Vacation in Belarus

In the modern labour market conditions, every employee strives not only for professional growth, but also for the rest provided by employment. For hired workers in Belarus, labour vacation is an important part of the work process, which helps to restore strength and increase productivity. In this article, we will consider the various types of vacations provided in Belarus and their features and registration rules. These features will help managers and HR specialists better manage human resources and provide decent working conditions for employees. It will also expand their knowledge of EOR services, including providing vacation to employees.

What Vacations are there in Belarus

The types and features of vacations an employer may or is obliged to provide to hired workers are listed in the Labor Code. Hired workers in Belarus have the following types of vacations:

• Labour Vacations: basic and additional. During the labour vacation, employees retain their place of work and average salary.
• Social Vacations: With and without salary retention. Employees’ places of work are always retained during social vacations.

Let’s take a closer look at the features of different types of vacations.

Labour Vacations in Belarus

In Belarus, employees have the right to a basic labour vacation, which the employer must provide annually. The vacation period is peculiarly calculated not for a calendar year but for a working year: for 12 months from the date of hiring the employee.

The duration of labour vacation is a mandatory condition of the employment contract or agreement with the employee.

Duration of Labour Vacation

The duration of labour vacation is calculated using calendar days.

The minimum basic labour vacation can last 24 calendar days. It is impossible to establish a shorter labour vacation for employees. However, you can determine a larger number of days of labour vacation in the employment contract with the employee.

In many companies, it is customary to provide employees with labour vacation not in full at once but in parts. The possibility of dividing the vacation into several parts is usually spelt out in the local employer documents, and employees are familiar with such documents.

When a public holiday or a holiday established in Belarus as non-working falls during the vacation, such days are not included in the vacation duration and are not paid. In practice, it looks like this: the labour vacation is extended by the number of days of those holidays that fell during the vacation, but the employer does not pay for these extended days.

Additional Labor Vacations

The employer must provide the employee with additional vacations to the main labour vacation when there are grounds for such vacations. The grounds are listed in the Labor Code, and the cases when the employer has the right to provide the employee with additional vacation are also listed in the Labor Code.

Additional vacation is always added to the main vacation.

Here are the cases in which the employer is obliged to provide additional vacations:

1. Government agencies must confirm (certify) the conditions when the employee works in harmful or dangerous conditions or performs a special type of work.

2. When the employee’s working hours are irregular, as established in the employment agreement (contract), additional vacation may be up to 7 calendar days.

Irregular working hours are a work schedule in which an employee periodically, at the employer’s initiative (or at the employee’s initiative who notifies the employer), works beyond the standard working hours. In this case, the employer compensates for the overtime by providing additional vacation days for irregular working hours. With irregular working hours, overtime does not apply to overtime work.

Here are the cases in which the employer has the right to provide additional vacations:

1. When the employee has a long work experience in the company.

In this case, additional vacation may be up to 3 calendar days. The employer determines the conditions for providing employees with such vacation, including the number of days, in the employment contract or internal documents.

2. When the employer wants to reward the employee with additional vacation days, the employer has the right to establish such incentive vacations and their duration in internal documents in relation to categories of employees, entire departments, or individually in employment contracts.

How Can an Employee Get a Vacation

In Belarusian companies, a vacation schedule is drawn up every year. Such a schedule is usually drawn up no later than January 5 of the year when the vacations are planned. Employees are asked about vacation time to draw up a vacation schedule and plan a vacation. It is not necessary to plan the start date of the vacation in the schedule; it is enough to plan the month.

The employer is not always obliged to consider the employee’s opinion regarding vacation time if this disrupts the normal rhythm of the company’s work.

Peculiarities of Vacation Planning

However, there are categories of employees for whom the employer is obliged to plan a vacation at the employee’s earliest convenience.

Here are some of the categories of employees for whom vacation is planned at a time convenient for them:

• Employees under 18 years old.
• Veterans of military operations.
• Mother (stepmother) raising two or more children under 14 years old.
• Mother (stepmother), father (stepfather) who is raising a disabled child under 18 years old.
• Employees who have suffered from radiation sickness.

Here are some of the categories of employees whose vacation is planned at a certain time:

• Employees who study in the evening, remotely or by correspondence, during certification or vacation.
• Employees whose spouses are on maternity leave – during such vacation.
• Part-time workers – simultaneously with labour leave from their main job.
• Women, it is before maternity leave or after such leave.

After the vacation schedule is drawn up, all employees are familiar with it. The employer must notify the employee of the upcoming vacation no later than 15 days before the start of labour vacation.

Registration of Labour Vacation with the Employer

When an employee goes on vacation according to the vacation schedule, he usually does not need to apply with a request to provide labour vacation. The employee can write an information letter to his manager about the fact that he is going on vacation according to the schedule, who will forward the information to the accounting department. In this case, the employer pays the employee the average salary for the period of labour vacation no later than 2 days before the start of the vacation.

When an employee goes on vacation outside of the schedule, he or she usually writes a statement asking for vacation on certain dates. The employer must agree on such a vacation. Suppose the vacation is agreed upon outside of the schedule. In that case, the average salary for the vacation period is paid to the employee no later than two working days after the start of the vacation.

The employer issues an order granting the employee vacation, which he or she familiarizes the employee with.

An employee can be granted labour vacation followed by dismissal. In this case, the last day of vacation will be the last day of work.

Social Vacations in Belarus

Social vacations are vacations granted to employees for social purposes, such as maternity, childcare, education, and others. They are usually not planned in advance; there is no need to draw up a schedule for them. Social vacations are usually not mentioned in the employment contract unless they differ from those established in the state.

Social vacations are not related to labour vacations; they are also granted.

Social vacations can be used to retain average earnings or wages and can be unpaid. Employees who are on social vacation always retain their jobs.

Social leave is granted by the employer when there are grounds for it. All employees with grounds for receiving such leave have the right to such leave.

Let’s consider the main types of social leave.

Maternity Leave

This leave is granted to pregnant women for 126 calendar days, and in the case of the birth of two or more children, complications – for 140 calendar days.

The peculiarity of this leave is that for its period, not the average salary but the state social insurance benefit is paid.

Such leave is assigned based on a temporary disability certificate (sick leave) issued to a woman at a healthcare institution.

Leave to Care for a Child Until the Child Reaches Age Three

After the end of maternity leave, working women have the right to leave to care for a child until the child reaches the age of three. A woman is not obliged to go on such leave.

When a young mother works or studies, is an individual entrepreneur or is a craftsman (all of which must be on the territory of Belarus), the working father of the child or another member of the child’s family can take such leave.

To get such leave, the employee writes an application. The leave can be used in full or in parts of any size.

When the employee is on such leave, he is paid not the average salary but a state benefit. The benefit is retained even if the employee who is on leave works at the same time no more than half-time: no more than half the standard working hours (as a general rule—no more than 20 hours a week).

Leave for a Father (Stepfather) at the Birth of a Child

At the request of the father (stepfather) with a child, the employer must provide him with an unpaid leave of no more than 14 calendar days. Leave can be provided for more days by agreement with the employee.

Such leave is not divided into parts. The employee can receive such leave within 6 months from the date the child was born.

Short-Term Unpaid Leave

There are categories of employees to whom, at their request, the employer is obliged to provide unpaid leave of up to 14 calendar days. Here are some of them:

1. Women raising two or more children under 14 or a disabled child under 18. Usually, the employer has birth certificates for the employees’ children for tax deductions and social support purposes.

2. Employees who care for a sick family member. Such leave is provided based on a medical certificate of health.

Unpaid Leave for Valid Reasons

When an employee has reasons: family, domestic, related to scientific work and others, he has the right to unpaid leave for valid reasons. Usually, the employer provides such leave for no more than 30 calendar days during a calendar year. Companies can provide such leaves for three calendar months in a calendar year.

To get such leave, the employee writes an application stating a valid reason and the desired number of vacation days.

Instead of unpaid leave, the employer can offer the employee to take part in the labour leave. The employee’s consent is required for such a replacement.

Paid Leave for Valid Reasons

The company’s local documents state that employees are granted no more than 3 calendar days of paid social leave with the preservation of average earnings for certain valid reasons. These reasons usually include marriage registration, the birth of a child, the death of family members, and others.

To get such leave, the employee writes an application in which they give a valid reason and usually attaches a document to the application that confirms the circumstances.

Leave at the Employer’s Initiative is No More than 6 Months in Total in a Calendar Year.

With the consent of the employee, the employer may grant them such leave without pay or with partial pay when:

1. The employer needs to suspend work or reduce the volume temporarily.

2. The employer does not have such work to which the employee needs to be transferred due to health reasons, according to the conclusion of the medical commission.

In conclusion, labour and social vacations in Belarus are an important part of hired work and help employees balance work and personal life. The right to various types of vacation, such as annual and parental vacations, allows employees to take care of their health and well-being and their families. Understanding the specifics of providing and receiving vacation helps not only employees but also employers, creating more transparent and humane working conditions.

Given the growing importance of maintaining work motivation and satisfaction, it is important to remember that vacations not only serve as a time of rest but also contribute to increased productivity and employee loyalty. We hope that the aspects outlined in this article will help you better understand labour and social vacations in Belarus and make the most of the rights and opportunities provided.