Vacation in May 2022: why is it unprofitable to take it?

Features of May holidays

As you know, May is not the busiest month. Its first decade is marked with two holidays at once - May 1 and May 9. Together with weekends and transfers, we get 2 blocks of several non-working days. Often, employees prefer to take vacation for the days between these blocks, giving themselves a real May holiday.

In accordance with Article 120 of the Labor Code, holidays are not included in calendar leave. Let's explain how this works in practice:

1. The employee wrote an application for leave from May 1 for 14 calendar days . May 1 and 9 are holidays and are not included in vacations. Therefore, at their expense, it is extended until May 16 inclusive. The employee will return to work on May 17.
2. The employee requested leave from May 1 to May 14 . Holidays are also not included in vacation, but it is not extended. After all, the employee clearly indicated the time period when he needed leave. Thus, he will return to work on May 15.
3. Combined option - the employee asked for leave from May 1 to May 14 for 14 calendar days . In this case, any of the above scenarios is acceptable in agreement with the employee.

In general, according to the law, leave must be granted in accordance with the schedule (form No. T-70) - this is stated in Article 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The graph reflects both the period and the number of days. If an employee needs a vacation not according to plan, then when it is granted, its duration is also agreed upon.

What about May 2nd?

From the examples above it is clear that May 2 is included in the vacation period. Why? After all, this day is not a working day...

The fact is that May 2 is not mentioned in Article 112 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which means it is not considered a holiday . In 2022, May 2 is a day off, since it has been moved from January 7, a public holiday that fell on Sunday.

Taking a vacation in May is unprofitable. Why?

During the vacation, the employee retains his place and average earnings. The specifics of its calculation are determined by the government. According to the current rules, average earnings are calculated regardless of the mode of work based on the actual accrued salary and time worked for the previous 12 calendar months. However, some periods are excluded from this calculation, including the period of annual paid leave.

If an employee takes a vacation in May, then he loses money. The fact is that this month has fewer working days than almost all other months of the year. Accordingly, the cost of a working day increases, which means that in May it is more profitable to work than to rest.

Let's explain with an example. Let the employee’s salary be 50,000 rubles. Let's calculate the cost of one vacation day:

50 thousand rubles. x 12 months / 12 months x 29.3 = 1,706.48 rubles

Now let’s calculate the cost of one working day in May and August (for comparison):

• in May (20 working days) - 50,000 / 20 = 2,500 rubles ;
• August (23 working days) - 50,000 / 23 = 2173 rubles .

Thus, the difference between the cost of a vacation and a working day will be:

• in May - 2500 - 1706.48 = 793.52 rubles ;
• in August - 2173 - 1706.48 = 467.43 rubles .

If you make this calculation for each month of 2022, you can find out when it is most profitable to go on vacation (see table below).

Table. Comparison of the cost of a working day and a vacation day for an employee with a salary of 50,000 rubles. per month

Thus, May is not the most financially successful month for vacation. In 2022, it is most profitable to vacation in August and October.

Next, we will consider some questions and clarifications from controllers regarding vacation and vacation pay.

⏰ Will vacation days be extended?

According to Art. 120 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, calendar days of annual paid leave do not include non-working holidays. Please note that the key word here is “holiday”. The days from May 4 to May 7 are not recognized as such: in the Presidential Decree they are called “non-working days with continued pay.”

Accordingly, even though the first week of May will be non-working for the majority of Russian citizens, vacation for these days will not be extended. Therefore, if it is not possible to agree with the employer on postponing the vacation that fell on the May holidays in 2022, then the employee will have to use these days as regular vacation days.

Vacation Notice

Each employee must be notified of the upcoming vacation no later than 14 days before it begins . The fact of familiarization with the information must be confirmed by the signature of the employee. Rostrud believes that the employer can inform the employee in any way convenient for him. In particular, suitable:

• separate written notice to the employee;
• introductory sheets and statements;
• additional columns in the vacation schedule, where the employee can sign and indicate the date when the employer notified him of the vacation period.

Sudden leave and payment

Sometimes it happens that an employee asks for paid leave starting tomorrow . Very often this happens due to family circumstances. This procedure is permissible with the consent of the employer. However, you need to learn the following: payment of vacation pay must be made 3 days before the start of the vacation. This rule is established by Article 136 of the Labor Code; no exceptions are provided for. If the employer violates it, he will face a fine under Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses in the amount of 30-50 thousand rubles. Such clarifications are contained in the letter of the Ministry of Labor of the Russian Federation dated August 26, 2015 No. 14-2/B-644.

Let us note that experts find these arguments not entirely logical. Article 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation requires notifying the employee about vacation 14 days in advance. But if leave is granted starting tomorrow, this requirement is not fulfilled. However, the Ministry of Labor does not see any violations in this. It turns out that the norms of Article 136, which requires prior notification of leave, can be violated in this case, but the requirement of Article 123 cannot be violated.

In addition, in order to apply administrative penalties, a person must be found guilty of committing an offense . It is recognized as such if it had the opportunity to comply with the law, but did not take all the necessary measures to do so (Part 2 of Article 2.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). In the situation described above, the employer had no opportunity to pay vacation pay in advance. It turns out that there are no grounds for a fine.

A vacation application without a signature is equivalent to absenteeism

The company approved a schedule according to which the employee was given part of the vacation from May 15 to May 28. However, he decided to extend it and wrote an application for leave from May 10 to 12. After which he left to rest.

The employer fired the employee for absenteeism because he did not show up for work on May 10-12. The court found the employer's actions lawful. In accordance with Article 123 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the vacation schedule must be observed by both the employer and the employee.

In itself, an application for leave outside the dates specified in the schedule does not give any reason to believe that the employer will satisfy the employee’s request. The latter, after submitting his application, needed to make sure that he was granted leave, but he did not do this. Accordingly, the employer had every right to fire an employee for absenteeism.

✅ Postponement of vacation if it falls on non-working days

The vacation schedule is approved in advance, and it is mandatory for both the employee and the employer. But what if the days declared non-working fall exactly on the approved schedule?

You can save the situation by postponing your annual leave to another date. This possibility exists, according to Art. 124 Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The employee has the right to contact the manager with a corresponding request, but moving the vacation to a more suitable time is the employer’s right, not the obligation, if the employer complies with all legal conditions, including warning the employee about the start time of the vacation no later than two days in advance. weeks before it starts.

In this case, the employee has the right to submit an application to management - the form of the document is not regulated in any way by law, therefore the application is drawn up in free written form, but must contain the full name and position of the employee, the reason for the withdrawal of the previously submitted application for leave (Presidential Decree “On the establishment on the territory of the Russian Federation non-working days in May 2022" dated 04/23/2021), date and signature.

If the employer does not object, then he issues an order to cancel and postpone annual paid leave.

Will you work on the May holidays?

No, I’ll go to the dacha, the work there is just a carriage No, I won’t work, I just took a vacation at the wrong time No, I won’t work - I have non-working days Yes, I’ll work

About duration and vacation at your own expense

If the organization has fallen on hard times, a decision may be made to send employees on leave without pay . It is accepted with the consent of the employees. The question is how long can such a vacation last?

Leave without pay is discussed in Article 128 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is presented at the request of the employee, and its duration is established by agreement between him and the employer. The Code does not contain any restrictions on the duration of vacation at one’s own expense. Accordingly, it can be presented for any period to which the employee agrees.

Note to HR officer

In the working time sheet (form No. T-12 or form No. T-13, approved by Resolution of the State Statistics Committee dated January 5, 2004 No. 1), all days of the May annual basic paid leave are indicated by the letter code “OT” (or digital code “09”) , except for non-working holidays (May 1 and 9) falling during the vacation period - these days are designated by the letter code “B” (or the digital code “26”).

If the employee is granted additional annual paid leave, then it is designated by the code “OD” (or “10”). May Day and Victory Day 2022 goals that fall during the holiday period are also designated by the code “B” (or “26”).

Weekend holidays

The employee works on a 2/2 schedule. He requested 2 days of vacation on weekends according to his schedule. Is it possible to provide it, is there any violation in this?

In general, the law does not prohibit taking vacations on weekends. Let us remind you that the Labor Code of the Russian Federation allows you to break your vacation into parts, provided that at least one of them lasts at least 14 calendar days.

But you need to remember the following. Providing unscheduled leave in itself may raise questions from inspectors. After all, as we mentioned above, the vacation schedule is a document that is binding.

Why is it unprofitable to go on vacation in May?

Veronika Shatrova, Editor-in-Chief of the HR System reference system (updated information on calculation examples taking into account the 2014 production calendar was provided by TopAccountant specialists)
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This is due to the increase in the cost of a working day in those months in which there are more non-working days than usual. Moreover, this is unprofitable only if the days of your vacation fall on the working days of such a month. If you take a vacation that falls on weekends, then, on the contrary, you will receive a little more vacation pay, but at the same time you will spend on vacation days those days during which you could have rest according to the law.

In 2014, the most profitable months for vacation are July, October, December.
According to the production calendar, these months have 23 working days in 2014. The most unfavorable months for vacation are January, May, June, November.