Vacation is due to every working citizen in accordance with the requirements of labor legislation, while the vacation time of each employee must be determined before the start of the new working year.
Changing the vacation schedule is allowed at the initiative of the employer, if there are sufficient grounds for this, or at the initiative of the employee, if he is sick or some circumstances have arisen that do not allow him to carry out work activities during a given period of time. Moreover, if the reason for postponing the vacation is not valid or does not correspond to the interests of the organization, then the employer has the right to refuse to postpone the employee’s vacation.
Features of transferring vacations are regulated by Art. 124 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which determines the reasons and grounds for changing the vacation schedule of employees, and also establishes categories of employees who cannot postpone vacations at all. A prerequisite for rescheduling the vacation schedule for employees is the existence of agreement between the employee and the employer on changing the vacation time.
It is noted that changing the vacation time becomes impossible if a number of circumstances arise. Such circumstances include:
- warning about the need to change vacation time less than two weeks before the start of the employee’s next vacation;
- payment to the employee of vacation pay, which must be provided no later than three days before the start of the rest period.
Changing the duration or time of vacation most often occurs on the initiative of the employee himself, since the vacation schedule is approved in advance, and all employees of the enterprise follow it unconditionally. The reason for changing the schedule for a specific employee must be compelling and respectful, since the employer has every right to refuse to satisfy the request of an employee of the organization.
Changes to the vacation schedule may occur:
- At the initiative of the employer, in which insurmountable circumstances must arise that do not allow the employee to go on vacation at the time specified in the schedule. Most often this is the reorganization of the enterprise, as well as the introduction of new technologies and systems in production.
- At the initiative of the employee. In this case, the employee must prove that he has valid reasons for requesting a postponement of leave - this could be family circumstances or illness.
Experts highlight some of the grounds that require mandatory fulfillment of the employee’s request in full or in part, but the application must be completed within the established time frame and not contain the requirement to “go on vacation starting tomorrow.”
The reasons for changing the time of the vacation period are:
- An employee’s illness, which is confirmed by a certificate of temporary incapacity for work. Illness of relatives, including children, is not a reason for changing the vacation schedule.
- Violation of labor legislation by the employer, consisting in violation of the rights of an employee of the organization.
- The employee performs government duties that require release from work. Most often, the main methods of performing public duties are appearing in court as a witness, a representative of one of the parties or a juror, as well as in the case of military training, at which an employee of the enterprise must be present.
- Other circumstances that the employer may consider important for a particular employee if he submits an application.
In each specific case, the employer independently determines the importance of the reason for postponing the vacation, so it is better for employees to have a stable business relationship with their employer.
Transferring family leave
The legislation provides for the possibility of postponing leave for family reasons if the employee has not yet been paid as vacation pay, and also has not been notified of the imminent time of rest. The employer has every right to establish his own procedure for replacing vacation time in the organization, based on reasons that are considered valid.
Family circumstances are not a valid reason for changing the vacation time, however, in some situations, the organization’s management may accommodate the employee halfway if circumstances force him to take urgent leave. An example of such a situation could be a sudden illness of a close relative or one’s own disease, which is difficult to cure and leads to disability of the citizen in the future or today.
It will not be possible to obtain the right to change the start date of vacation due to one’s own wedding or the wedding of relatives, since these are not serious and compelling circumstances, and if the collective agreement allows employees to take unpaid leave for several days due to such celebrations, then the employee can take namely time off, without touching or changing annual paid leave.
In accordance with Art. 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the priority of vacations is provided based on the appropriate schedule, which is adopted no later than two weeks before the new calendar year. At the same time, execution of the schedule is mandatory for each party to the labor relationship, therefore any changes to the existing plan must be formalized by mutual agreement of the parties.
Why is the vacation schedule changing?
Every year, the management of the enterprise signs documents establishing the order of vacations, taking into account not only their own interests, but also the interests of employees (Article 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
To take into account the order of rest of employees, the HR department of an enterprise can use the T-7 form (approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee of the Russian Federation dated January 5, 2004 No. 1), it is also possible to develop the form independently (Law “On Accounting” dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ) .
For a sample of form No. T-7, see the article “Unified form No. T-7 - vacation schedule.”
All departments of the enterprise have their own order of rest.
Despite the fact that all vacations at the enterprise are agreed upon, circumstances requiring changes arise. And sometimes several times a year.
Reasons for this may be:
- hiring workers after agreeing on a vacation schedule;
- the employee did not want to go on vacation on the agreed dates and asks to postpone his vacation to other dates;
- vacationer's sick leave;
- events occur at the enterprise that force the employee to be asked to interrupt his vacation;
- violation of deadlines for payment of vacation pay and (or) notification of the start date of vacation.
Before making changes to the vacation schedule, you must make sure that the employees whose vacation is planned to be postponed have not missed or rescheduled it for 2 years in a row. Even if he himself asks for a supervisor, it will not be legal.
Find out whether you need to make changes to the vacation schedule in connection with the extension of annual paid leave from the ConsulantPlus ready-made solution. Get trial access to the system and see recommendations for free.
Transferring vacation to next vacation
The law prohibits transferring vacation to the next vacation, if the next vacation is not part of the next paid vacation, divided into two parts.
In such circumstances, it is possible to postpone vacation, but only if both the employee and the employer agree to such changes, and this will not cause any difficulties or problems for the organization as a whole.
If circumstances arise that require a change in the start time of vacation, an increase in the duration of vacation is allowed if the employer and employee jointly determined such a decision as the most beneficial solution for both parties.
Also, vacation is transferred to another vacation or time if the employer has not fulfilled the conditions for sending employees on vacation, which include:
- Notifying employees at least two weeks before the start date of the vacation.
- Payment of vacation pay no later than three days before the start date of the vacation.
If any of the conditions are not met, the employee cannot be sent on vacation.
Transferring vacation to next year
Annual paid leave cannot be replaced either by a compensation payment, except in cases of dismissal of employees, or by transferring the rest period to the next year. However, like any rule, this norm has exceptions.
Vacation appointments are regulated in accordance with Art. 122 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which establishes that an employee is entitled to 28 calendar days of vacation for each working year. An important provision indicates that it is not the calendar year that is taken into account, but the working year, which is calculated from the date the employee begins working. The working year is 12 calendar months from the date of registration of labor relations, after which the employee is entitled to annual paid leave. At the same time, it is clarified that leave can be granted at any time of the working year, regardless of the “convenience” or “wishes” of the employee of the enterprise.
If, due to some serious circumstances, the employee was unable to take advantage of the opportunity to rest for the past working year, due to his retraining or reorganization of the enterprise, etc., then the vacation can be postponed to any time over the next 12 months, as well as combined with the vacation of the next working year in full or in part.
It is impossible to replace a vacation not taken with compensation, so you can only take it off. It is allowed to go on vacation several times a year if the employee thus uses all rest days in full. Payment of compensation is allowed only for that part of the vacation that exceeds the 28 calendar days established by law.
Transfer rules
Each employee is entitled to 28 days of vacation, of which 14 days must be taken off in a row - the rules have not changed. However, this year people will have much less time for legal rest - it is obvious that most of the vacations planned in the first half of the year will have to be postponed to the second half of the year, and for many organizations this will not be easy.
It must be remembered that the law defines categories of workers who have the right to vacation at any convenient time, that is, outside the vacation schedule, remind the legal service of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia.
The following have the right to priority summer leave:
— adoptive parents of children under 3 months (Article 122 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
— maternity leave before and after maternity leave (Articles 122, 260 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
— husbands of women on maternity leave (Article 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
— minor workers (Articles 122, 267 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
- spouses of a person in military service (Federal Law 76, Art. 11)
— working disabled people (Federal Law-5, Articles 14, 16, 17,18, 19);
- heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia (FZ-4301-1, art. 8);
- part-time workers, if they have summer vacation at their main job (Article 286 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation);
— honorary donors (Federal Law-125 Art. 23-1-1);
- fathers and mothers of many children, parents of children with disabilities (Articles 262.1, 262.2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).
A planned vacation that falls in April cannot be automatically transferred or extended anywhere - non-working days are not non-working holidays, warns lawyer Nikolai Titov. This procedure is fixed in letters from the Russian Ministry of Labor. The employee is required to go on vacation.
If the employer accommodates the April vacationers and reschedules their vacation for other periods, he will have to conjure up the new schedule himself. If it is not possible to find convenient periods for everyone in the team, the only option left is to postpone the vacation to the next year. The Labor Code allows this possibility.
A planned vacation that falls in April cannot be automatically transferred or extended anywhere.
“In exceptional cases, when granting leave to an employee in the current working year may adversely affect the normal course of work of the organization and this can be proven, it is allowed, with the consent of the employee, to transfer the leave to the next working year,” says business mediator Yuri Kapshtyk. “In this case, the leave must be used no later than 12 months after the end of the working year for which it is granted.”
However, here comes another story that few people thought about when sending workers to work remotely. The employee must sign the vacation notice at least two weeks before the start of his vacation. And if another requirement - to transfer money at least three days before it starts - is still feasible in the current conditions, then getting a squiggle in the “acquainted” column has become quite difficult. The same applies to memos requesting the transfer of vacation to another date. Many people have already learned how to work remotely, but with the implementation of such seemingly formalities, unexpected and sometimes seemingly insoluble difficulties arise.
Labor law experts offer this solution. While it is not possible to obtain a signature on a piece of paper or an original paper application from an employee, use emails instead. Not everyone has a digital signature, but even a regular e-mail can be sufficient confirmation. Another option is to announce legally significant things in the organization’s work messenger. Then other participants in the general conversation will become witnesses. The main thing is that the employee clearly and unambiguously confirms his consent. And only then, when the coronavirus goes away, it will be possible to draw up all the formal papers, instead of which electronic messages were used in emergency mode.
By the way
The fall of the vacation on April non-working days cannot be a reason for its extension, lawyers say. But if during the vacation there was a period of temporary disability, then the days of rest when the employee was on sick leave must be made up. You can receive a ballot for a variety of reasons. In addition to the actual illness, it can be issued to one of the parents of a preschooler whose kindergarten was closed due to the pandemic, simply because there is no one to look after the child. Or if a person has been in contact with someone infected with COVID-19 and must self-isolate.
How to transfer a vacation
The transfer of leave is formalized upon submission of a corresponding application from the employee or upon issuance of an order of the same name, when the date of leave changes at the will of the employer. In this case, only the employer bears responsibility for the unlawful use of the opportunity to transfer vacation without the will of the employees.
Employees of the organization have the right to receive the following types of leave:
- Annual basic and additional, which are provided due to the employee completing one working year at the enterprise.
- Study leave, which is most often granted to student workers for a session or exams.
- Maternity leave, which is leave for medical reasons, which includes periods of rest for the employee in the period before and after childbirth.
- Child care leave granted until the child turns three years old. The legislator specifies that the employee can leave it at any time convenient for himself, as well as extend his vacation for a short period.
It is impossible to replace vacation or transfer it to certain categories of employees, as this is prohibited by mandatory legislation.
Such employees include the following categories of citizens:
- workers who are employed in hazardous and hazardous industries;
- workers who have not reached the age of majority.
The employer will not be able to change the vacations of such employees even if they apply and request, since this norm of labor law is mandatory and is subject to full execution in accordance with the law.
Order to postpone vacation
To apply for a transfer of leave, a corresponding application must be received from an employee of the organization or compelling circumstances must arise at the enterprise that preclude the departure of any employee during a certain period. In each case, a corresponding order is issued.
The document must contain the following information:
- Name of company.
- Information about the head of the enterprise.
- Title of the document.
- Grounds and reasons for postponing vacations.
- Responsibility for rescheduling vacations.
- The person who must create an updated vacation schedule if this is not done by the employer.
- Signatures for familiarization with the document of all participants in the order.
- Date of compilation and signature of the manager.
The law establishes that the employer has no obligation to draw up such an order, however, drawing up such a document may be convenient for the further conduct of business at the enterprise. This way you can avoid confusion and loss of necessary documents, as well as protect both parties from illegal actions.
Application for transfer of vacation
An application from an employee to postpone vacation is drawn up in free form, but it must fully reflect the situations in which there is a need for “shifts” in the established rest schedule of the organization’s employees.
The application must:
- be drawn up in the name of the head of the organization;
- have personal information about the employee, as well as his position;
- contain a request to postpone vacation;
- establish a valid reason for rescheduling vacations, since the wording “for family reasons” is not valid;
- contain the date and signature of the applicant.
The application must be submitted to the employer or other authorized person under the appropriate signature. It is best to draw up the document in two copies, one of which the employee can keep for himself, with the signature of the manager confirming the acceptance of the document for consideration.
How to draw up an order to amend the vacation schedule
The law does not establish any special form for this document. It can be compiled in any form, including using the business entity’s letterhead.
The order in the header must include the name of the business entity or full name. entrepreneur, location address, registration codes.
Next, on the next line you need to put the date of compilation and place.
After this, you need to write down the word “Order”, after which its serial number is indicated. On the next line you can put a brief content of the document - for example, “On the transfer of the annual paid leave of A. I. Zhdanov.”
The following is the introductory part of the order. It must indicate the reason why it was decided to postpone the employee’s vacation.
For example, here it is written “Based on the employee’s submitted application to postpone the vacation...” or “Due to the commissioning of a new machine and based on the written consent of the employee...”.
Next, the word “I order” is indicated, and after that the points of the order are stated:
- Carry out a transfer of vacation from the date specified in the vacation schedule to a new one. In this case, a new day for the start of the rest must be entered;
- Instructing the personnel employee to make the necessary changes to the existing vacation schedule.
Important: The order is signed by the head of the organization. Further, it is necessary to provide columns in which the indicated responsible employees will put their signatures.
