Fiji Leave Laws & Holidays

Last updated on August 24, 2026.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Fiji

Vacation Quota (Annual Leave)

10 business days

Employees in Fiji are entitled to 10 paid workdays off after completing one full year with the same employer. The employer must pay the employee exactly as if they had worked their normal hours during that time. The employee is entitled to receive their vacation pay before the time off begins. Also, with the employer’s approval, an employee can choose to take cash instead of using their vacation days.

If an employee misses more than 20 regular workdays in a year, they lose their right to paid vacation for that year — unless the time away was covered by an official doctor’s note, or caused by another reason that the employer accepts.

Collective agreements often grant more vacation days.

Taking a Vacation

When an employee qualifies for paid vacation leave, the employer must allow them to take it either all at once or, if the employee asks, split into several parts — but at least one part has to be a full, uninterrupted week.

Accrual

Leave is usually earned gradually throughout a 12-month period of employment.

Carry Over

Unused vacation days may be carried forward for up to four years, as long as the employee takes at least one full week off every year.

Payment of Unused Vacation on Termination

If an employee leaves the company before using all their vacation days, the employer must pay them for it — at a rate of at least five-sixths of a day’s pay for every earned but unused day.

Sick Leave in Fiji

Sick Leave

10 paid working days

Once an employee has stayed with the same employer for more than three months without a break, they become entitled to 10 paid workdays of leave for every year they remain employed.

Unused sick leave does not accrue and is lost at the end of each year.

Employers may require a doctor’s notes from a registered doctor to support the absence.

Family Care Leave

3 paid working days (reinstated 2025)

After working for the same employer for over three months, an employee can take at least five paid workdays each year to look after or support a close family member or someone who lives in their household. A close family member could be an employee’s child, spouse, sibling or parent.

Family care leave can’t be carried over, therefore any unused days from one year are lost when the next year begins.

To qualify for family care leave, an employee must inform their employer as soon as possible when their support is needed.

It was introduced in 2018 at 5 paid days, cut to 2 days during COVID (2020), and restored at 3 paid days per year by the 2025 amendments.

Maternity and Paternity Leave

Maternity Leave in Fiji

98 consecutive days

Women working in Fiji can take up to 98 days of paid maternity leave. They can use up to 42 of those days before the baby is born, and the remaining time after childbirth. A woman may begin her maternity leave either before or after giving birth, as long as she tells her employer the planned dates of leave and submits a doctor’s certificate. During this leave, the employee also receives a daily maternity payment of F$5, as long as she has worked for at least 150 days during the nine months before giving birth.

When maternity leave ends, the employee must be given back her old job position (or higher) or another role with the same level, pay, and status.

An employee can’t be fired while she is on maternity leave. However, if her total time away from work lasts longer than three months, the employer is allowed to terminate her employment.

Payout

Maternity leave is paid by the employer (although funding may come from the employer, government social security, or both; consult local advisors to confirm current rules). Employees receive their full salary while on leave. However, full pay is only for the first three births, half pay for the fourth and any subsequent births.

Paternity Leave in Fiji

5 days (reinstated 2025)

A new becoming father can take five days of paid paternity leave if his wife or partner qualifies for maternity leave — or would qualify if she were employed.

To be entitled to this leave, he:

• must have worked for the same employer for more than three months,
• must be (or will be) the primary caregiver for the baby,
• must give the employer a doctor’s note showing the expected birth date.

An employee may use these five days at any time in the three months leading up to or following the baby’s birth. As long as the total is at least five days and both the employer and the employee agree, the time off may be taken all at once or in smaller chunks.

Employees on paternity leave get full pay for their first three children, but half pay for any additional children after that, the same rule as for maternity leave.

Bereavement Leave in Fiji

3 days

An employee is entitled to 3 days of bereavement leave each year on top of their other leave after working for the same employer for more than three months. These days can’t be carried over, and any unused time is lost when the next year starts.

Jury Duty Leave in Fiji

There is no legal definition of jury duty leave. Trials are decided entirely by a judge without a jury.

Military Leave in Fiji

There is no legal definition of military leave. There is no conscription, service is voluntary.

Voting Leave in Fiji

General elections are declared public holidays to give voters enough time to cast their votes.

Public Holidays in Fiji

11 official public holidays

(*) - The dates of Good Friday, Easter Saturday, and Easter Monday vary each year according to the Christian liturgical calendar.

(**) - Date is movable every year according to the Islamic lunar calendar.

Sources of Fiji Leave Laws

1. Employment Relation Act 2007, https://www.laws.gov.fj/Acts/DisplayAct/2910#

2. Rights of Woman on Maternity Leave, https://laws.gov.fj/Acts/ViewSection/82249?query=ITC%20Act%202012

3. Fiji Government: 2026 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS, https://www.facebook.com/FijiGovernment/posts/2026-public-holidays-cabinet-endorsed-the-2026-public-holiday-datesthe-dates-are/1206499944847534/

4. BILL NO. 21 OF 2018, https://www.parliament.gov.fj/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Bill-21-Employment-Relations-Budget-Amendment.pdf

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.