The accountant talked about the benefits of a vacation at her own expense
Unpaid leave can help an employee free up a few days and keep paid leave for a full rest. However, with a long break, an employee not only loses income, but may also face a reduction in vacation time. Selecty accountant Anastasia Shibneva told Izvestia about this on July 27.
When a vacation at your own expense can be beneficial
As a general rule, leave without pay is granted upon a written request from an employee. Its duration is determined by the employee and the employer by agreement. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation ("Leave without pay").
Anastasia Shibneva
Personal leave can be convenient if an employee needs several days to resolve personal issues, such as paperwork, relocation, or family matters that are difficult to combine with work.
At the same time, the specialist noted that in this case, the employee loses earnings only during the days of absence, but retains paid leave for a full rest in the future.
What is the danger of long unpaid leave?
According to the accountant, the main disadvantage of personal leave is the lack of salary. In addition, an extended break may affect the date of the next annual paid leave.
According to Article 121 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation ("Calculation of work experience entitling to annual paid leave"), the length of service entitling to annual basic paid leave includes no more than 14 calendar days of leave without pay during the working year. Days beyond this period are not included in the vacation period.
Therefore, a few days at your own expense and a few months of such a vacation have completely different consequences. Before a long break, it is worth assessing not only the loss of current income, but also the impact on labor and social guarantees.
Shibneva stressed that there are risks in case of illness. She noted that by law, an employer is not required to automatically extend or cancel a vacation due to sick leave. However, by agreement with him, you can change the period of unpaid leave: for this you must provide sick leave and write an application on the day of the opening of the disability certificate or a day later.
Why you shouldn't take a vacation instead of downtime
You should pay special attention to the requests of the employer to write an application at his own expense due to the lack of orders, clients or temporary suspension of work.
Anastasia Shibneva
Leave without pay must be issued on the initiative of the employee himself. The employer has no right to force the team to take unpaid leave in order to reduce the company's expenses.
According to art. 157 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation ("Payment for downtime"), downtime due to the fault of the employer is paid in the amount of at least 2/3 of the average salary. If the reasons do not depend on either the employer or the employee, the employee must also be paid at least 2/3 of the tariff, but already the rate or salary in proportion to the downtime.
According to Shibneva, in this regard, by agreeing to write an application at his own expense instead of registering downtime, an employee may voluntarily lose the payments due to him.
When an employer can refuse
According to the accountant, in most cases, the provision of unpaid leave remains the subject of an agreement. However, for certain categories of employees and life circumstances, the law establishes mandatory rules, which are regulated by art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Thus, the employer is obliged to provide working pensioners with up to 14 calendar days of unpaid leave per year, and employees with disabilities — up to 60 days. Up to five calendar days are allowed for the birth of a child, marriage registration, or death of a close relative.
Other mandatory cases, according to Shibneva, may be provided for by the Labor Code, federal laws or a collective agreement. Therefore, before submitting an application, it is worth checking whether the employee's situation falls into one of these categories.
What to choose instead of a vacation at your own expense
According to the accountant, there is no universal solution. If a person just needs a few free days, they can compare the loss of earnings with the value of the accumulated paid vacation. If you are temporarily out of work for reasons related to the company, you should first find out if the employer should arrange a downtime. In case of illness, you should take sick leave if there are medical grounds for this.
At the same time, Shibneva stressed that dismissal is a more radical option: unlike a vacation, it ends the employment relationship. Therefore, before choosing, she urged to evaluate the reason for the break, its estimated duration, loss of income and the opportunity to return to work.
In conclusion, the accountant drew attention to the fact that personal leave is convenient as a tool for solving personal problems, but it should not become a way to shift the financial difficulties of an employer onto an employee.
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