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Can I force my employees to forfeit annual leave which they don’t take?

Let’s first clear up a few legal terms:

• Non-statutory annual leave is leave over and above the minimum amount of leave the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA) says you must give your employees. The employment contract regulates this type of leave.
  
  
• Statutory annual leave is regulated by the BCEA in the following sections:
  
  

→ Section 19 (2): The BCEA’s leave provisions don’t apply to the leave you grant an employee in addition to these provisions;

→Section 20: Every employee is entitled to 21 consecutive days’ (or the amount of working days he would normally work in a 21-day period) leave per 12-month leave cycle;

→Section 20(4): You must grant annual leave not later than six months after the end of the annual leave cycle;

→Section 40(b): When an employee resigns, you must pay him remuneration for any period of annual leave due in terms that the employee hasn’t taken.

However, keep these judgements in mind when you make any decision about leave

• According to Jooste v Kohler Packaging Limited (2003) 12 LC 6.7.2:
  
  - An employee can only claim leave pay for a previous leave cycle;
  - Employees must insist on taking leave;
  - If employees don’t take leave in a previous leave cycle, they forfeit it.
  
  
• Jardine v Tongaat-Hulett Sugar Ltd (2003) 12 LC 6.7.1:
  
  - The BCEA only regulates the minimum leave entitlement in terms of the BCEA;
  - Your obligation is to ensure that your employee takes their minimum leave requirements; and
  - If your employee doesn’t take leave, they don’t automatically forfeit it.
  
  
  Source: Labourwise.