In accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Vacations”, all Ukrainian citizens, foreign nationals, and stateless persons are entitled to a vacation period if they are employed by an individual under an employment contract or are in an employment relationship with organizations, enterprises, or institutions.
What is the procedure for granting a vacation, is a vacation request letter mandatory, and is it possible to automate the process? Read on to find out.
General rules for granting a vacation
A vacation is an employee’s allotted time for rest, calculated in calendar days (regardless of work modes and schedules) and granted with the preservation of the place of work and salary.
How many vacation days can be taken per year?
The standard allotment of annual basic leave for a one-year work period is 24 calendar days.
The minimum annual basic leave for employees under the age of 18 is 31 calendar days. Employees with disabilities in groups I and II are entitled to 30 calendar days of leave per year, while employees in group III are entitled to 26 calendar days.
In addition to the annual basic leave provided for under the Law of Ukraine “On Vacations”, employees are entitled to additional leave, which will be discussed in the next section.
The total duration of vacation cannot exceed 59 calendar days per year. For employees engaged in underground mining work, the limit is 69 calendar days.
Part-time or weekly employees are entitled to a full-year annual basic leave.
It should be noted that weekends are included in the allotted time for annual leave, but holidays and non-working days are not.
Types of vacations
Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine “On Vacations” outlines the following types of vacations:
- annual leave (basic and additional)
- additional leaves in connection with education
- social leave
- sabbaticals
- leave for training and participation in competitions
- unpaid leave
Other types of vacations may be established by legislation, collective bargaining agreements, labor contracts, or other agreements.
Annual basic leave
In accordance with Article 6 of the Law of Ukraine “On Vacations”, employees who have completed a working year (from the date of the employment contract) are entitled to a minimum of 24 calendar days of annual basic leave.
The law stipulates additional days of annual basic leave for certain employee categories. The list of these categories can be found in the Law on Vacations.
Annual additional leave
In addition to annual basic leave, the law also provides employees with additional types of leave, including:
- Leave for specific conditions of work: the duration is determined by the collective/employment agreement and varies according to an employee’s length of employment in these conditions.
- Leave for work in harmful and difficult working conditions: the duration is determined by the collective/employment agreement and depends on the results of the inspection of working conditions and the time of employment of the employee in these conditions, and other types.
Additional leave for purposes related to education
Employees who are simultaneously pursuing their education are entitled to additional paid leave in connection with their studies at vocational, secondary, and higher education institutions, as well as postgraduate and graduate schools. In addition, such employees are entitled to certain benefits as set forth in the Labor Code of Ukraine.
Social leave
Social leave is available for the following reasons:
- Due to pregnancy and labor;
- At the birth of a child;
- For childcare (up to three years);
- In connection with the adoption of a child;
- For employees who have a child with a disability from subgroup A of group I.
Unpaid Leave
In accordance with Article 25 of the Law of Ukraine “On Vacations,” employees may be granted unpaid leaves on a mandatory basis. The list of reasons for this type of leave can be found in the Law on Vacations.
During the period of martial law, an employee who has traveled abroad or has acquired the status of an IDP (internally displaced person) is entitled to take up to 90 calendar days of unpaid leave.
In addition, employees may take family leave for a period of no more than 30 calendar days per year.
The employer may also grant unpaid leave at the request of the employee for the following reasons:
- In the event an employee requires self-isolation on the grounds set forth by law;
- In the event of an epidemic or pandemic;
- In the event of an imminent threat of armed aggression against Ukraine;
- In the event of an emergency of a man-made, natural, or other nature.
In the event that employees are on unpaid leave, the time spent away from work is not counted as length of service. Therefore, employees are also entitled to annual basic leave.
The law also permits sabbaticals (for the completion of dissertations, the preparation of textbooks, etc.) and leaves for the preparation and participation in competitions.
Changes to the procedure for granting vacations during martial law
The Law of Ukraine No. 2136-IX “On the Organization of Labor Relations under Martial Law” implements amendments to the procedure for granting vacations.
The employer may limit annual basic leave to 24 calendar days per working year, and may also grant leave without pay for any other type of leave.
Exception: maternity leave, adoption leave and leave to care for a child under 3 years of age should be granted according to the usual procedure.
In the event that an employee’s annual basic leave exceeds the standard 24 calendar days for certain reasons, the unused days may be transferred to the period following the termination or cancellation of martial law, or alternatively, provided without pay.
Vacation schedule
The vacation schedule establishes the sequence in which paid leaves are granted, taking into account the personal preferences of the employee and the employer.
In accordance with Article 10 of the Law of Ukraine “On Vacations”, the employer is responsible for establishing the schedule for their company and coordinating it with the duly elected body of the primary trade union organization or other authorized entity representing the employees. Subsequently, all employees must be made aware of the schedule.
There is no standard format for the vacation schedule, so each company may create its own version.
What information should be included in the schedule?
- month when the use of the leave begins;
- month when the leave starts;
- month when the leave ends;
- the exact start date of the employee’s leave
Clause 20 of the Standard Internal Labor Regulations for Workers and Employees of Enterprises, Institutions, and Organizations states that the vacation schedule must be approved at the beginning of each calendar year, but no later than January 5.
Vacation documenting
An employee may be granted leave by an order, the form of which is approved by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine.
Scheduled vacation. In the event that an employee requests a leave in accordance with the vacation schedule, the employer is required to provide written notification to the employee of the commencement date at least two weeks in advance. The format of the notice is at the employer’s discretion. The employee shall confirm their familiarity with the contents of this notice or the vacation schedule by placing a mark or other indication of acknowledgment.
Unscheduled vacation. In the event that an employee wishes to take a leave outside of the agreed schedule, they must submit a written request that includes the following information: the date the leave is to commence, the duration of the leave (in calendar days), and the type of leave.
Is a vacation application mandatory?
In accordance with the relevant legislation, an employee is not obliged to submit a formal application for a leave that has been previously agreed upon in the approved vacation schedule.
In the event that an employee changes their mind and wishes to take leave at a different time (different from the approved vacation schedule) or use only part of their annual basic leave, they must submit an application to the head of the company.
How to automate the vacation registration process?
In some instances, a straightforward process such as processing a vacation can be significantly delayed or even rendered impossible due to the paper-based nature of the company’s document workflow. This can result in inefficiencies for the HR department and managers, as well as confusion.
However, the vacation processing and signing of applications can be automated and made highly convenient with Vchasno.ODE. Imagine a system that eliminates printing costs, saves employees time, and ensures the security and protection of documents.
What will be the process of applying for a vacation at your company?
Step 1. The employee can create an application in a few simple steps, in a way that is convenient for them. The process can be automated so that the employee can complete it in one click via a bot, or an application can be created from your accounting system. The employee then signs the document in Vchasno.ODE and sends it to the HR department.
Step 2. The HR department (HR specialist, personnel officer, etc.) reviews the application, creates an order, and forwards it to the manager.
Step 3: The company head then signs the order.
Step 4. The order is then sent to the employee for their signature.
All processes are conducted online, eliminating the need for manual file searching or mailing, and ensuring the security and integrity of documents. Automated scenarios facilitate the signing of documents in stages and their subsequent distribution to the relevant colleagues.
How to easily sign vacation documents online?
All documents are signed online with a digital signature. Employees can get an electronic signature in Vchasno.KEP for free or use any other signature.
Rules for storing vacation documents
The regulations governing document retention are outlined in the List of Standard Documents, which details the retention periods for various types of documents created by state and local authorities, as well as other legal entities.
According to the Order on Approval of the Regulations on Organization of Record Keeping and Archival Storage of Documents in State Bodies, Local Self-Government Bodies, Enterprises, Institutions and Organizations it is:
| Not Recommended | Recommended |
| To attach employees’ vacation applications to their personal files. | To form separate files by year for applications. Make entries in the internal descriptions of personal files if they contain vacation applications. |
| To prepare applications together with vacation orders. | To form together with vacation schedules, as well as information on the granting and use of vacations. |
The retention period for schedules, applications, and information pertaining to the granting and use of annual, social, sabbatical, and unpaid leave is one year. The retention period for the logs in which all types of leave applications are registered is five years.
On an annual basis, the government and Ukrainian businesses alike are digitizing an increasing number of their services. There are several reasons for this, including the fact that online services offer convenience, cost and time savings, data reliability, and security. This enhances the resilience of both the government and businesses to modern threats.
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