Leave for children: who is entitled to and how much?

This is one of the most pressing "summer" staff questions that entrepreneurs face. Indeed, in addition to “regular” annual leave, some employees are entitled to additional leave. Let's figure out who, when and how much has the right to do so.

Who is eligible for additional leave

Additional leave for children is granted mainly to a working mother (although sometimes to a father) in accordance with Art. 19 of the "Law on Vacations" in such cases:

- a woman with two or more children under the age of 15;

- a woman who has a disabled child or adopted a child;

- mothers of a disabled person since childhood, subgroup A of group I;

- a single mother (she is considered a woman who is not in a marriage; there is no entry about the father in the child's birth certificate or the entry was made at the direction of the mother; widow; another woman who brings up and supports the child alone);

- the father of a child or a child with a disability of subgroup A of the I group, raising him without a mother (including during a long stay of the mother in a medical institution);

- a person who has taken under the guardianship of a child or a child with disabilities of subgroup A of group I;

- to one of the adoptive parents.

Age of children and eligibility for leave

Leave for two or more children is granted until the elder reaches 15 years of age. And the age of a child with a disability, adopted or under guardianship, is not established by the Law on Holidays. Therefore, to determine the age of these children, it is necessary to be guided by the general norms of legislation: a person under the age of 18 is considered a child.

For what period is vacation provided

Additional leave must be granted annually. Not for the worked year, the countdown of which begins from the date of the conclusion of the employment contract, namely for the calendar year. The above categories of workers receive this leave in addition to the basic annual leave due to all. The full duration can be requested at any time during the calendar year. But provided that on the date of the start of the vacation, the employee has at least one day of work experience in the company.

For example, a worker has two children, the oldest child turned 15 in January 2020. Additional leave may be granted to her as a mother of two children under the age of 15 until the end of this year.

When is “child's” leave provided?

According to the Leave Act, at the request of the employee, such leave can be provided simultaneously with the annual main leave or separately. The employee himself makes the decision to issue a leave for children at a convenient time for him, and the employer cannot refuse him. If, for some reason, he did not use his right to such leave for the previous year or for several previous years (working in the same company), the employee has the right to use all vacations in one year or "in installments" for several years. And in the event of dismissal, regardless of the reasons, he must be paid compensation for all unused days of this vacation.

Vacation duration

“Grace” mom or dad are entitled to an additional 10 calendar days, excluding holidays and days off. But if there are several reasons, the total duration of additional leave should not exceed 17 days. An employee can use two vacations separately. For example, at first 10 calendar days on one basis, and after a while on another basis - 7 calendar days. It is possible - in one "tranche", or together with the main annual. Note, if there is one reason, then such “bonus” vacation cannot be divided into parts.

Can an employee be recalled from vacation?

According to the Leave Act, revocation is allowed only from annual leave and only under the circumstances determined by this Act. This means that the employer does not have the right to recall employees from child leave, even at the request of the employee.

Natalya Shcherbak, tax consultant of the newspaper "Private Entrepreneur", exclusively for the magazine "My Business"