As you know, in our country there are many laws that are designed to protect the rights of employees of any organizations. Most of these state regulations are defined in the Labor Code of our country. In particular, the issue of additional leave for irregular working hours is also considered there. In this material, we will discuss exactly how an additional period of rest is assigned, how long this period will be, and talk about other important nuances.
Additional leave for irregular working hours
Who is entitled to additional leave?
As you know, every officially working citizen of our country is awarded 28 vacation days every year. We are talking not only about those employees who work overtime, but about all categories of workers.
Article 115. Duration of annual basic paid leave
However, provided that you are forced to work at your place of employment within an irregular schedule (that is, the duration of your working day may be significantly longer than required by law), you are also entitled to an additional period of recuperation.
In what cases is leave granted for irregular work?
To determine who is entitled to leave of the type we are interested in, it is necessary to understand the following question: what does the required irregular day mean for work during which employees take vacation days?
Thus, according to the Labor Code of our country, days that are considered officially irregular imply the construction of a work schedule in a special way. Thus, provided that a certain need arises, the head of the employing organization has the right to involve a specific employee in the performance of his direct professional duties, which will be carried out outside the standard working period established for him.
Article 101 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Irregular working hours
Please note: there are no restrictions that could officially prevent a particular employee from engaging in irregular working hours, even for the following categories of workers:
- company employees who work part-time under a contract;
- workers carrying out professional activities under conditions of reduced shift duration;
- pregnant workers, as well as mothers returning to work after maternity leave;
- minor citizens of the country working officially (for them the working day is a priori shortened).
In this situation, work that is performed in excess of previously established standards is not considered in this situation:
- activities falling into the category of overtime;
- involvement in night shift work.
The required conditions must be taken into account when a settlement is made between the employee and the organization regarding the provision of additional days for rest in excess of the established standard norm.
Provided that you are employed by an organization, knowing that your contract will indicate the establishment of an irregular working day, then at the moment when the employer announces to you that you will be involved in any activity outside of the shift time, from your expressed or not expressed consent absolutely nothing will depend. This is because, according to the law, the employer:
- has the right not to receive confirmation of readiness to work from you;
- may also not receive permission for its employees to work outside normal hours.
It is also important to take into account that in a situation where an employee is forced to work irregular hours, the employer is obliged to record the time he worked in hours.
According to the letter of the law, this obligation is necessary, and for failure to comply with it, the employer may face various sanctions
Unfortunately, in relation to citizens forced to work, taking into account the hours worked during an irregular working day leads to:
- positive consequence - protects the employee from systematic overstrain at the place of employment;
- negative consequence - does not affect wages in any way, no matter how many hours in excess of the norm the employee works.
However, one way or another, even the rare participation of workers in work, the duration of which is longer than the temporary norm initially stated at the legislative level, presupposes the presence of some kind of compensation. Since in this case, as we noted above, we are not talking about money, they are entitled to accrual of additional leave for a working day that is considered irregular.
Duration of additional leave with an irregular schedule
At the legislative level, the duration of the type of leave we are considering, accrued for overtime during an irregular work shift, is determined.
Yes, she:
- is at least 3 calendar days;
- may be longer than the specified period, provided that its increase is implied in the current documentation of a particular organization and the contract concluded with the employee.
However, it is also important to understand that the law does not define the maximum limit for the type of leave we are interested in, which is due to persons working in irregular hours. That is why, in the matter of the maximum value of a given, one should literally rely on the generosity of the leader. He must produce, adequately to the situation:
- assessment of the severity of your work;
- the corresponding number of working days that can compensate for the resulting stress.
The specified procedure for determining the duration of the vacation period accrued to you is not provided for by law, however, it so happens that it is this procedure that is widely used today in appropriate situations.
In fact, it is based on the correct logic: the greater the degree of complexity of the labor process in the organization, carried out by you in an irregular manner, the greater will be the number of days added to your main vacation period
Employer's liability
It is also worth remembering that if an employer does not fulfill its obligation to provide leave for irregular working hours, then it will face punishment in the form of administrative liability (a fine of up to 5,000 rubles for individuals and 50,000 rubles for legal entities).
Attention! In case of repeated violation, the organization is disqualified for a period of 3 months to 3 years, and in case of deprivation of leave to employees for two or more years, criminal prosecution is possible.
Conditions for granting leave for irregular working hours according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation
It is important to understand that the very possibility of obtaining leave of the type we are considering today implies compliance with certain conditions required at the legislative level.
1. Thus, it must be mentioned in the contract, which will also indicate that the employee is employed in a workplace that may require him to perform professional duties in irregular hours.
2. In addition, provided that the contract indicates the potential irregularity of the worker in relation to specific employees, these documents should also contain information regarding what the length of the vacation “premium” may be.
3. The possibility of receiving additional paid and unpaid leaves, which a citizen working on an irregular schedule may apply for, must also be indicated, provided that he:
- works in areas where additional time for rest is accrued;
- carries out professional activities in specific conditions;
- is a pensioner;
- suffers permanent health damage at work, which can result in occupational diseases, etc.
In this case, all of the additional vacations can be used by him, however, whether his salary will be retained or this rest time will not be paid will be determined individually for each period.
4. The amount of leave sought may be provided for by the following documents:
- employment contract;
- collective category;
- other organizational acts relevant for a specific employing organization.
5. Before starting to perform his duties, the employee must be familiar with all the provisions of the contract, including those related to the irregularity of his work.
Provided that he gives his consent, the contract must be endorsed with his personal signature
6. The presence of such a condition as work outside the legally established working hours must be determined by some reason. Most often, it is the belonging of a particular employee to one of the processions or positions that imply the desired regime.
So, for example, for those organizations that are government agencies and have significance directly at the federal level, the required list is determined in accordance with government regulations.
Thus, according to the mentioned papers, the nature of the working day that interests us can be determined for the following professions and positions.
- Managers.
- Personnel responsible for business activities.
- Employees performing technical work.
- Citizens whose professional activities cannot be taken into account with the required accuracy.
- Employees who have the right to independently plan their own workday.
- Persons whose working day is divided into such time periods, the duration of which is not possible to determine.
The list listed above can become instructions for a specific employer offering job seekers work in the conditions of interest to us.
Video - Additional leave for irregular working hours
Who is granted additional leave for irregular working hours?
Russian laws do not define an exact list of positions for which an irregular regime is possible. The preparation of such lists is the prerogative of the administration of commercial companies or government agencies (for budgetary institutions).
Lists are developed on the basis of the Rules approved by Government Decree No. 884 dated December 11, 2002, as well as Resolution No. 100 of the People’s Commissariat of Labor of the USSR dated February 13, 1928.
These legislative acts recommend including the following categories in the above lists:
- management team;
- economic and technical personnel;
- positions where it is impossible to accurately calculate working hours;
- persons whose duties, due to circumstances or characteristics of their work, are divided into parts, the duration of which cannot be determined.
At enterprises financed by budgets of different levels, the relevant authorities create lists of positions entitled to additional leave, and also develop rules for providing such leave for budgetary organizations.
Commercial firms have the right to independently establish the rules and conditions for granting vacations, create lists of positions and even expand them, including other typical positions for them. These documents can be issued by a separate order or included in any of the company’s internal organizational documents - collective agreements, industry agreements or company internal regulations. If any positions are not mentioned in these documents, then employees’ work beyond normal duration will be considered overtime and must be paid: for the first 2 hours of work at one and a half times the rate, and for subsequent hours at double the rate (Article 152 of the Labor Code). The law allows the replacement of overtime pay at the employee’s request with days of rest (time off) corresponding to the time worked overtime.
How is leave granted and is monetary compensation paid for unused days?
The type of vacation days we are interested in can be provided to an employee of an organization:
- along with the annual vacation period;
- with other specific periods given for rest, which are accrued due to the nature of his profession.
Is it possible to compensate for processing with money?
How, in this case, will the total number of days due to a particular person be calculated? Very simply: by summing up all the periods to which the person in question is entitled.
A certain employee will use the allotted time according to a schedule drawn up:
- with the participation of other team members;
- department or organization leadership.
It is necessary to understand the following important nuance: the head of the organization does not have the right:
- insist that you break the number of days allotted to you into parts;
- determine the size of the required parts.
By law, each part of the vacation, provided that you still decide to share it, should not be less than two weeks.
Now let's move on to consider an issue that interests almost all workers who are forced to carry out professional activities in conditions designated as non-standardized. We are talking about the possibility of replacing vacation with cash payment.
The following can be said about this:
- you can indeed ask to replace part of your vacation with monetary compensation;
- the employer has the right, but not the obligation, to grant your request.
Provided that the company management deems it necessary to give you all the accrued days off, you will not be able to receive money for them. However, the realities of modern Russia are such that the opposite situation often happens: there is a catastrophic shortage of personnel at almost any enterprise, and especially at those in which there are positions with irregular working hours.
It is most likely that, having agreed with the manager, you will receive monetary compensation
Please note: in some cases, you can convert not only days for working overtime into money, but also days of your next annual leave.
Provided that you have accumulated several unused standard vacations, you can:
- take compensation in each reporting period;
- receive funds for a period of more than 28 days;
- receive funds for any period of vacation of an additional category, determined independently.
However, there are categories of citizens who are required to take additional leave, subject to availability. Let's look at them in the table below.
Table 1. Categories of employees who are required to use additional leave accrued to them
| Pregnant | Minors | Persons working in specific conditions |
So, according to the letter of the law, a woman in a position cannot receive compensation for vacation, and it does not matter:
| Citizens who have not yet turned 18 years of age must also receive additional leave. In their case, the situation is this: by law, due to their young age, they must work on a reduced schedule. Provided that they are involved in activities full time or even more, they must receive compensation in days, because this category of the population is considered children until adulthood, and, as is known, a growing body is obliged to receive stress, both mental and and physical, only in moderation. | Working citizens from the category of the adult population who carry out professional activities under conditions of constant exposure to the following production factors are also required to receive a certain amount of rest by law:
|
Let's sum it up
As you can see, getting leave for irregular working hours means becoming familiar with a lot of nuances. When applying for a job, carefully read the contract concluded with the organization. If something is not clear to you, we recommend asking a specialist from the organization’s HR department to explain to you the points that you do not fully understand. In this case, even before becoming an employee of a particular company, you will have an idea of your rights and will be able to be prepared for any situation related to the topic we are considering.
Find out about the terms of employment before signing a contract
Duration
The minimum duration of vacation, according to the law, is 3 calendar days. The maximum duration is not limited by law and is determined by a collective agreement, agreements or local regulations.
It also does not depend on the number of hours actually worked outside the norm; leave is provided even in a situation where the employee was not involved in the performance of his duties outside the working day during the year.
The legislation does not have a way to determine the duration of rest as such; in most cases, the longer the duration, the more difficult and long the work schedule.
Reference! According to the letter of Rostrud dated 04/01/2015 N PG/23357-6-1, employees entitled to additional leave for irregular working hours retain the right to this leave of full duration.
