Paid leave cost comparison: 4 programs for shop rates

• California requires employers to generally provide 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave starting on January 1, 2024, according to California Department of Industrial Relations .
• New York requires leave accrual at a rate not less than one hour for every thirty hours worked, according to New York State .
• UK holiday entitlement is the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday, according to GOV.UK .
• Cost each program on its own line, because each uses a different measurement base for entitlement.

Compare the applicable program's stated entitlement and balance rules separately before entering leave into your technician labor cost sheet. Do not mix entitlement units from different jurisdictions in a single calculation. California requires 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave starting January 1, 2024 California Department of Industrial Relations . This specific entitlement defines the baseline for California-based technician labor costs. Other programs use different measurement units, such as hours worked or weekly days, which cannot be directly substituted for this daily or hourly minimum.

When building a labor cost sheet, identify which jurisdiction applies to each technician. For related sheet inputs, see Texas labor costs: 5 figures for technician sheets . If your shop operates in multiple states or countries, you must maintain separate cost lines for each applicable program. Using a single blended rate obscures the distinct legal obligations for each location. For example, a technician working in California is entitled to the 5-day or 40-hour standard California Department of Industrial Relations . A technician in a different jurisdiction may accrue leave based on hours worked or weekly averages.

Identify the program relevant to your technicians and annotate your current labor cost sheet with its sourced entitlement, accrual and balance provisions.

Start with the specific accrual rule for your jurisdiction before entering leave into a cost sheet. California requires employers to generally provide 5 days or 40 hours of paid sick leave to employees starting on January 1, 2024, according to California Department of Industrial Relations . Washington State requires workers to earn at least one hour of paid sick leave for every 40 hours they work, according to Washington State Department of Labor & Industries . New York State sets an accrual floor where leave must be accrued at a rate not less than one hour for every thirty hours worked, according to New York State . In the UK, paid annual leave is a legal right that an employer must provide, according to GOV.UK . The UK entitlement is the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday, according to GOV.UK .

These four sources define distinct measurement units and accrual triggers. California uses a fixed entitlement of 5 days or 40 hours effective from January 1, 2024. Washington uses an accrual rate of 1 hour for every 40 hours worked. New York uses an accrual floor of 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. The UK uses a weekly equivalence for annual leave. Do not mix these units in a single labor cost line item. Check the exact wording on the relevant page for your technicians' work location.

Use the source page for your specific jurisdiction to verify the current rule. Do not apply one publisher's rule to every firm or every location.

Identify the correct government page for your shop's location and record the specific accrual or entitlement figure from that page.

Leave entitlements use different measurement units, so you cannot swap a day count for an hour count without changing the total value. California’s paid sick leave rules illustrate how day-based usage interacts with a fixed hour balance. California Department of Industrial Relations gives a specific example for shorter workdays: if an employee works only 6 hours a day and takes five days of paid sick leave, for a total of 30 hours, the employee will still have 10 hours remaining. This example shows that the number of days taken does not always equal the number of hours deducted from the available balance. If you cost labor using days, you must verify how those days convert to hours under the specific program’s rules. A technician working shorter days may consume fewer hours per day of leave, leaving a different remainder than a full-time worker.

The UK uses a weekly measurement for its holiday entitlement. According to GOV.UK , you can use the holiday entitlement calculator to estimate entitlement based on the average days or hours worked each week. When building a labor cost sheet, note that UK entitlement is estimated from average weekly work patterns. A technician with variable weekly hours will have a different estimated entitlement than one with a consistent schedule.

Do not mix these units in a single cost calculation. California’s example relies on a specific daily work hour to derive the remaining balance. The UK guidance relies on average weekly days or hours to estimate the total entitlement. Using California’s day-based deduction logic for a UK employee, or the reverse, will produce an incorrect cost figure. Keep the measurement unit consistent with the jurisdiction’s stated method.

Assume a technician works 30 hours in a week, and the rule is 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked. The technician accrues 1 hour that week. Over 10 such weeks, that totals 10 hours of accrued leave, which you can enter as one leave line on the cost sheet. This is a hypothetical example with round numbers; confirm the rule on the source page for your location before costing.

Washington State Department of Labor & Industries requires employers to allow employees to use their paid sick leave to care for themselves or their family members no more than 90 days after they start working, as stated in Paid Sick Leave . This 90-day maximum waiting period sets the latest point at which a technician can draw on accrued leave for personal or family care under Washington’s rules.

For annual balance carryover, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries specifies that employees’ unused paid sick leave balances of 40 hours or less must carry over from year to year, according to Paid Sick Leave . Balances exceeding 40 hours are not required to carry over under this provision.

On returning employees, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries states that employees’ unused paid sick leave balances must be reinstated if an employee is terminated or leaves their job for any reason and returns to the same employer within 12 months, according to Paid Sick Leave .

California’s rule for returning employees also uses a 12-month window. The California Department of Industrial Relations requires that accrued and unused sick leave be restored to an employee who returns to the same employer within 12 months from the previous separation, according to California Paid Sick Leave: Frequently Asked Questions .

When comparing these provisions for your labor cost sheet, record the 90-day use window and 40-hour carryover limit for Washington technicians, and the 12-month reinstatement rule for both Washington and California returning employees. For how leave hours fit a field timesheet, see Paid-time rules for a field timesheet: 8 checks . Verify which jurisdiction’s rules apply to each technician before entering leave values into your cost calculations.

Use the table below to align each program’s stated entitlement and balance rules before entering leave data into your cost sheet. Each row reflects the specific provision documented by that jurisdiction’s agency.

Verify which row applies to your technicians by matching their work location to the publisher’s jurisdiction.

Coverage thresholds determine which leave provisions apply to a specific technician based on their work history and employment status. In California, the law covers all employees who work at least 30 days for the same employer within a year, including part-time, as-needed, in-home supportive services (IHSS) providers, and temporary employees, with some narrow exceptions according to California Department of Industrial Relations . This means a part-time technician in California who has completed 30 days of work for the same employer within a year is covered by the state's paid sick leave requirements.

In New York State, all private-sector employees are covered by paid sick leave regulations, regardless of industry, occupation, part-time status, and overtime exempt status according to New York State . This broad coverage applies to technicians in various repair and service roles across the state. If net income is greater than $1 million, an employer must provide up to 40 hours of paid sick leave according to New York State .

For UK-based technicians, the treatment of bank holidays differs from US state sick leave programs. Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave according to GOV.UK . However, an employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave according to GOV.UK . This flexibility allows UK service businesses to structure annual leave policies that either separate bank holidays from statutory leave or integrate them, depending on internal policy choices.

When costing technician labor, verify the specific employee status and location to identify the correct program. Check whether a technician meets the 30-day threshold in California or falls under the private-sector coverage in New York. For UK operations, confirm whether your policy includes bank holidays in statutory annual leave. Today, annotate each technician’s entry on your labor cost sheet with the sourced rule for their location.

Related guides: Four technician status mistakes before labor rates · Four unemployment wage caps to check before labor rates .

How do paid leave programs compare for technician labor costs?

Paid leave programs differ by jurisdiction and use distinct measurement units, such as hours, days, or weeks. You must cost each program separately based on its specific entitlement and balance rules. Mixing these units in a single cost sheet leads to inaccurate labor projections.

Does California paid sick leave cover my part-time technicians?

Yes, part-time employees are covered if they work at least 30 days for the same employer within a year. According to the California Department of Industrial Relations , this coverage also includes as-needed and temporary employees.

Can UK bank holidays count toward statutory annual leave?

Yes, an employer can choose to include bank holidays as part of a worker’s statutory annual leave, according to GOV.UK . Bank or public holidays do not have to be given as paid leave.

What unused sick leave must carry over in Washington?

Employees’ unused paid sick leave balances of 40 hours or less must carry over from year to year. According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries , this specific balance threshold determines the mandatory carryover amount.