Vacation at your own expense
The so-called vacation “at your own expense” is provided for in Art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and in labor legislation is listed as leave without pay. This type of employee rest is also called administrative leave.
Based on the law, such leave is granted:
Articles on the topic (click to view)
- Fine for late payment of vacation pay
- What to do with unused vacation
- What to do if your employer does not pay vacation pay
- How long after employment is vacation allowed?
- Is maternity leave taken into account when calculating pensions?
- Accounting for compensation for unused vacation
- Dismissal while on maternity leave
- for family reasons and other valid reasons;
- duration, which is agreed upon by the employee and the employer.
This means that the employer is not obliged to provide the employee with unpaid leave, and if it is unprofitable for him to leave the employee during this period or he considers the reasons given by the employee to be unjustified, he can refuse him leave (exceptions are discussed in the next section).
However, the legislator has not established a maximum period for such leave. Only in Art. 121 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation there is a rule according to which, if an employee has taken leave at his own expense for a period of more than 14 days, the calculation of the calendar year for assigning annual leave is shifted by the amount of the excess.
To receive leave, the employee must submit a written request to the employer. A sample application for leave at your own expense will be given in this article.
Is the employer obliged to provide leave at his own expense to the employee or not?
Vacation without pay implies the opportunity for an employee to be absent from the workplace with the permission of the employer, but wages are not paid for this period.
In most cases, to complete this period, it is necessary to obtain approval from the administration of the business entity.
To obtain consent, a person working at an enterprise must provide the administration with compelling circumstances. Often they must be documented and the appropriate forms sent to the HR department along with the application.
Its duration is determined by the director of the company based on the number of days of rest requested by the employee and the available production capacity. The manager, having studied all the presented facts, makes a decision, and he can reduce the number of days provided to the employee at his own expense.
In addition, existing legal norms establish a list of cases when the manager is obliged to provide days at his own expense to employees and does not have the right to refuse. In this case, the employee is required to submit a request for unpaid leave and it will only constitute written notice.
If an employee is given a period without pay, then during this time the administration does not have the right to terminate the employment contract with him. An employee has the right to resign on leave without pay at his own request or through concluding an agreement to terminate the employment contract.
Important! Leave without pay is provided by the employer at his discretion in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the employee can only ask for it. The employer can either refuse him or provide him with it.
Who is entitled to unpaid leave?
In Art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation defines categories of employees who have the unconditional right to apply for such leave:
- persons who took part in the Great Patriotic War - no more than 35 days a year;
- pensioners who continue to work - no more than 14;
- parents and spouses of military personnel, as well as persons who served in certain government bodies, died or died under circumstances related to their service - up to 14;
- disabled workers – up to 60;
- employees who have such a right in connection with the death of a close relative, registration of marriage, birth of a child – no more than 5.
Other categories can be found in separate norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and other acts, for example:
- employees who are entering higher education institutions or are already receiving higher education;
- employees receiving or planning to receive secondary vocational education;
- in some cases, workers caring for children;
- part-time workers whose vacation time at their main job is less than vacation time at their part-time job;
- state and municipal employees;
- spouses of military personnel who wish to receive leave at the same time as their spouse, if the duration of their leave is less than the leave of the serviceman;
- Heroes of the Soviet Union, Russian Federation;
- proxies of candidates and political parties;
- volunteer firefighters;
- combat veterans, etc.
The right to leave at one's own expense may also be granted to certain categories of employees under the terms of a collective agreement.
It should be noted that unpaid leave is issued only at the request of the employee. An employer cannot independently send an employee on such leave, although in practice this often happens - in the event of lack of work, employees, at the “request” of the employer, write applications for leave without pay, supposedly of their own free will. Such coercion is punishable under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
How to make an application
Like any statement by an employee in the labor sphere, the application in question must be made in writing. Compliance with this condition will allow the employee to protect his interests in the event that his absence from work is regarded as absenteeism and entails disciplinary punishment, including dismissal.
The deadline for submitting an application for leave without pay is not regulated by law, because individual life situations cannot be predicted. In some cases, leave is granted specifically in connection with certain events, such as the birth of a child or the death of a relative.
The application is drawn up in the name of the head of the organization. It must indicate:
- the reason why the employee goes on leave (to care for a disabled child, in connection with marriage registration);
- the period during which the employee will be absent.
This is important to know: Application for leave with travel expenses: sample 2020
HR department employees often encounter the fact that in applications, instead of the legally established concept of “leave without pay,” employees indicate “leave at their own expense” and “administrative leave.” Since such concepts are not provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, questions and disagreements may arise between the parties. To avoid this, we suggest that the organization develop its own application form indicating the correct name of this leave and provide it to employees to fill out with their data.
The employee signs the application indicating his full name. and position, and also puts down the date.
The employer reviews the application and either denies the employee’s request or issues an order to take leave.
applications for leave at your own expense
Application for leave at your own expense: procedure for application and provision
At the same time, there are specific deadlines that the employer must comply with. Thus, on the basis of a written application at the request of an employee, you cannot refuse to provide leave at your own expense during the year (paragraph 5, 6, part 2, article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation):
- up to 60 days - for disabled people;
- up to 35 days - to employees who have the status of a participant in the Great Patriotic War;
- up to 14 days - for pensioners (by age);
- up to 14 days - to the parents and spouses of military personnel, law enforcement and customs officials, fire service personnel, employees of institutions and bodies of the penal system who died in the line of duty, including as a result of injury, contusion, injury or disease;
- up to 14 days - to an employee raising 2 or more children under the age of 14, an employee with a disabled child under the age of 18, a single parent raising a child under the age of 14, if this is provided for in the collective agreement;
- up to 5 days - upon the birth of a child, marriage registration, death of relatives;
- 15 days - to employees: admitted to entrance examinations to universities for bachelor's, specialist's or master's degree programs;
- students of preparatory departments to pass the final certification at the university;
- those who combine education with work to pass intermediate certification;
- admitted to entrance examinations for admission to secondary vocational education programs;
Who is eligible under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation?
In the first case, the vacation must be agreed upon with the manager, and based on the agreement reached, a decision is made on the timing depending on the obligations that have arisen.
If the provision of leave without pay is not a right, but an obligation of the employer (Part 2 of Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), then after sending an application for leave to subordinates at his own expense, the head of the company provides time off without pay to the following groups of the following duration:
- 35 days - to WWII participants;
- 14 days - for working pensioners (old age);
- 14 days - parents and spouses of military personnel, police officers, fire service officers, and correctional officers;
- 60 days - for disabled people.
Article 173 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation establishes guarantees for citizens in providing leave without pay, combining work and study in higher educational institutions:
- 15 days - passing the final certification, writing entrance exams;
- 4 months - passing the qualifying work and final exams.
- 1 month - passing the final exam.
Article 263 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation defines cases when the provision of leave without pay is mandatory, but in the presence of the corresponding clauses in the collective agreement.
It may determine additional rest at a time convenient for the employee for 14 calendar days or less:
- raising 2 or more children under 14 years of age or a disabled child under 18 years of age;
- single parent (mother or father) of a child under 14 years of age.
The employer has the right to provide such rest to any subordinate, except for preferential categories, whose applications are strictly taken into account, and personnel records are drawn up. How to apply for leave without pay?
Early departure from leave to work is allowed.
For a full list of reasons for providing leave at your own expense, see here.
How many days are provided under the Labor Code?
If there is a preliminary agreement between the employer and the employee, the duration of the vacation at one’s own expense directly depends on the reason for taking it.
At the legislative level, the minimum period is determined - 1 day.
Representatives of the preferential category can count on a vacation, the duration of which depends on their status. The maximum duration is 60 days.
How many days of vacation are employees entitled to at their own expense? The article details how many days of rest an employee can take depending on his status.
Can an employee be refused?
The wording of labor legislation (Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation) states that it is possible to provide a worker with rest at his own expense with the consent of the employer.
If the management of the enterprise, upon receiving the corresponding application, considers it impossible to fulfill the request (lack of human resources, production workload), then the refusal will be completely justified, since the labor rights of the specialist are not violated.
Providing leave without pay (for groups not specified in the law) is not the obligation of the employer, but only his right.
If the application for administrative leave contains valid reasons, and the employer refuses the subordinate, then the conflict situation is resolved in court. The law does not clearly define the strict circumstances for granting leave; all responsibility rests with the employer.
Sample application at your own expense without pay 2020: when and how to write
Depending on the circumstances of the employee (for example, the cause may be the death or serious illness of a close relative), he writes an application for leave without pay with reference to a specific provision of the law. Let's say employee Ivanov has a certificate of disability, and he wants to take leave without pay. He draws up an application on letterhead addressed to the head of the enterprise, in which it is a good idea to indicate the reason why leave is required.
Here is a sample application for time off at his own expense in 2020 that he can use:
Expert opinion
Lebedev Sergey Fedorovich
Practitioner lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in defense in court.
If employee Ivanov was a pensioner, he would indicate Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation as the basis. If there are no special reasons, but there is an agreement with the employer, you don’t have to write anything. In this case, the statement will look like this:
Please note: you can specify the start and end date of the vacation, but it is better to write a specific period during which the employee plans to be absent.
Many people are interested in the question of when to apply for leave without pay. The law does not say anything about this, but it is advisable to do this at least a few days in advance so that the personnel department has time to prepare the necessary documents.
Further actions of the personnel officer
If the employee’s absence is agreed upon by management, it must be documented correctly. To do this, issue a leave order at your own expense; a sample prepared on the basis of the unified T-6 form looks like this:
If the organization does not use unified forms (this is acceptable), the order will look different. But the main thing is that the sheet indicates who is going on vacation and for how long.
If, due to the absence of an employee, a replacement is needed, it is necessary to select an employee who has the opportunity, for an additional fee, to temporarily assume responsibilities for the absentee. An additional agreement is signed with him, and the enterprise issues an order to temporarily fill the position.
This is important to know: sample vacation compensation order 2020
Let us remind you that orders allowing you to be absent from the workplace at your own expense must be kept in the organization for at least 75 years. Only after this period has expired can the order be transferred to the archives.
When employer consent is not required
And in some cases established by law, in order to receive additional rest time without pay, only the desire of the employee himself is sufficient. The employer is obliged, based on a written application from the employee, to provide leave without pay:
- for working old-age pensioners - up to 14 calendar days per year;
- for working disabled people - up to 60 calendar days per year;
- in cases of the birth of a child, marriage registration, death of close relatives of an employee - up to five calendar days;
- parents and spouses of military personnel, police officers and some other structures who were killed or died as a result of injury or injury received during the performance of military service duties - up to 14 calendar days a year;
- war participants and combat veterans - up to 35 calendar days a year;
- employees admitted to entrance exams to universities - up to 15 days;
- in some other cases provided for by law or collective agreement.
Commentary on Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
Part 1 of the commented article provides for the procedure according to which leave without pay can be granted upon a written application from the employee if there are good reasons. Unlike Art. 76 of the Labor Code, which allowed short-term leave without pay, the commented article does not establish the duration of the leave; its duration is determined by agreement between the employee and the employer.
Part 2 of the commented article provides for categories of employees, upon whose written application the employer is obliged to provide leave without pay, and also indicates other cases provided for by the Labor Code, other federal laws or collective agreements under which these leaves are provided.
In addition to the employees listed in the commented article, the employer is obliged to provide unpaid leave to:
a) women to care for a child until he reaches the age of three years. In this case, payment of benefits under state social insurance is provided. Such leave can be used not only by the mother, but also by the child’s father, grandmother, grandfather, other relative or guardian who is actually caring for the child, and part of the leave can be used by one relative, and part by another (see commentary to Art. 256);
b) employees working in the regions of the Far North and equivalent areas - for the duration of travel to the place of use of vacation and back (see commentary to Article 322);
c) a person working part-time, if the duration of leave for the combined job is less than for the main place of work. In this case, the employer must provide the part-time worker, at his request, with leave without pay of the appropriate duration (see commentary to Article 286);
d) certain categories of workers combining work with training, in particular:
- employees admitted to entrance examinations to an educational institution of higher professional education, and employees who are students of preparatory departments of educational institutions of higher professional education, for passing final exams - lasting 15 calendar days (see commentary to Article 173);
- persons who are admitted to entrance examinations at state-accredited educational institutions of secondary vocational education - lasting 10 calendar days (see commentary to Article 174);
- full-time students combining work with study in educational institutions of higher and secondary vocational education that have state accreditation, for passing intermediate certification - lasting 15 and 10 calendar days in the academic year, respectively, or for preparing and defending a final qualifying thesis and passing state exams - four and two months, and for passing final state exams - one month (see commentary to Articles 173, 174);
e) employees - Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, full holders of the Order of Glory - for up to three weeks a year at a convenient time of year (see Article 8 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the status of Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation and full holders of the Order of Glory ");
f) employees - Heroes of Socialist Labor and full holders of the Order of Labor Glory - for up to three weeks a year at a convenient time of year (see Article 6 of the Federal Law “On the provision of social guarantees to Heroes of Socialist Labor and full holders of the Order of Labor Glory”);
g) disabled war veterans, participants of the Great Patriotic War, veterans of military operations on the territories of other states, including disabled people, persons awarded the “Resident of Siege Leningrad” badge, labor veterans and some other categories of workers - for a period from two weeks to one month per year (Articles 14 - 20 of the Federal Law “On Veterans”).
How to apply for leave without pay
Just like for providing any other days of rest, the employee needs to write an application. When leave is granted by agreement with the employer, then in the application you can simply write “for family reasons”, without specifying these circumstances. If unpaid days of rest are provided by law, then the application must indicate the reason, for example, the birth of a child, and attach the relevant document (immediately or after receiving it).
Application for unpaid leave: sample
Based on the application, the employer issues a corresponding order or instruction, which the employee must be familiarized with and signed. Such familiarization guarantees the employee that he can rest in peace and does not risk being fired for absenteeism if it later turns out that his request was accidentally or deliberately lost somewhere. Judicial practice knows many such cases of parting with unwanted employees. And for the personnel officer, in turn, familiarization of the vacationer with the order guarantees the absence of subsequent possible claims from the employee.
What to pay attention to
A period of unpaid absence from work lasting no more than 14 days in one working year is included in the length of service that gives the right to annual basic paid leave (Article 121 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
Expert opinion
Lebedev Sergey Fedorovich
Practitioner lawyer with 7 years of experience. Specialization: civil law. Extensive experience in defense in court.
If an employee falls ill during an unpaid “vacation”, sick leave is also not paid to him, and the duration of rest without pay is not extended for the duration of the illness.
The “preferential” leave unspent by the employee at his own expense is not transferred to the next year, either fully or partially. That is if, for example, a working pensioner is entitled to 14 additional days of rest per year, he will not be able to go on vacation for several months at once due to the fact that he has not used this right for several years.
How to fill out an application
There is no official structure of the application form for such cases. But when filling out the employee must indicate the following information:
- the reason for which he needs to use days off: wedding;
- great-aunt's funeral;
- preparation for final certification or entrance exams;
The document must be written in advance, at least a week in advance, in order to:
- coordinate this issue with your immediate superior;
- the employer could evenly distribute the released load among other employees;
- the responsible persons managed to issue an order granting days off without pay and familiarize the employee with it.
Managing partner of the law firm, Vladislav Varshavsky, notes that judicial practice confirms that the employer has such a right. The latest example in favor of the company is the Determination of the Moscow City Court dated 08/01/2018 No. 4g/8-9307. From the case materials it follows that the employee was first ill for a long time, and then sent an application to the employer by mail to grant him leave without pay for a period of almost 3 months. Without learning the employer’s decision, the employee stopped going to work. The employee did not respond to notifications about the need to appear and give written explanations for his absence from work. Therefore, the employer considered the period of absence to be absenteeism, after which he fired the employee. The appeal did not help the employee: she supported her colleagues from the court of first instance and recognized the termination of the employment contract as legal.
Application form for unpaid leave
Applications for leave without pay will be available a little lower. Such a document is drawn up in free form addressed to the general director and has approximately the following content:
This is important to know: Application for replacement during vacation: sample 2020
When and how to write a statement
First of all, you need to decide on what basis unpaid leave will be requested under Art. 128 Labor Code of the Russian Federation:
- Part 1 – when the employer himself decides whether the reasons are valid;
- Part 2 – the employee himself has the right to leave.
If you plan to take several days off according to the first point, state the reasons requiring absence from work, if possible, support them with documents.
For the second point, it is better to provide a link to the law obliging the employer to provide several days. The third option is to refer to the provision of the collective agreement adopted by the company if it concerns the employee’s situation. The next thing to do is determine how many days are required.
Then write a statement:
- indicate in the header your full name, position of the head, name of the institution, your position and full name;
- title the document - “statement” with capital letters or all capital letters, do not put a full stop;
- print or write a text about granting leave without pay (term) for (reason - for example, a pregnant employee may ask for a day to visit the clinic and take tests, for which she will indicate the reason for her absence - for health reasons);
- the last one is the date, signature and its decoding.
It is better to declare the need for your absence 3 to 5 days before the expected date. The manager may refuse for the following reasons:
We recommend you study! Follow the link:
Application for leave followed by voluntary dismissal
- lack of replacement;
- upcoming urgent work;
- other reasons.
Everything is decided by the subjective factor, so before knocking on the door of the boss’s office, you can try to negotiate with your colleagues about a replacement. Sometimes this may not help - the manager himself can shift the responsibilities of the absent employee to someone he deems necessary. Or refuse completely, without giving reasons.
The management may agree to provide days without pay, but not change their number downward.
In the order received for signature, you need to check the specified dates to see if management has reduced the number of unpaid days provided.
After the employer expresses verbal consent or signs the application, the following occurs:
- the personnel department draws up an order or instruction in the T-6 form;
- the manager signs the order;
- The employee confirms with his personal signature that he has read the text of the order.
After such measures, you can be absent from the workplace without fear of being fired for absenteeism.
If an employee leaves earlier than the requested and agreed upon date, he must submit the application again. In the text, indicate that you are asking “to be considered the end day of unpaid leave (date).”
There are two possible scenarios in which the employer:
- I agree - then an order is written indicating the termination of the rest, and the employee is introduced to it and signed;
- refuses - in this case the worker will begin work according to the previously agreed terms.
As a rule, if there are adequate working relationships in the team, employees receive days at their own expense without any problems. Unless, of course, they are abused.
Features that employees should know
The boss cannot send an employee on vacation without pay on his own initiative if, for example, the amount of work at the enterprise has decreased or the money has run out. This is contrary to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and may become a reason for bringing both the company and management to administrative liability under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
The duration of rest can be any, the maximum limit is not limited. In this case, the employee’s job must be retained. However, if its duration exceeds 14 calendar days per year, then everything in excess of this figure is not included in the length of service giving the right to annual paid leave.
In the event of the birth of children, weddings or funerals of close relatives, the employer is obliged to provide days of rest if the employee needs it. In addition, the legislation stipulates special guarantees for workers who belong to preferential categories - disabled people, veterans, pensioners, single parents.
When leave without pay is granted under the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
Leave without pay within the meaning of Art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation is provided primarily in connection with the personal circumstances of the employee. Leave must be given in the following cases:
- birth of children;
- marriages;
- death of loved ones.
As for the employee’s other personal situations, the employer can give him leave himself if he deems it necessary.
In addition, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides for additional free time:
- for disabled workers;
- working pensioners;
- veterans.
Is it possible to send an employee on vacation at his own expense during non-working days declared by the president in connection with the spread of coronavirus infection, ConsultantPlus experts explained:
If you don't have access to the system, get a free trial online.
How to correctly write an application at your own expense in 2020?
Applications for leave at your own expense do not have a strict form and are written freely. But there are still a number of details that must be present:
- Full name of the applicant and to whom it is addressed;
- Date of preparation;
- duration of vacation days;
- signature.
How is an application completed?
- In the right corner of the sheet the name of the organization and the name of the official (manager) to whom the application is addressed are indicated;
- The position and full name are written below. the employee from whom the document is drawn up;
- The word “Statement” is in the center of the sheet;
- Next is the text, which contains a request for time off at your own expense from a specific date, for the required number of days, and you will need to indicate the reason to indicate the need for unpaid rest;
- The date of compilation and the personal signature of the employee must be included.
An employer can refuse if:
- will consider it unimportant;
- the employee does not belong to the category where unpaid days are required by law;
- The work process does not allow the employee to be removed from the workplace at the moment.
When writing an application, please note that calendar days are indicated. At the same time, the principle of regular holidays does not apply here, when they are extended by falling holidays. In case of vacation at your own expense, they are included in the number of vacation days.
Application form for leave at your own expense
applications for leave at your own expense in doc format:
Sample application for unpaid leave 2020
A ready-made example will help you write a statement correctly.
Sample application at your own expense for family reasons:
Sample application without saving salary as a disabled person of group 3:
Sample application for leave at your own expense for several hours due to marriage registration:
The reason for vacation or time off can be different:
- for health;
- followed by dismissal;
- in connection with going to the hospital for 3 hours or going to the doctor for 3 hours.
Registration procedure
To register an absence, it is enough to write an application for leave without pay. If possible, please provide supporting evidence. They will serve as proof that you are not cheating and really should stop working.
How many days in advance do you need to write an application for leave without pay? Specific deadlines are not set. Individual problems require individual solutions. If circumstances permit, notify the employer in advance. However, in an emergency situation, the request will be approved within a working day in a couple of hours. Sometimes documents are prepared “retroactively”.
So, absence from work is registered after submitting the application. It does not have a unified template and is prepared in any form. You can write by hand or print on a computer. To ensure your documents are accepted, include important information.
How to write a statement without content:
- In the header of the sheet, indicate the name and position of the manager, and in a line below - your name and position.
- Add the title “Statement”, with a capital letter, do not put a period.
- Start with the phrase “I ask you to grant me leave without pay...”.
- Indicate how long you plan to be away.
- State why you need to miss work.
- Don't forget to write the date and subscribe.
The application must indicate the period and reasons for absence
Sample application
How to write an application at your own expense for 1 day? Use the example and phrases below.
“I ask you to grant me unpaid leave for family reasons on July 17, 2020.”
The application form is free for 1 day at your own expense ; the boss does not have the right to prohibit absence from working hours if it seems to him that the paperwork is incorrect.
