Leave Policy Guide: what you are actually owed
Paid vacation, sick days and public holidays — the legal floor in the US and China, what is customary on top, and how to check your own company's policy.
Annual leave: legal floor vs. custom
| Leave type | United States | China |
|---|---|---|
| Paid annual leave | No federal mandate; typical 10 days after 1 year, 15 after 5 years | Statutory: 5 days (1-10 yrs), 10 (10-20 yrs), 15 (20+ yrs) of total career tenure |
| Sick leave | No federal paid mandate; several states require 3-5 paid days | Medical-protection period 3-24 months by tenure; sick pay at least 80% of local minimum wage |
| Public holidays | 11 federal holidays (paid only for federal employees) | About 13 paid statutory holidays; working them pays 300% of daily wage |
| Medical / family leave | FMLA: up to 12 weeks unpaid, job-protected (eligibility rules) | Birth, medical and marriage leave per national rules; local rules extend them |
Why the two systems look so different
The US sets almost no federal leave floor and lets the market decide — the result is that big companies offer 15-25 days while small startups often offer none. China sets a hard statutory minimum that every employer must meet, and many companies add extra benefits on top. If you work in China, your legal floor is 5 paid vacation days after your first year of work, counted across your whole career — not just at your current employer.
How to read your own company policy (15 minutes)
- Find the employee handbook (intranet, HR folder, or ask HR by email) and search: annual leave, sick leave, public holiday.
- Note three things: how leave accrues (by pay period vs. annual grant), whether unused days carry over, and the notice required.
- Compare it against the table above. Anything below the statutory floor (China) is a question for HR; anything above the floor is a benefit, not an obligation.
One point often missed on both sides: in China, accrued annual leave the employer cannot arrange must be paid out at 300% of daily wage, and unused leave paid on departure. If HR tells you expiring leave "does not carry over," ask whether it pays out — many disputes are settled by the payout rule, not the carry-over rule.
How it works
- Read the comparison table to learn the legal floor where you work.
- Pull your company handbook and find the three accrual details: rate, carry-over, notice.
- File leave requests through the official system with written coverage plans — never a verbal favor.
In the US, yes: federal law requires no paid vacation, though most large employers offer 10-15 days. In China, no: after one continuous year of employment you are legally entitled to 5, 10 or 15 paid annual days depending on total career tenure.
They can ask you to reschedule for business reasons, but they cannot simply deny accrued statutory leave as punishment. In China, if the employer cannot arrange annual leave, it must pay 300% of your daily wage for the unused days.
In the US it depends entirely on company policy — use-it-or-lose-it is legal in most states. In China, annual leave that the employer failed to let you take must be carried over, and unused days settled at 300% upon departure.
In the US there is no federal paid sick leave; a handful of states and cities (California, New York) require 3-5 paid sick days. In China, during the medical-protection period employers must pay sick pay of at least 80% of the local minimum wage.
Give as much notice as your handbook asks (often 2 weeks), hand over coverage for your tasks in writing, and send the request by email or HR system — never just a chat message. A documented request is a protected right; an offhand one is a favor.
Who this tool is for
This guide is for anyone who has ever counted their remaining days twice and got two different answers: a new employee comparing a handbook with a contract, a long-serving worker whose leave did not grow when the years did, someone planning a resignation with unused days on the balance, or a manager who needs to explain a policy without guessing.
It is also useful before a first serious leave request, when the difference between "the company allows" and "the law requires" decides how much notice you should give and what you should put in writing. It can also help before you negotiate an extra week as part of an offer.
How to read your result
In China, the annual-leave bracket is driven by total career tenure, not by years at the current employer: 5 days in the 1-to-10 year band, 10 days in the 10-to-20 band, and 15 days beyond 20. Statutory public holidays are a separate category and should not be counted inside annual leave. Sick leave has its own medical-protection period and a sick-pay floor tied to the local minimum wage rather than to your normal salary.
In the US there is no federal paid vacation floor, so the handbook is the real source; state and city rules may add paid sick days. On both sides, read three details before believing a number: how leave accrues, whether unused days carry over, and how much notice a request needs. Unused statutory annual leave that the employer could not arrange is generally settled in money rather than erased, which is why the payout question often matters more than the carry-over question. A useful test: if a handbook figure sits below the floor where you work, treat it as a question rather than a conclusion.
A worked example
An employee in mainland China has 9 years of total career tenure, so the 1-to-10 bracket gives 5 statutory days. The monthly wage is ¥8,700, and the daily figure used here is 8,700 ÷ 21.75 = ¥400. The employer arranges only 2 of the 5 days during the year, leaving 3 days unarranged.
Using the 300% convention on this page, the payout for those 3 days is 3 × 400 × 300% = ¥3,600. One caveat belongs in the same paragraph: whether the normal daily wage is already inside that 300% figure can differ with local practice and the wording of your contract, so ask HR to confirm the calculation in writing before treating ¥3,600 as the final amount. In a US company with no statutory vacation floor, the same 3 days would be settled according to policy or state rule, not by a federal formula.
Common mistakes
- Counting only the years at the current company for China annual leave, which can put you in the wrong bracket.
- Assuming unused days simply vanish because a handbook says so. A policy can shape timing, but it cannot quietly remove a statutory entitlement.
- Folding public holidays into the annual-leave balance, then wondering where the days went.
- Using a 30-day month to estimate a daily wage; the convention here is 21.75.
- Requesting leave only in a chat message. A system request with a written coverage plan is easier to protect.
- Resigning before asking how the unused balance will be settled.
This guide is general information and an estimate, not legal advice, and it does not cover every country, state, city or contract. Leave rules, payout conventions and enforcement differ by jurisdiction and change over time. For a resignation, a disputed balance or any decision with real money attached, consult a licensed professional or your local labor authority.
Sources and further reading
Leave entitlements described here are checked against the sources below. Eligibility, accrual and carry-over rules vary by country, state and employer policy.