Six working days is the statutory floor — and it is low

Under Section 18 of the Labour Act, the statutory minimum annual leave for workers covered by the Act is six working days after 12 months of continuous service, with full pay.

For young workers under 16, including apprentices, it rises to at least 12 working days.

Six days is a floor, not a norm

Most formal employers in Nigeria offer considerably more — commonly 15 to 25 days — through contract or policy. The statutory minimum is unusually low by international standards and rarely reflects market practice.

Deferral and the "use it or lose it" question

Section 20 permits deferral of leave by mutual agreement for up to 24 months.

But the NICN's position on forfeiture has become clear: a blanket use-it-or-lose-it policy is legally precarious.

The principle established in recent rulings is this: if an employer operationally prevented you from taking leave — kept you in the office, denied requests, ran continuous critical projects — you retain the right to that leave. Either to take it later, or to receive the cash equivalent at termination, calculated at your final monthly salary rate.

The most common payroll dispute

Carry-over without cash-out at termination is what the NICN sees most. The employer did not pay leave in lieu; the employee claims years of accrued untaken leave.

If you have been unable to take leave because of workload, document it. Emails declining your leave requests are exactly the kind of evidence that matters.

Rest during the working day

Section 13(3) provides that where you work six hours or more a day, the work must be interrupted by rest intervals of not less than one hour in aggregate.

Maternity leave

Section 54 provides 12 weeks of maternity leave, with at least six weeks taken after confinement, and at least 50% of normal wages if you have been employed for six months or more.

It is unlawful to give notice of termination during maternity leave, or notice that expires during it. That protection applies broadly.