What is administrative leave and who is entitled to it?

What is administrative leave

As Art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, once a year an employee is provided with annual paid leave. In addition, the employee has the right to take administrative leave. It represents additional unpaid leave. Another name for this type of leave is leave at your own expense or without pay.

Please note that an employee can take unpaid leave only on his own initiative. An employer does not have the right to force people to take vacation at their own expense. For such actions he faces administrative liability.

Leave procedure

The procedure for granting administrative leave is very simple:

1. The employee writes a statement informing management when and why he must be absent.
2. Management studies the application, clarifies details if necessary and agrees on the application.
3. The secretary or HR employee informs the employee that his application has been approved.

It’s possible to get everything done within 1 hour, especially if the circumstances are emergency. If it is possible to notify the employer earlier, it is worth writing a statement 5-10 days before your absence.

Cases of granting unpaid leave

The Labor Code regulates the procedure for granting leave at one's own expense. This is stated in Art. 128 and art. 173 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Let's consider cases in which the employer is obliged to allow the employee to go on unpaid leave.

Thus, up to 5 calendar days leave is granted to employees who:

• a child was born;
• a close relative has died;
• marriage.

When granting unpaid leave, other reasons are formulated as family circumstances or valid reasons and their names are indicated. However, the employer may refuse to grant leave for a valid reason, having every right to do so.

In addition, according to Part 2 of Art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, there is a certain group of persons who are entitled to additional unpaid leave unconditionally. These include:

• disabled people - regardless of their health group, they can receive unpaid leave of up to 60 calendar days per year;
• participants of the Great Patriotic War, who are entitled to up to 35 calendar days of administrative leave;
• old age pensioners;
• spouses or parents of military personnel killed in the line of duty can count on unpaid leave of up to 14 calendar days.

Thus, the employer is obliged to approve their leave at his own expense, having previously agreed on the dates of absence from the workplace. Despite the fact that the employee will not receive wages, his job will be retained.

We also note an important detail: administrative leave is provided as needed, and not according to a schedule drawn up in advance.

To whom and in what amount can it be provided?

In accordance with Art. 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, days of rest without pay may be provided for family or other valid reasons, the list of which has not been established. In practice, these reasons may include:

• illness of family members;
• preparation of any documents;
• registration or divorce;
• other reasons why an employee must be present at any place during working hours.

However, this article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation contains a list of situations in which the employer has no options - unpaid days must be provided to the employee under the following conditions:

• administrative leave at the initiative of the employee, maximum period - 5 days: at the birth of a child;
• for marriage registration;
• in case of death of close relatives;

Also, cases in which the employer is obliged to provide unpaid days of rest are established in Art. 263 Labor Code on the basis of a collective agreement:

• if the employee has two or more children under 14 years of age;
• if the employee has a disabled child under 18 years of age;
• if a child under 14 years of age is raised by a single parent (or father or mother).

IMPORTANT!

The same rules and procedures apply to part-time workers as for full-time employees.

Providing leave without pay at the initiative of the employer

As noted, an employer cannot force unpaid leave without good reason. In this case, the employee can contact the appropriate authority - the labor inspectorate (LIT).

In accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, such a violation threatens individual entrepreneurs and officials with a fine:

• from 1000 to 5000 rub. — for individual entrepreneurs;
• from 30,000 to 50,000 rub. — for organizations (as you can see, the fines are impressively higher).

However, there are good reasons when an employer can send on a type of leave. This happens when he can no longer fully fulfill his obligations to employees or it becomes economically unprofitable. The employer may be exempt from paying wages, but is obliged to pay maintenance to all employees who are forced to take such leave. For example, in a downtime situation, payment will be at least 2/3 of the salary or average earnings for the entire “vacation” period.

How to write a statement correctly

The application is written in free form, by hand or on the computer. The employee indicates on what days and for what reason he will be absent. The structure of the application is simple.

How to write:

1. A cap. Supervisor's name, position, and applicant's name.
2. The word "statement".
3. Please provide leave, dates and reasons for absence.
4. Signature, date of compilation.

If the applicant has a document confirming the need to be absent, it is worth attaching a copy of it to the application.

Application form for leave at your own expense

Sample document

How to write an application for administrative leave? Sample:

“Please provide me with 2 days of leave at my own expense for family reasons, June 10 and 11, 2021 (Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

June 1, 2021, Smirnov P.V.”

or a more detailed example:

“In connection with the birth of my son, I ask you to provide me with 5 days of leave at my own expense for the period from April 24 to 28 in accordance with Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Attached is a copy of my birth certificate.

April 23, 2021, Belov M. R.”

Results

We looked at what unpaid leave is, who is entitled to it, and which employees the employer does not have the right to refuse.

Thus, with the exception of the three situations considered and a certain category of persons, the employer may not provide administrative leave. This is only his right, but not his obligation.

In the application, the employee can indicate the period of leave he requires. The employer, in turn, may reduce the number of vacation days or refuse to provide it altogether. In any case, vacation at your own expense must be agreed upon with management, following all local regulations of the company.

How to register

As in other cases, rest days that an employee wants to take without pay are issued at the request of the employee. The application shall indicate:

• number of vacation days;
• reasons, if they are named in the Labor Code, or simply the phrase “for family reasons.” So that the employer has no doubt that your absence from work is a necessary measure, it is better to attach documents to justify the reasons for your absence.

Sample application for administrative leave

Based on the application, an order is issued to either grant or refuse leave. The last option must indicate the reasons for the refusal. The employee reads the document and signs it.

The number of days provided is recorded in the employee’s personal card.

Application for administrative leave

Current legislation and by-laws do not contain specific requirements for the application form for administrative leave.

However, this document is official, so the rules of business correspondence must be followed:

applications for vacation at your own expense free in word format

• on a sheet of A4 paper in the upper right corner indicate the position, surname and initials of the official in whose name the application is being submitted,
• just below is the last name, first name, patronymic, position, name of the structural unit where the employee who applied for the document works,
• in the center of the sheet the name of the document “Application for Leave” is written,
• starting from a new line, the essence of the appeal is stated in free form - a request for leave. The specific start date of the vacation and its total duration, expressed in calendar days, are indicated,
• reference to a legal provision that provides for the possibility of granting an employee leave.

Attention! If the application is accompanied by documents that confirm the need for leave, this is indicated in the text of the document itself.

The application is signed by the person who compiled it, indicating the date, surname and initials of the person applying for leave. The text of the document itself can be executed either in handwritten text or in typewritten form.

When writing by hand, you should use blue or black color for writing the document, as is customary in official business communication.

If the application is satisfied, the employer issues a corresponding order, which the employee familiarizes with upon signature. The order form has the unified form T-6.

Dismissal during the probationary period at the initiative of the employer

Can a woman with a minor child be fired? Read here.

Is it possible to recall an employee from vacation without his consent? Read the link: https://novocom.org/trudovoe-pravo/mogut-li-otozvat-iz-otpuska-bez-soglasiya-rabotnika-2.html

Who is entitled according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

The Labor Code also provides additional guarantees for certain categories of workers to receive administrative leave.

Important! Thus, Article 128 of the Labor Code obliges the employer to provide leave without pay to the employee if he belongs to one of the following categories:

• participant of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Such persons have the right to additional rest at their own expense for up to 35 days,
• working pensioners who have taken a well-deserved retirement due to age enjoy additional rest of up to 14 days,
• disabled employees, regardless of disability group, have the right to 60 additional days,
• parents or spouses of a military serviceman and a person equivalent to him (police, State Drug Control Service, customs and others) who died in the line of duty or died from wounds and injuries received under the same circumstances can count on leave of up to 14 days.

You should know that:

• it is impossible to reduce the number of days, even if this is stated in the collective agreement. Such a clause would be illegal
• The persons listed above can take advantage of the right to administrative leave throughout the calendar year. Transferring such leave to the next year is not permitted,
• Administrative leave can be taken in parts.

Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.

Is it possible to apply retroactively?

All internal documentation at the enterprise is drawn up on the current day. This means that the law does not provide for the preparation of any documents retroactively. Accordingly, such actions are not permitted.

However, as practice shows, many companies commit the sin of taking vacation at their own expense on days when the employee is already absent or even later, on the very next day.

If an employee does not agree with the vacation schedule, what should he do?