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If an employee works less than 6 months in their first year, can they be granted paid leave?
If an employee works less than 6 months in their first year, can they be granted paid leave?
One of the cases encountered in practice is when an employer allows an employee who has worked for less than 6 months to take leave. Does this action of the employer constitute a violation of labor legislation?
According to the first part of Article 131 of the Labor Code, the right to use paid leave for the first year of employment arises after six months of work from the moment the employment contract is signed. The purpose of establishing a 6-month period in relation to paid leave in the Labor Code is to protect the employer from future financial risks associated with payment. The legislation provides the employer with at least a 6-month period to determine whether the employee will continue working until the end of the work year. For example, if the employer grants the employee 30 days of paid leave after the first two months and the employee decides to leave after the fourth month, it may become problematic to recover part of the paid leave.
If the employer assumes the financial risk and grants long-term paid leave to the employee after 2 months, this should be regarded as an improvement in working conditions by the employer. It should be noted that, according to the third part of Article 7 of the Labor Code, collective agreements, contracts, and individual employment contracts may provide for working conditions that cover additional labor, social, economic, material, and domestic relations more broadly than labor legislation.
When improving labor conditions, it is particularly important to ensure that no discrimination occurs among employees. If the employer allows one employee to take paid leave within the first 6 months of their first year, the same approach should be applied to other employees as well. We advise our colleagues that if any employee in the enterprise is allowed to take paid leave within the first 6 months of their first year, the employer should ensure this opportunity is accessible to all or specific categories of employees.
Of course, the law permits such improvements in working conditions in cases or for employees covered by the fourth part of Article 131 of the Labor Code (e.g., employees under the age of eighteen, women before or after maternity leave, etc.). Therefore, there is no need to establish norms for improving working conditions for such cases or employees in collective agreements, contracts, or individual employment contracts.
One of the cases encountered in practice is when an employer allows an employee who has worked for less than 6 months to take leave. Does this action of the employer constitute a violation of labor legislation?
According to the first part of Article 131 of the Labor Code, the right to use paid leave for the first year of employment arises after six months of work from the moment the employment contract is signed. The purpose of establishing a 6-month period in relation to paid leave in the Labor Code is to protect the employer from future financial risks associated with payment. The legislation provides the employer with at least a 6-month period to determine whether the employee will continue working until the end of the work year. For example, if the employer grants the employee 30 days of paid leave after the first two months and the employee decides to leave after the fourth month, it may become problematic to recover part of the paid leave.
If the employer assumes the financial risk and grants long-term paid leave to the employee after 2 months, this should be regarded as an improvement in working conditions by the employer. It should be noted that, according to the third part of Article 7 of the Labor Code, collective agreements, contracts, and individual employment contracts may provide for working conditions that cover additional labor, social, economic, material, and domestic relations more broadly than labor legislation.
When improving labor conditions, it is particularly important to ensure that no discrimination occurs among employees. If the employer allows one employee to take paid leave within the first 6 months of their first year, the same approach should be applied to other employees as well. We advise our colleagues that if any employee in the enterprise is allowed to take paid leave within the first 6 months of their first year, the employer should ensure this opportunity is accessible to all or specific categories of employees.
Of course, the law permits such improvements in working conditions in cases or for employees covered by the fourth part of Article 131 of the Labor Code (e.g., employees under the age of eighteen, women before or after maternity leave, etc.). Therefore, there is no need to establish norms for improving working conditions for such cases or employees in collective agreements, contracts, or individual employment contracts.