Social Leave: Key Features of Administration

Who Is Eligible to a Social Leave?

Pursuant to legislative provisions, the right to additional paid leave is granted to employees with children. This right may be exercised by one of the working parents, provided that the other parent has not used their entitlement to such leave during the current calendar year, and if the family includes:

• two or more children under the age of 15;
• a child with a disability;
• an adopted child;
• a child with a disability since childhood of subgroup A, Group I;
• a single mother or father raising a child or a person with a disability since childhood of subgroup A, Group I.

This right is also granted to:

• a guardian of a child or a person with a disability since childhood of subgroup A, Group I;
• one of the foster parents;
• one of the foster caregivers in a family-type children’s home.

Duration of Leave

The duration of additional leave depends on the number of qualifying grounds. 10 calendar days are granted if there is one ground, while 17 calendar days are granted if there are two or more grounds since 2026. The number of children does not affect the duration of a vacation. For example, having two or more children alone still entitles the employee to 10 calendar days. However, where multiple qualifying grounds exist, the same child may count toward extending the leave duration. For instance, if a family has two children and one of them has a disability, the employee is entitled to 17 calendar days of additional leave.

Note: Previously, public holidays and non-working days were excluded from the duration of additional social leave. During martial law, this rule is suspended and such days are counted as regular calendar days.

Conditions for Granting Leave

If an employee is entitled to such leave, the employer is obliged to grant it, regardless of the type of employer – whether a person is employed in a limited liability company or works for an individual entrepreneur, and whether the job is the main or secondary employment. However, individuals working under civil law contracts (works agreements) rather than employment contracts are not entitled to this leave.                                                 

It should be noted, however, that during martial law an employer may refuse to grant this type of leave if the employee is engaged in critical infrastructure work; production of defense goods; or in mobilization assignments (orders).                                                   

The right to leave is granted if, as of January 1 of the current year, the child has not yet reached the age of 15 (or if the child turns 15 during 2026). Such leave may also be granted after the child has turned 15. For example, if one of two children turns 15 on May 26, 2026, one of the parents is entitled to receive additional social leave of 10 calendar days throughout the entire year of 2026.

However, current legislation does not provide for any limitation period after which an employee loses the right to additional social leave. Therefore, if for any reason the employee did not exercise their right in the previous year or for several years, they retain the right to use it in subsequent years. In the event of employment termination (regardless of the grounds), the employee must be paid compensation for all unused days of such leave.

A specific feature of this type of leave is that it is granted regardless of the time worked and may be taken at any time of the year, irrespective of the length of service. It is not part of annual leave; therefore, it may be taken even in the first month of employment at a new workplace if it has not yet been used during the current calendar year.

If an employee falls ill or other circumstances arise, the social leave shall be postponed or extended. To be granted additional leave, the employee must submit an application and copies of documents confirming their right to such leave. The employer’s order serves as confirmation that the leave will be granted. Only after that is leave pay calculated.

Calculation of Leave Pay

The amount of leave pay is equal to the number of calendar days of social leave multiplied by the average daily wage. For this purpose, it is necessary to correctly determine the average daily income, which requires properly identifying the calculation period and the income received during that period.

If the employee has worked for the employer for more than one year, the calculation period consists of the 12 calendar months preceding the month in which the social leave begins, counted from the 1st day of the month to the 1st day of the following month. If the employee has worked for less than a year, the calculation is based on the actual full months worked.

During martial law, public holidays and non-working days are treated as ordinary worked days. Therefore, as a rule, for employees who have worked for more than a year, 365 (366) calendar days are used for the calculation. If the calculation period includes days during which, in accordance with the law, the employee did not work and their salary was not retained in full or in part, such days are excluded from the calculation period. This applies to: unpaid leave; downtime not caused by the employee; maternity leave; days when the employee was on sick leave.

The calculation period also excludes time for which there is no data on accrued salary due to hostilities during martial law.

The income used to determine the average daily wage includes not only the salary accrued during the calculation period, but also sick leave payments and payments for periods during which the employee retains their average earnings (for previous annual leave, performance of state and public duties, business trips, forced absence, etc.). Bonuses are included in the income of the month for which they are accrued. The list of income categories not included in total income is provided in paragraph 4 of Section III of Procedure No. 100.

If the employee had no salary during the calculation period, calculations are made based on the tariff rate or base (monthly) salary stipulated in the employment contract.

Other Types of Additional Leave

The right to additional social leave is granted not only to parents. Current legislation also provides for additional social leave for, in particular, persons with disabilities resulting from war, military personnel with the status of combat veterans (“UBD”), and war veterans.

The conditions for granting such leave depend on the individual’s status.

Unlike social leave for children, the procedure for granting which is stipulated by the Law on Leaves, the procedure for granting a leave for veterans, the duration of such leave, and the conditions for retaining remuneration during leave are determined by the laws of Ukraine On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection and On Social and Legal Protection of Military Personnel and Their Family Members.

Combat veterans and persons with disabilities resulting from war are entitled to additional leave of 14 calendar days once a year. During this leave, remuneration during leave (salary) for the respective period is retained.                                                                                              War veterans are entitled to social leave of up to 2 weeks per year. Remuneration during leave for this period is not retained.                                                                                                The right to additional leave is also granted to persons with special merits to the state. They are entitled to additional leave of up to 3 weeks per year at a time convenient for them. Remuneration is not retained during this leave.                                                           However, it should be noted that during martial law, the procedure for granting additional leave has specific features.                                                                                                        To be granted such leave, a service member must submit a report, and the commander of the military unit must make the relevant decision. When deciding whether to grant leave, the commander must take into account the operational situation and whether the service member is required to perform combat tasks during that period. Up to 1–2 days may be added to the leave for travel within Ukraine to and from the place of leave (no more than 2 days one way).                                                                                                                            It should be noted that upon discharge from military service the service member retains the right to monetary compensation for unused days of additional leave.                                                 It is important to note that the right to additional leave for combat veterans is preserved even after discharge from military service and employment in a civilian position either as the main job or as secondary employment.                                                                                   As for leave for employees with disabilities other than military personnel, in addition to annual basic leave, they are entitled to unpaid additional leave granted annually on a mandatory basis, depending on the disability group:

-         for persons with disability groups I and II – up to 30 calendar days;

-         for persons with disability group III –  up to 21 calendar days.

Natalia Shcherbak
Accounting and Tax Consultant