Labour Law
Article 109 gives the employee annual leave of no fewer than 21 days, rising to no fewer than 30 days once five consecutive years have been served with the same employer, with the leave paid in advance.
That is a floor and not a ceiling. An agreement for fewer days is not valid even with the employee's consent, and an employer may grant more in the contract or in the company's own regulations. If your contract gives you more than the statutory minimum, put that number in the contractual leave days field and the calculator will use it instead.
The point most calculators get wrong is that the five-year increase applies going forward only. An employee who has completed five years has accrued 105 days, that is five years at 21, and those years are not re-credited at 30. From then on, 30 days are credited for each following year.
Annual leave under the Jordanian Labour Law
Article 61 of the Jordanian Labour Law gives the employee annual leave on full pay of fourteen days for each year of service, rising to twenty-one days once five consecutive years have been served with the same employer. An employee with less than a full year of service is entitled to leave in proportion to the time worked.
The same article adds a rule the Saudi wording does not state as directly: weekly rest days and official and religious holidays are not counted as part of the annual leave.
The two entitlements side by side
| Item | Saudi Arabia | Jordan |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory reference | Labour Law article 109 | Labour Law article 61 |
| Annual entitlement | 21 days | 14 days |
| After five consecutive years | 30 days | 21 days |
| Part of a year | In proportion to time served | In proportion to time served |
| Public holidays within leave | Not deducted | Excluded by the article |
| Weekly rest within leave | Counted, leave runs on calendar days | Excluded by the article |
| Currency | Saudi riyal | Jordanian dinar |
Leave pay when the employment ends
Article 111 of the Saudi Labour Law entitles the employee to pay for accrued leave days not used before leaving, for the period no leave was taken for, and to leave pay for part of a year in proportion to the time served.
That is what the optional monthly wage field is for. Enter it and the calculator values the balance by multiplying the remaining days by the daily wage, which is the monthly wage divided by 30. An overdrawn balance has no cash value, because more has been taken than was earned.
A worked example
An employee in the Saudi private sector started on 1 January 2019 and checks the balance on 1 January 2025, six full years later. They have taken 40 days, carry over 5 days, and earn 12,000 a month.
- First five years: five years at 21 days, or 105 days.
- Year six: 30 days, since the entitlement rose once the five years were complete.
- Total accrued: 135 days.
- Remaining balance: 5 carried over plus 135 accrued less 40 taken, or 100 days.
- Leave pay: 100 days at a daily wage of 400, or 40,000.
The same employee working in Jordan would have accrued 91 days, that is 70 for the first five years and 21 for the sixth, leaving a balance of 56 days.
What sits outside the annual leave balance
- Sick leave: a separate entitlement with its own conditions and pay rates, not deducted from the annual balance.
- Hajj leave, maternity leave and occasion leave: each stands on its own.
- Public holidays and Eid: paid rest days that are not charged to your balance.
- Unpaid leave: accrual over that period may be suspended, depending on what was agreed, so check your contract.
Because each of those carries different rules, this tool calculates the annual leave balance alone. For what is owed at the end of employment use the end of service calculator, for extra hours use the overtime calculator, and for monthly take-home pay use the salary calculator.
Tracking leave balances across a team
Working out one employee's balance on paper is easy enough. Tracking a whole team needs a record that updates itself with every leave request, and an accounting side that recognises the obligation. Unused leave is a liability the business carries, not an expense that appears in the month it is paid, and estimating it at each period end is part of producing sound statements. You can record that obligation in Qoyod accounting software through journal entries and expense management.
Frequently asked questions about leave balance
Short answers on annual leave entitlement, how the balance accrues, and leave pay.
How do I work out my annual leave balance?
Entitlement is credited for each completed year of service, and for part of a year in proportion to the time you actually served. On a 21-day entitlement, three completed years earn 63 days. Add anything carried over from previous years, subtract the days you have taken, and what is left is your balance.
How many annual leave days does the Saudi Labour Law give?
No fewer than 21 days a year, rising to at least 30 days once the employee has completed five consecutive years with the same employer, under article 109. That is a floor rather than a ceiling: an agreement for fewer days is not valid, and a contract or company policy may grant more.
Does the five-year increase apply retroactively?
No. The higher rate applies from year six onward, and the first five years are not re-credited at 30 days. An employee at exactly five years in Saudi Arabia has accrued 105 days, not 150, and then earns 30 days for each following year.
How many annual leave days does the Jordanian Labour Law give?
Fourteen days on full pay for each year of service, rising to twenty-one days once the employee has completed five consecutive years with the same employer, under article 61. An employee with less than a full year of service is entitled to leave in proportion to the time worked.
Do weekly rest days and public holidays count against the balance?
Public holidays and Eid do not come out of the annual leave balance in either country. Weekly rest is where the two differ: article 61 in Jordan expressly excludes it from the annual leave count, while in Saudi Arabia leave runs on calendar days, so weekly rest days that fall inside a leave period are counted and those immediately before or after it are not.
What happens to my balance if I leave the job?
You are entitled to pay for the accrued days you did not use, and for part of a year in proportion to the time you served, under article 111 of the Saudi Labour Law. The calculator values that by multiplying the remaining balance by the daily wage, which is the monthly wage divided by 30.
Does sick leave come out of the annual leave balance?
No. Sick leave is a separate entitlement with its own conditions and pay rates, and so are hajj leave, maternity leave and occasion leave. This tool calculates the annual leave balance only. Unpaid leave is different again: accrual over that period may be suspended, depending on what the two parties agreed.
Why is my balance showing as negative?
Because the number of days in the days-taken field is larger than what you had accrued by the balance date. That happens when an employer grants leave in advance against future entitlement. Check the figure against your HR statement, and confirm the start date is right before relying on it.