Can an employee work while on vacation?

Review from vacation

The Labor Code provides for the possibility of recalling an employee from vacation , however, the following conditions must be met:

The employee must agree with such feedback;
The unused portion of the leave is subsequently provided at a time convenient to the employee;
The employee should not belong to groups of people whose recall from leave is impossible by law (pregnant women, people under 18 years of age, workers whose working conditions are dangerous or harmful).
The review must be issued in the form of an order from the employer, and not be a verbal request from management to return to work.

Can vacation be replaced with money?

If the employee continues to have an employment relationship with the employer, that is, does not plan to quit, the law does not provide for the possibility of replacing planned leave with cash payments. However, there are exceptions to this rule. According to Article 115 of the Labor Code, material monetary replacement is possible in relation to those days that are provided as “additional” to the usual, planned vacation.

For example, for municipal employees, vacation duration is not 28, like other employees, but 30 calendar days. There is also a category of employees working in particularly difficult conditions. They are entitled to extended leave of up to 40 days. They can go on a planned vacation for 28 days, and receive monetary compensation for 12 unused days.

Material replacement of additional days is allowed at the initiative of the employee, but only with the consent of the employer.

At the same time, some categories of workers cannot count on monetary replacement beyond the required 28 days. These include pregnant women and workers under 18 years of age. Regardless of the length of their vacation, they “work off” it in full.

Working on vacation (maternity leave)

Working during parental leave is also possible, but there is one peculiarity: the work must be carried out on a part-time basis . The law does not establish exactly how many hours an employee must work per day, the main thing is that it should be less than the average working day in a given organization.

It should be noted that if a person works part-time during maternity leave , then the monthly benefit paid up to 1 year 6 months is retained, that is, the employee receives benefits and a salary, the amount of which depends on how much time is actually worked.

In this case, the application must contain the following wording: “I ask that you allow me to work from (date) during the period of leave to care for my son (daughter), establishing a part-time working day of 4 hours...”. Of course, other wording with a similar meaning can be used.

Accrual of vacation in 2020: example

Example 1. Calculation of vacation pay for a fully worked pay period

Solution.

Example 2. Calculation of vacation pay when the billing period is not fully worked

Solution.

Average monthly number of days worked in October 2020: 26.5 days. (29.3 / 31 days x (31 days – 3 days)).

This is important to know: Application for leave without pay for a civil servant

Average monthly number of days worked in March 2020: 21.7 days. (29.3 / 31 days x (31 days – 8 days)).

By the way, you can calculate the amount of vacation pay using our Calculator.

Work under a civil contract

Let’s immediately make a reservation that you can work under a civil contract (usually a contract agreement) either with your employer or with another organization.

If work on vacation is carried out under a contract , you must keep in mind that there are significant differences between this and the employment contract, for example, under the first, sick leave will not be paid.

If a citizen wants to work for his employer during vacation , but the terms of the contract do not suit him, then the way out of this situation is recall from vacation. Work without any registration at all is not a serious matter; you may not be paid anything at all.

Story

The Deputy Director for Operations had irrepressible energy: he disappeared at work until the night, and sometimes appeared on weekends - he was bored at home with his family. And the position required irregular working hours. When the time came for the next vacation, he asked the personnel officers

- Can I work part of my vacation so as not to sit at home, and get more - both vacation pay and salary?

- You can. You are entitled to additional leave for irregular working hours - three calendar days. They can be replaced with monetary compensation.

- No, I would like to rest for two weeks - I promised my wife and children, and the rest - to work.

— You can’t, you must rest for 28 days, and you can only “exchange for money” days in excess of this number.

Articles on the topic (click to view)

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What to do with unused vacation
What to do if your employer does not pay vacation pay
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Is maternity leave taken into account when calculating pensions?
Accounting for compensation for unused vacation
Dismissal while on maternity leave

- Is there any way to get around this? If I die of boredom at home, the company will suffer very seriously!

- Well, how will you get around? We mark everything on the report card, enter it into the computer - both vacations and work. Maybe you can find some hacks for yourself during your vacation?

- Wait! – The second personnel officer entered the conversation. – Now all officials and labor law experts claim that it is possible to conclude a civil contract with an employee on vacation! And then Igor Glebovich will be able to legally go to work while on vacation!

— And then an inspector will come and fine us for replacing an employment contract with a civil law one and for violating the work and rest regime?

- They shouldn’t: they refer to Art. 106 of the Labor Code, which states that the employee has the right to dispose of rest time at his own discretion, and the articles of the Civil Code regulating freedom of contract. You just need to draw up the agreement so that it does not look like an employment contract.

- Girls, thank you! Let's do so.

— Don’t you want to coordinate everything with the boss first?

- Consider that you have already agreed!

Can an employee on vacation work under a contract?

This conclusion can be reached by analyzing labor law provisions regarding provisions on part-time work.

Naturally, the concept of “time free from the main job” fits very well into the vacation period, however, vacation for the main and additional places of work is granted at the same time, which is why part-time work on vacation cannot be carried out.

If you have questions on this topic, you can seek legal help. Specialists will always give you a reasoned answer and offer options for solving your problem.

Didn't find the answer? Ask your question to lawyers

Part-time job

What to do if a person works not only at one job, but also works part-time in another organization. In this case, leave must be taken at two jobs, in accordance with Article 268 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. That is, a person must go on vacation both at his main job and at a part-time job.

As you can see, you cannot work during vacation. But you can issue a review from your vacation and “play out” the unused days later. And it’s best to take advantage of your right to rest, because you have worked conscientiously for a whole year. Now you have the right to rest, gain energy, so that later you can begin to fulfill your work responsibilities with renewed vigor.

The right to rest is granted by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, as well as the Labor Code of Russia. If you would like to learn about other employee rights, please carefully review our Employee Rights section.

Can an employee work while on vacation?

Ideally, while on vacation, you should turn off your work phone, stop checking work email, and forget about work altogether. But, unfortunately, this is not always possible: sometimes situations arise when no one except the employee on vacation can help. In this case, you may be asked to go to work. How legal is this? Is work compensated during vacation ?

Usually, during the holidays, we transfer our affairs to one of our colleagues and go on vacation with peace of mind. By the way, the more detailed you explain your responsibilities to your colleague, the less likely it is that you will be bothered about trifles during your vacation. Therefore, the transfer of cases must be taken responsibly

and don’t put it off until the last minute.

But sometimes there is a need for exactly the employee who went on vacation

. Let's say a capricious but important client wants to deal only with “his” manager. Employees who occupy key positions in the company, as well as those who, due to high qualifications or the uniqueness of their type of activity (within a particular company), cannot find an equivalent replacement, are no strangers to solving work problems during vacation.

If the matter that requires your help is not too complex and will not take up a lot of your time, it is quite possible to meet your superiors (especially if the problem can be resolved by phone or email). However, you can refuse with a clear conscience: annual paid leave is your legal right

which no one can take away from you.

In the event that it is necessary for an employee to be present at the workplace during his annual paid leave, a recall from leave

. According to Article 125 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, recall from vacation can be issued only with the consent of the employee, that is, the boss has no right to force you to go to work on your vacation. It is not allowed to recall from vacation minor workers (under 18 years of age), pregnant women, as well as workers who are employed in jobs with harmful and/or dangerous working conditions.

Naturally, the employer must compensate for vacation days that were not used by you in connection with the recall

. During the current working year, you can take another vacation at a time convenient for you and “play out” the part unused due to the recall, or add these days to your annual leave in the next working year. These days cannot be replaced with monetary compensation (the only exception is if you quit without completing your allotted vacation days).

However, recall from vacation is not the only situation related to working while on vacation. Sometimes it can be beneficial for the employee and the employer if the employee officially goes on vacation, but still continues to perform his or her job. In this case, there are workarounds (for example, concluding a contract with an employee or providing paid services), but this is not entirely legal and is quite risky. According to the rules, the employee should not be on the territory of the enterprise during vacation

The issue of working during vacation is also of interest to those who work part-time. Is it possible to take a vacation from one job while continuing to work at another? You can't do that. Article 268 of the Labor Code states that leave from a part-time job is granted simultaneously with leave from the main job.

So if you went on vacation, then you went on vacation. Of course, no one forbids you to help your colleagues solve minor problems over the phone, but if your presence at the workplace is absolutely required, you must issue an official recall from vacation. And it’s up to you to decide whether to write a review.

: no one has the right to force you to interrupt your legal vacation with an unscheduled return to work.

Registration procedure

To submit a review, the employer should adhere to the following scheme:

Provide a written notice of the need for the employee to urgently return to the workplace. It not only describes the reasons for the recall, but also specifies a specific release date. The notice is sent by mail or delivered in person.
Obtain written consent from the vacationer. Let us note that you cannot immediately force an employee; he has the right to refuse management’s offer. But if he agrees, the vacationer is obliged to state in writing his desire to interrupt his vacation. This can be done at the bottom of the notification or on a separate sheet of paper in any form.
Having received consent, the employer issues a recall order. The order specifies the employee's exit date.

This is important to know: Reduction after maternity leave: calculation of payments

The issued order will become the basis for the accountant to recalculate preliminary payments, personnel employees will make adjustments to the vacation schedule, and the head of the structural unit will be able to enter work shifts in the time sheet.

Who cannot be recalled

An employee can be recalled only with his consent, which must be given in writing. But there are special categories of hired persons who cannot be recruited to work during this period, even if they have such a desire.

Article 125 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides a list of persons whose rest time cannot be interrupted under any circumstances:

Employees who have not reached the age of eighteen.
Women who are pregnant and in...
Employees who work in workplaces classified as harmful and/or dangerous working conditions.

The presence of special difficulties in the work of the enterprise, the need to urgently replace another employee or other force majeure circumstances cannot contribute to the involvement of the listed categories in extracurricular work.

Even a written request from the vacationer himself about the desire to go to the workplace earlier than expected should be rejected.

Types of vacations

There are different types of vacation:

Basic vacation. This vacation is twenty-eight days. If you don't want to take so many days off in a row, you can split your vacation into parts. First, rest for at least fourteen days, and then take the remaining days. If you have recently started work, then you should work for six months, and then write a leave application. However, some employees may be granted leave earlier, for example by employees who are under eighteen years of age. Further, the employee can receive vacations at any time of the working year.
Additional vacation. Additional vacation days are given to those employees who work irregularly or whose work involves danger.
Leave without pay. This leave is granted for valid reasons. For example, a wedding or funeral. The employee writes a statement, and the employer reviews it and grants such leave if the reasons are truly valid.
Other leaves (for example, maternity leave).

And so you go on vacation, enjoy your vacation, and suddenly you receive a call from your boss. He wants you to go to work. Of course, there are different situations. For example, a colleague who temporarily performed your duties became ill, or a client wants to work only with a specific specialist.

Is it possible to work on vacation? Let's figure it out.

A few words about part-time work

Working during vacation if a person works part-time is impossible. This conclusion can be reached by analyzing labor law provisions regarding provisions on part-time work.