Accrued leave

Accrued leave is a term used in the workplace to refer to a vacation or paid time off that an employee has earned but not used. This means that you are «accruing» hours of vacation or PTO as you work, and those hours can be redeemed in order to take time off from work. Accrued leave is distinct from any other kind of paid leave, such as sick days or bereavement days; all accrued leave must be used at one time.

Generally, you can think of accrued leave as a «vacation» or «paid time off» balance. 

The exact amount of days an employee will accrue each year varies according to company policy and state law; however, most companies allow between 20–30 days per year depending on their industry and location (for example: California requires employers to provide 1 hour per 30 hours worked).