In the life of most women there is a period of time when even the most avid careerists push work to the background. The legislation in this case fully supports women, providing them with rest time before and after childbirth. In addition, any employee has the right to take her annual, for a period of not less than two weeks, paid leave before the decree. And this will allow a pregnant employee to fully relax before the most important work in life.
Right to vacation
Legislation defines the right of citizens to both work and leisure. Vacation - this is the time when the employee is absent from work, but at the same time his personal workplace, position or status and average salary are mandatory. Any employer must provide it to any employee at least once a year, for a period of not less than four weeks.
The right to leave arises for all workers, regardless of the duration of work and the form of the employment contract. Rest is laid for everyone, regardless of the circumstances: homeworkers, seasonal or temporary.
There are several types of vacations according to different criteria:
- annual paid duration of four weeks;
- various additional days of rest are provided for certain services or for years of experience;
- special leave, including maternity leave (reserved only for women), as well as care (to any employee) until the baby reaches the age of one and a half or three years.
Of course, employees in the situation may have a question: is vacation set before the decree? Most often, this topic is raised when the period of work in this institution is very short. According to the law, the right to the first vacation arises after six months of continuous work. However, an employee in a position may draw it up earlier.
The rights of working women to postponed maternity leave
Motherhood and childhood are under the special protection of the state. Pregnant women are a separate category of citizens who are especially protected by law. They are provided with various benefits and additional leave for childcare for three years and for pregnancy and subsequent childbirth for a minimum of 140 days. In addition, they have the right to take their annual leave before the decree or after, as conveniently.
Any employee who has a pregnancy certificate can apply for other additional benefits:
- shortened working day ;
- free visit to the clinic at a time convenient for the woman;
- transfer to work, excluding the effects of harmful factors;
- annual laid leave before the decree or, if convenient, after;
- maintaining the average wage for all periods of disability, absence from work or vacations.
If a pregnant employee is ex officio entitled to extended or additional leave, then it can be divided into parts. But this is possible only by agreement with the employee. You can take a month of vacation before the decree, and the rest of the days to walk after. This is convenient for the device and adaptation of the baby in a preschool educational institution.
An employer is always obligated to issue a leave to a pregnant woman before the decree. The basis will be a certificate from the medical institution and a statement of the employee. The employee has the right to it, regardless of the position and time of work in a particular organization.
Leave before maternity leave: how many days should it be?
Unfortunately, pregnant women may not be aware of their rights. It is certainly beneficial for employers to keep employees in the dark. Nevertheless, even in this case, the employee asks the question: is it possible to take leave before the decree? To whom and on how many calendar or working days is it laid?
Lawyers and labor law specialists have answers to these questions:
- any pregnant employee can take another vacation before the decree or after, at the request of the woman herself;
- such a benefit is granted to all pregnant women;
- however, it should be noted that you can take leave before the decree only if it has not yet been used in the calendar year;
- if the set days of rest have already been fully used in the current calendar year, then this benefit cannot be granted;
- When calculating the days for a postponed vacation before the decree (as it should be, every woman in the state is interested), you should be aware that all those not on holidays in the current calendar year are provided, but not less than 14 days.
Employers should remember the requirements of regulations. If a pregnant employee is interested in whether it is possible to take a vacation before the decree, then her administration should be consulted competently. It does not matter the amount of time worked, neither total experience nor special is taken into account. The only reason an employer cannot provide a woman with leave before decree is if she has already been fully used in the current calendar year.
The number of days of rest is calculated based on the employment contract. Standard is 28 calendar days excluding holidays. A pregnant employee may take a vacation before the decree in full or in part. The employer is not entitled to impose his will in this case.
Obligations of the employer in providing leave before the decree
The enterprise administration is obliged to comply with labor law and other laws governing relations with employees. Keep in mind the special rights of pregnant women. It is necessary to ensure safe conditions there, free access to medical facilities and, if the employee expresses a desire, another vacation before the decree.
In addition, the duties of the administration include informing employees about their rights. This is especially true for particularly vulnerable categories: minors, disabled people and pregnant women. If an employee is interested in whether a leave is required before the decree, then she should be given an exhaustive consultation.
The employer should familiarize the pregnant woman with her rights, in particular with the features of the provision of leave. Despite the fact that the vacation schedule was prepared in advance, in December of the previous year, changes should be made for this category of workers. Indeed, often this state of affairs is a surprise to all parties.
Leave before the decree on application is granted in full, but only if, as we have already said, it has not yet been used in the current calendar year. This means that at the request of the pregnant employee, a vacation order is issued and appropriate entries are made in the personal card and vacation schedule.
A pregnant woman may ask for annual days of rest, not only before the decree, but also at any other convenient time. The documentation procedure will be similar. The same leave can be used after the decree.
Employers are often worried about how to deal with employees who have barely got a job and have not yet had time to work six months. But even in this case, a woman in a position has the right to all days of rest at any time convenient for her, and not for the administration.
Who can claim maternity leave
Unfortunately, employees of enterprises often do not know labor law and doubt what benefits they can apply for. Pregnant women are a particularly protected category of employees. They are not entitled to dismiss, transfer without consent to another job or position, to engage in overtime, night or community service. In addition, they are given the opportunity to freely visit the clinic at any time convenient for the woman and take any number of vacation days before the decree. However, there are exceptions to the last benefit. As you already know, workers who have already rested in the current calendar year cannot apply for it.
Here are some examples:
- An employee has been working at the enterprise for five years and annually rests in May or June. Suppose in January she goes on maternity leave and subsequent childbirth, but already walked off again in May. She has already managed to exercise her right to rest in the current calendar year and cannot claim a vacation before the decree. However, management can offer her a few days in January, as this is the next reporting year.
- An employee got a job in March, and in August found out that she was pregnant. She did not go on another vacation and has the right to apply for a full four weeks or more at any convenient time.
Any pregnant employee, regardless of position and length of service, may ask to combine the next vacation and the decree in the event that it was not used in the current calendar year.
Holidays before the decree: how many days should I take?
According to the law, any employee is entitled to annual leave. Each category of working citizens will have a different duration. For example, university teachers and school teachers rest for 52 calendar days, and the number of vacation days for public servants will depend on the length of service and some other indicators.
From the foregoing, we can conclude that the number of vacation days will be individual. However, there can be no less than 28 for a calendar year. Vacation days are allowed to be divided, but one of the periods must be at least 14 days. A pregnant employee may join these decrees for a minimum of two weeks.
When deciding on the number of vacation days, it should be noted that part of them can already be used. In this case, the pregnant employee attaches the rest to the decree. If vacation days are not used, then you can take everything or, if you wish, divide them into parts. Take half of the vacation before maternity leave, and the second half after.
Employers should remember that leave before decree for all statutory days is granted to any pregnant employee. She is entitled to the full number of days. Only the employee herself can ask to divide the vacation before the decree into parts. This will be reasonable for those whose vacation exceeds the statutory 28 calendar days. For example, teachers or employees of a government agency.
Does it make sense to divide the leave before the decree into parts, is decided by each pregnant employee independently. The employer has absolutely no right to put pressure on her, or set any conditions for the provision of statutory days of rest. If the vacation is large enough and the woman doubts that she can easily get out of the decree, then it makes sense to leave part of it for later.
Provision of annual leave to a pregnant employee in advance
It happens that a woman gets a new job already pregnant or does not have time to go on annual leave, as she finds out about her situation. In this case, she can apply for a vacation before the decree in advance. It is provided for future work.
To arrange a vacation in advance, an employee must take a certificate from a medical institution stating that she is registered for pregnancy and write a statement. These documents will be enough. The pregnant employee independently decides how many days of rest she will take, based on her personal preferences, well-being and family circumstances.
Subsequently, the vacation taken in advance is considered to be annual leave after the woman leaves the decree. However, a problem may arise for employers: an employee, due to certain circumstances, is forced to quit without having worked these rest days. Unfortunately, the legislation in this case has not regulated the issue of reimbursement of vacation pay by employees. You can only agree on working out or returning vacation pay.
The procedure for making pre-holiday leave
Having decided to postpone the annual vacation before the decree, the pregnant woman should inform the employer, as well as stock up on a number of documents. It is necessary to take a certificate or any other confirmation of registration with the district women's consultation or a similar document from a private gynecologist. Without appropriate confirmation, the administration of the enterprise has the right to refuse to transfer the leave, even if the position of the woman is already quite obvious.
In general, the procedure for documenting daily leave before the decree will consist of the following steps:
- Registration by the pregnant employee of the relevant certificate in a medical institution. A similar document is issued to a woman at her request by the attending physician and is certified by a seal with the signature of the head of the antenatal clinic. Usually it takes from one to three days to complete it.
- Writing by the employee an application for the transfer of leave with the obligatory indication of the number of days and dates. A woman must indicate the reason for the shift of days of rest. Indicate the start and end dates of the vacation and the total number of days required. The application is registered in the personnel department and is the basis for the publication of the relevant order.
- Issuing a vacation order. It can be both in unified and in free form. The vacation order shall indicate its dates and the total number of calendar days. A pregnant employee is required to get acquainted with the document for signature. A copy of the vacation order is filed in a personal file.
- Making an entry in the employee’s personal card. In the appropriate section, the employee of the personnel service leaves a record of vacation, the basis is an order.
- Corrections to the vacation schedule. This item is often ignored by employees of the personnel department, however, date changes should be recorded in this document and the certificate from the antenatal clinic and the employee's statement should be indicated as the basis.
Compliance with these stages is strictly necessary for enterprises of all forms of ownership.
What if an employer refuses a pregnant woman to transfer annual leave?
Unfortunately, employers can resist legislation, dissuade or intimidate pregnant women, and even threaten them with dismissal. Employees must remember that such behavior is unlawful and unacceptable. If the enterprise administration refuses to comply with labor law, then you should contact the law enforcement authorities or the labor protection inspectorate.
To protect your right to postpone leave before decree in case of employer refusal, a pregnant employee should take the following steps:
- ask the administration for a written refusal to transfer the vacation;
- write a vacation application and register it with the personnel department;
- to record your conversation with the authorities on the recorder, thereby documenting the refusal to grant a legal right to transfer vacation;
- Enlist the support of a lawyer;
- with a certificate of registration for pregnancy and all the evidence listed, contact the district labor protection inspectorate, if this does not help, contact the prosecutor's office.
However, it is usually sufficient for employers who violate the law to write in writing their refusal of the legal right to postpone leave before the decree. Do not be afraid to fight for your rights. The dismissal of a pregnant woman and other administrative sanctions are prohibited by law. If the administration threatens with problems in the future, upon leaving the decree, think: is it worth returning to an employer who violates the law? In addition, for several years of absence from work, the situation and leadership may change several times, and your legal holiday will remain unused.
Should I arrange annual rest days before the decree?
Nevertheless, a pregnant woman should well weigh her decision to postpone the leave. Is it really necessary to join the decree? It may be worth taking the prescribed days after. After all, it is not known what the situation with going to work will be. It is helpful to have several weeks of stock.