Unused annual leave when leaving China: days, 300% rule and the extra amount

First check statutory eligibility and the annual band

Under the national enterprise annual-leave rules, continuous work of at least 12 months establishes the usual qualifying condition; relevant work at different employers can count. The annual day band uses cumulative work history: at least one but under ten years gives five days; ten to under twenty gives ten; twenty or more gives fifteen. Statutory holidays and rest days do not consume these days. Check statutory exclusions, including specified long sickness absences, rather than assuming every employee qualifies in every year. Enhanced company leave and time off in lieu have separate rules and must not be folded into the statutory calculation.

Apply the departure-year formula

Article 12 of the Enterprise Employee Paid Annual Leave Implementation Measures uses: calendar days already spent at the employer in this year ÷ 365 × full-year statutory entitlement − statutory leave already arranged this year. A positive fraction below a whole day is not paid. Use the calendar year and employment dates, not only the balance shown by a company leave system. If the employer has already arranged more leave than this calculation, the Measures say it does not recover that excess. A negative arithmetic result is therefore not automatically a wage deduction. Track previous-year unused leave and agreed carryover separately.

Understand 300% and the wage basis

Under Articles 10 and 11, qualifying statutory unused-leave pay is 300% of daily wage, including normal wages already paid for working that day. Where that normal 100% has been paid, the additional amount is normally 200%, not another 300%. The daily wage is the average monthly wage for the 12 months before the employer pays the unused-leave amount, excluding overtime, divided by 21.75. With fewer than 12 months at the employer, use the actual months. This input differs from the compensation wage average. If the employer arranged leave and the employee declined for personal reasons in writing, only normal wages may be payable under Article 10. A larger contractual entitlement or payment must be assessed under its terms.

Worked example: one whole day and 800 yuan extra

Assume an eligible employee with five full-year statutory days was employed at this employer from 1 January through 30 June 2026: 181 calendar days. One statutory leave day was already arranged. The calculation is 181 ÷ 365 × 5 − 1 = 1.47945 days, giving one payable whole day. Assume the proper leave-pay monthly average, excluding overtime, is 8,700 yuan and normal wages were already paid. Daily wage = 8,700 ÷ 21.75 = 400 yuan. Total 300% for that one day is 1,200 yuan; after the already paid 400-yuan normal component, the extra amount is 800 yuan. If payroll already paid that extra, do not claim it again. A displayed three-day system balance cannot replace these inputs.

What if the leave balance is negative or disputed?

Create a ledger with date, leave type, days charged, approval and payroll treatment. Mark which days were statutory leave, additional company leave or time off in lieu. Compare your employment dates and the full-year band before debating the final balance. For example, in the same 181-day, five-day scenario, three days already arranged give 2.47945 − 3, a negative figure; that alone does not authorise clawback of statutory leave under Article 12. For enhanced company leave, read its lawful terms separately. A written personal refusal and an employer unable to arrange leave are also different facts.

Send a calculation that payroll can answer

Collect qualifying work-history evidence, employment dates, this year’s leave ledger, approved requests, any written refusal, the relevant wage statements and the final settlement. You can write: “Please show the statutory entitlement band, calendar days used, days already arranged, whole days payable, the average excluding overtime, and the 300% total less the normal-pay component already paid. Please separate enhanced leave and time off in lieu. My calculation is [formula]; please identify the different input.” Attach the relevant dates and numbers rather than merely demand payment for a system balance.

Preserve the annual period and act on an unpaid balance

If payroll agrees, obtain an itemised corrected settlement and payment date. Otherwise put each annual period, the days and extra amount claimed in a separate row, with supporting records. A local wage or leave complaint and labour arbitration are possible routes depending on the dispute. Do not assume every unused-leave claim has the same time-limit treatment as unpaid ordinary wages; the claim’s nature and when the right was infringed matter. Use the linked arbitration page, confirm jurisdiction and keep filing receipts. The settlement tool organises arithmetic, while your records establish the inputs and issue.

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