Sick leave before vacation: is it profitable and what is the best way?

Last modified: January 2021

A sudden illness can ruin vacation plans or postpone them to a later date. Sometimes an employee, due to the fact that he is forced to be absent, does not have time to complete an important task from management, and subsequent leave threatens to disrupt the company’s work. In this case, before leaving, the subordinate communicates with management and coordinates vacation plans. Sick leave before vacation affects the procedure for subsequent leave, accruals from accounting and requires compliance with labor legislation.

Depending on the duration of the illness, the end date of the sick leave, work needs and the personal intentions of the person, further vacation plans may change.

Basic provisions

By law, every subordinate has the right to apply for annual leave. The employer, regardless of the legal form of the legal entity, has no right to refuse this. The right to leave is available for almost all categories of subordinates - part-time workers, seasonal workers or employees employed temporarily by the company. However, subordinates working under a civil contract are deprived of this right.

During the vacation period, the employer is obliged to preserve the subordinate’s workplace and his average earnings. The average duration of annual leave is 28 days. Depending on the region, employee category or profession, it may be increased. The subordinate has the right to divide the vacation into a couple of parts, and none of them can be less than 14 days.

Onset of incapacity for work before going on vacation

If a person gets sick just before his vacation, he may have difficulty arranging a vacation.

If a subordinate went on sick leave before going on vacation, then he needs to draw up an application to postpone the vacation to a later time. If a person managed to recover before going on vacation, but his illness did not allow him to complete a certain amount of work, then, with his consent, the employer also has the right to postpone the vacation to another date - however, without reaching an agreement with the subordinate, such a transfer will be considered a violation of his labor rights.

Application for transfer of vacation (sample)

Expert commentary

Gorbunova Olga

Lawyer

It is also recommended to reschedule the vacation if the subordinate, due to his illness, did not have time to issue the order on time and did not make all the due payments.

If the subordinate has recovered when his vacation has already begun, then there are two options for further action:

1. When an order has been issued and payments have been made, the employee informs the employer by telephone that he does not go to work, but immediately goes on vacation after sick leave. Due to the days affected by the sick leave, a person can leave them for later and take another vacation a little later or extend the vacation.
2. If the extension occurred during vacation, then the required application can be written after returning to work. The grounds for ordering an extension of leave will be an application and sick leave.

If the employer does not pay vacation pay, the subordinate returns to work and postpones the vacation to another date.

Illness on the eve of vacation: legislative links

When coordinating leave with previous sick leave, the standards established by the Labor Code are adhered to. The first thing that temporary disability affects the day before is the start and end dates of the next vacation. An employee has the right to postpone paid leave on the basis of paragraph 1, part 1, article 124, if the accounting department has not yet paid compensation according to the law, and by the time the vacation is expected to begin, the sick leave certificate has been closed.

If an employee of an organization is already on vacation, but during this period an illness occurs or an accident occurs, according to the law, unused paid vacation days are transferred to:

• at the end of the vacation, extending the person’s rest;
• for another period of time, if there is no need to use them now.

Similar rules apply in situations where the illness lingered before the vacation and did not allow you to use the full allotted time.

According to the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Part 1 of Article 423), in the absence of contradictions, to regulate issues related to labor relations, Russian citizens and organizations have the right to apply legislative acts adopted and in force during the Soviet period.

When determining the possibility of postponing the start of vacation, they are guided by Part 1 of Article 18 of the Rules on Leave (regular and additional), adopted in 1930 by the People's Commissariat of Labor of the USSR. In particular, if by the time you go on paid leave, circumstances have arisen that do not allow you to start your vacation in a timely manner, a new vacation period is assigned with the consent of the manager. Unavoidable circumstances that prevent an employee from leaving include his temporary disability.

Download an example application for rescheduling a vacation (25.0 KiB, 860 hits)

An important feature should be taken into account - you can transfer unused days or add them at the end of the vacation period only within the framework of the regular annual leave received in accordance with the previously approved schedule. If the leave is related to studying at a college or university, to care for a minor, or taken outside the schedule at your own expense, and the employee gets sick after it began, the administration is not obliged to extend it.

If the vacation of a hired employee is divided into main and additional (in accordance with Articles 115-119 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation), the rules for transferring or joining the rest of the vacation are organized according to the general standard, since both types of vacation are included in the paid category.

There are situations when a person is about to go on vacation, but the day before a sick leave was issued due to the illness of a family member. In this case, it will not be possible to extend the vacation or use days in another period of time. At the same time, when discussing the possibility of a transfer, the employee has the right to appeal to Art. 18 of the Rules on regular vacations, which states that a transfer is possible if there are reasons that prevent the start of the vacation. The need to care for a loved one with a sick leave certificate can also be considered such a circumstance. If a certificate of incapacity for work was issued due to the illness of a relative, it is recommended to agree on the possibility of using leave at a later period, referring to the norm of the Soviet legislative act.

The difference between extending and postponing vacation

In order to make a choice between extending and postponing vacation, you must consider the following:

• If, before going on vacation, an employee falls ill and cannot go on vacation on a pre-agreed date, then he agrees with the employer on a new date for going on vacation. In this case, rest days are postponed. There are other reasons for postponement; employee illness is one of the main ones.
• If a subordinate returns from sick leave when the vacation has already begun, then an extension of the duration of vacation comes into effect. The end date of the vacation is shifted by the number of vacation days that fell on sick leave. The subordinate must inform the employer about the extension - otherwise the employee may be accused of gross failure to comply with labor discipline. If a person fails to prove the fact that for objective reasons he was deprived of the opportunity to inform the employer, then absenteeism will be entered on his report card for these days.

Does it affect the amount of vacation pay?

Is it beneficial to go on sick leave before going on vacation? The answer to this question cannot be unambiguous. Sick leave, even with 100% payment, cannot be equal to the amount of earnings that the employee receives per month, since it is calculated in a different way.

In most cases the amount will be slightly less. On the other hand, if illness prevents you from performing work functions, then there is no choice left. However, sick leave before a vacation does not affect the amount of vacation pay.

Both payments are made independently of each other and cannot be reduced due to the coincidence of periods. The only exception is the transfer of the period to another month, when vacation pay can be recalculated and partially withheld, since the vacation is not actually used. However, even in this case, vacation pay will be paid later when the employee uses up the remaining days.

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Procedure for transferring or extending vacation

The procedure to follow in the event of disability is as follows:

• go to the clinic or call your local doctor home if signs and symptoms of the disease appear;
• open a certificate of incapacity for work on the first day of illness;
• inform the employer about the incident - through a statement or orally;
• close the certificate of incapacity for work on the last day of illness;
• return to work and provide the HR department with a sick leave certificate.

The subordinate must submit a statement. Its form is not established by law, but there is information that must be present in it:

• company name, address, full name of employer;
• request to postpone the start date of the vacation to a later date, increase its duration or separate specific days;
• reasons for extending or postponing vacation (illness, sick leave);
• putting down all the necessary dates: it is necessary to indicate the most specific terms and dates - this will prevent possible disagreements between the employer and the subordinate;
• date of application, signature of the subordinate.

Documents proving the existence of grounds for changing the duration or date of leave are attached to the application.

After receiving the application and documents, the employer decides to change the leave and issues an order. So, if a subordinate falls ill when the employer has already properly issued him leave and made all the necessary entries in his personal card, then he needs to change the entry and cancel the previously drawn up order.

Most often, the entry must be crossed out, a corrected entry made, dated and signed by the person in charge indicating his position. However, each specific company may have its own rules for making such adjustments.

Features of sick leave payment

The rules for calculating sick pay do not change. It does not matter whether the subordinate recovered before going on leave or while on leave. An exception is if a person gets sick while on vacation at his own expense. In this case, the employer does not pay for sick days.

If sick leave is closed before going on vacation, it is paid upon presentation. You can pay it off before going on vacation. If the sick leave is open before the vacation, and closed after going on vacation, then the employer pays for the sick leave after the subordinate returns to work.

If a subordinate goes on other types of leave - for example, maternity leave, educational leave - then for all days when vacation and sick leave coincide, the employer pays the amounts due for the first. They are not paid sick leave.

In order to calculate benefits for temporary disability, the employer takes into account the length of service of the subordinate. The benefit amount can range from 60% of average earnings to 100%. 60% is paid if the insurance period is no more than 5 years. If the length of service is 5-8 years, then the benefit amount is 80%. If the length of service exceeds 8 years, then the subordinate receives 100% sick pay.

The calculation period in the case of average earnings is 2 years before the disease. If during this period the subordinate changed his place of employment, then information from previous places of work is also taken into account. The total amount earned during this period is divided into 730 days. The number of days worked does not matter.

If an employee is employed on a part-time basis, then the amount of benefits for them is calculated based on actual earnings. The calculation procedure changes slightly. It is necessary to establish a billing period of 2 years before the opening of sick leave. Next, the average earnings of the subordinate are calculated, and the resulting amount is compared with the minimum wage. The total length of service of the subordinate is established, and all due payments are made to him.

If the subordinate’s work experience is less than 6 months, then the current minimum wage is used to calculate benefits. Subordinates with minimal experience who work part-time receive benefits in accordance with the minimum wage and working hours. For the calculation, the amount of the minimum wage, which is valid on the date of onset of the disease, is used.

Another vacation after maternity leave. Peculiarities

The second option for using your next vacation is to go on it after maternity leave or parental leave.

You can go on annual leave immediately after the end of maternity leave. However, in most cases this option will not be profitable from a financial point of view. If a woman intends to continue caring for her child, and the sick leave ends in December, then she can take leave until the end of the year, and from January go on care leave for up to 1.5 years. When calculating vacation pay in this case, you should keep in mind that the time spent on sick leave is not included in the calculation.

For those who want to extend their stay with the child after he reaches 1.5 or 3 years, there is also the opportunity to go on another vacation. In this case, income data can be taken from earlier periods if data for the last year is not available. If it is not possible to determine the amount of income, then data on earnings by position of the employee are taken for calculation.

It is necessary to take into account two features of leave after maternity leave:

• If leave is taken immediately after the end of sick leave, then the duration of parental leave is proportionally reduced. For example, if a woman decides to take annual leave for 14 days, then leave up to 1.5 years will be reduced by the same 14 days
• After the end of sick leave, vacation is usually taken by those employees who plan to return to work. In this case, another working relative of the woman is granted maternity leave.

Vacation pay calculation

To calculate vacation pay, the last 12 months worked by the subordinate at the current place of work are taken into account. In accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, vacation pay is paid 3 days before a subordinate leaves to rest.

But if instead the person went on sick leave, and then the vacation date was postponed, then the employer does not have the right to immediately withhold the funds paid. They must be taken into account when transferring salaries in the future. To withhold funds, the subordinate must agree in writing. The maximum amount of deduction is 20% of earnings. But if a subordinate quits, then you can withhold the entire amount due when settling with him.

If the duration of vacation was increased by days of illness, then no changes need to be made, and there is no need to recalculate either.

What if an employee gets sick before going on vacation?

; participation in a court hearing as a juror (Law of August 20, 2004 No. 113-FZ), etc. Situation: What documents need to be drawn up to extend the annual main leave of an employee Cases of extending the annual main leave of an employee are listed in Part 1 of Article 124 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

So, for example, an extension is possible if an employee falls ill. I’ve already looked, now I’ll send annual leave. Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Human Resources of the Ministry of Health of Russia Situation: When do you need to pay vacation pay if an employee gets sick before the start of the vacation? As a general rule, vacation pay must be paid three calendar days before the start of the vacation (Part.

9 tbsp. 136 Labor Code of the Russian Federation). If the employee knows about his discharge before the start of the vacation and he does not intend to postpone his vacation, then vacation pay should be paid in the general manner, that is, three calendar days before the start of the vacation in accordance with Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

Sick leave before vacation followed by dismissal

If during a vacation with further dismissal a subordinate went on sick leave, then the duration of the vacation for the days of his loss of ability to work is not extended. From the first day of leave, the employment relationship between the subordinate and the employer loses its validity.

However, sick leave must be paid in full. Even if the days of loss of ability to work extend beyond the vacation, they are still paid by the employer.

Thus, if there is sick leave, annual leave can be extended by the number of days of illness, which does not apply to leave with further departure from the company. Even if the employer extends the vacation of a subordinate, recalculates the length of service and the number of days of work under the employment contract, the resigning employee has the right to initiate legal proceedings, since such actions by his superiors violate his labor rights.

Expert commentary

Kamensky Yuri

Lawyer

Leave to a subordinate followed by dismissal is provided according to schedule. This issue must be previously agreed upon with the employer. If the authorities are against it, then you will have to wait in line. If a subordinate went on vacation without permission, then by law this will be regarded as absenteeism, and he has the right to be fired under the article.

At the same time, persons affected by the Chernobyl accident, as well as parents of children with disabilities and parents of two or more children under 12 years of age have the right to take leave regardless of the established schedule.

Important! The day a subordinate is dismissed is the last day of his vacation. Before vacation on the last working day of a subordinate, the employer is obliged to fully pay him, pay vacation pay and sick leave, return the work book and other documents required when leaving work. All these actions must be completed before the employee leaves to rest, since at the end of the vacation there are no labor obligations between the employee and the employer.

Application for scheduled leave

Employers stipulate in local regulations that before the start of the planned annual leave, the employee writes an application with a request to provide it. When there is an application with the manager’s visa “agreed”, this adds confidence to the employee that the vacation will take place and will not be postponed.

What the law says. As soon as the employer approves the vacation schedule, the document becomes mandatory for both parties to the employment contract (Article 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). For this reason, it is not required to obtain an application or consent from the employee to take a vacation on the dates specified in the schedule. The HR officer will need the application if the employee wants to go on vacation on other days.

What is useful to a personnel officer? Even if the leave is scheduled, it is safer to obtain a statement from the employee. From the moment the employee expresses in writing his desire to go on vacation, the personnel officer draws up an order, transfers it to the accounting department for payment, decides on the temporary performance of the work of the absent employee, etc.