How and when vacation pay is paid in 2021: terms, features, payment procedure

Labor Code of the Russian Federation on the timing of receiving vacation benefits

Annual paid leave is provided to each employee. This right is enshrined in law by the corresponding article of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.

The duration of annual paid leave usually does not exceed 28 calendar days. Longer vacations are established for certain categories of workers, for example, for workers of the Far North, employees of hazardous industries, etc.

The legislator provided for the preservation of the average earnings of the working person during the annual rest period allotted to him. Payment for this period is set according to a formula.

By multiplying the number of days of rest by average earnings, the amount of vacation pay is determined. To calculate average daily earnings, a calculation period of 12 months is taken and payments are made only for the time actually worked. Disability benefits and various social benefits are not taken into account.

The period for which vacation pay is paid is established by Part 9 of Article 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Vacation pay must be paid at least 3 days before the start date of the vacation. Earlier you can pay vacation pay, but later you can’t. In case of delay in payment of benefits due to the fault of the enterprise, the employee is entitled to compensation.

It is also not very convenient to make a payment earlier than three days in advance. Various circumstances may arise in which going on vacation will have to be postponed (for example, illness). Therefore, it is optimal to accrue and pay vacation pay 3 days before the start date of the vacation.

Despite the fact that the above-mentioned article of the law does not specify the status (calendar or working) of these three days, there is a special letter from Rostrud (No. 1693-6-1 dated July 30, 2014), according to which the counting must be carried out in calendar days. Three calendar days before the start of the vacation, benefits must be paid.

Procedure for granting leave

In order to understand how vacation pay is paid, it is necessary to pay attention to a certain procedure for granting leave from work.

As is known, leave cannot be granted to persons who have not worked a certain amount of time at a particular enterprise since receiving the job (usually this period is a year). However, not every citizen knows about the opportunity to get a few days of rest after six months of work. At the same time, for these days, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, accrual and payment of vacation pay must be realized.

Annual paid leave must be included in a special vacation schedule and also agreed with the employee himself. It is also worth noting that the worker has the right to transfer vacation (however, this possibility exists for no more than two years in a row). Vacation can be divided; Moreover, each part of it should not be less than 14 days.

General accrual algorithm

Every employer is required by law to pay statutory holiday pay strictly in the prescribed amount. If this rule is not followed, the company or individual entrepreneur will be assessed a certain fine. Calculating the amount of holiday pay required by law is relatively simple. It is carried out as follows:

The estimated time period is determined. By default, its standard value is 12 full months preceding the start of vacation or dismissal. If such a billing period is slightly different, you will need to set the year and month yourself;
Time periods that are not used to calculate compensation are excluded. A detailed list of days is presented in the official government decree;
In conclusion, the personnel employee multiplies the total number of days by the average daily earnings established in the organization. After this, personal income tax is calculated, the amount of which is subtracted from the final amount.

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The amount received after calculations must be transferred to the employee within the period established by modern legislation.

The process of crediting vacation pay is carried out using the usual method - card, cash at the cash desk. The payment of the required amount is reflected in the accounting report. Failure to comply with this rule will automatically result in the appointment of an official desk audit. This situation, in turn, will lead to rather unpleasant consequences for the employer. These may include fines and other equally serious sanctions.

Earnings accrued for the billing period

Another component without which vacation pay cannot be calculated is earnings that are accrued for the pay period. If an employee honestly worked the whole year for his salary, then this is quite simple: you just need to multiply the salary by 12, but, as a rule, this situation is quite rare. Typically, in addition to the salary, the employee also receives various additional payments. In particular, the amount of earnings includes bonuses, allowances for length of service, for class and combination. This can also include compensation payments that are related to working conditions and conditions: additional payment for harmful and difficult conditions, regional coefficients, payments for work on holidays and weekends, overtime. Thus, the statement that a regional coefficient is calculated on vacation pay will not be entirely correct, since it is initially included in the amount of earnings, taking into account which they are calculated.

On the other hand, the amount of income for the billing period does not include amounts not related to work activities. These can be various social payments: subsidies for food, travel, training, one-time bonuses for anniversaries or other holidays. Also, amounts paid to the employee during business trips, sick leave, and days off to care for a disabled child are not taken into account, that is, already paid based on the average monthly earnings. Thus, answering the question of whether vacation pay is calculated against vacation pay, we can state: unfortunately, no. The previous vacation period or maternity leave will not be included in the payment.

In addition, vacation pay is subject to the same contributions and taxes as wages, therefore, answering the question of whether contributions are accrued on vacation pay, we can say: yes, they are accrued. This includes personal income tax and mandatory social insurance contributions.

What amounts should be included in the calculation?

When calculating average earnings for a working year, it includes those payments that are approved by the organization. Such payments include: salary at the approved rate; compensation for overtime work; premium; other payments for labor performance. But there are payments that can be issued along with the salary, but will not be taken into account when calculating vacation pay. These are: travel payment; compensation for food and the use of personal transport; sick leave; other non-labor or social benefits.

When is it paid?

Every employee who is authorized to calculate and accrue funds is required to know when vacation pay is paid? The legislation has established a certain period for this - three days before the start of the holiday.

But this issue also has its own nuances. For example, what to do if the accrual date falls on a weekend and the accounting department is closed. In this situation, the money must be transferred on the last working day before the weekend. The same applies to holidays. According to the law, none of the holidays, especially long ones, can interfere with the payment of vacation pay.

Therefore, if vacation starts on Monday, when are vacation pay paid? Funds can be transferred on Friday. In addition, tax is also charged on vacation pay. This fact should not be forgotten when calculating funds.

Another fact that cannot but concern employees is whether vacation pay is paid along with their salary or not? The law does not provide for such a rule. Not a single legislative act speaks of this as an obligation, which means that the employer should not pay both wages and vacation pay at the same time. The employee must receive vacation pay three days before the rest, and the salary must be accrued on time.

Legal basis

How vacation pay will be paid in 2019-2020 will become clear when they consider the bill proposed by the Ministry of Labor, which has not yet even been submitted to the State Duma of the Russian Federation for consideration.

Currently, the payment date is determined strictly according to the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It is necessary to refer to Art. 136 of this codified act. The last paragraph of the article contains a brief formulated rule, which raises so many questions in practice: the employer is obliged to issue vacation pay to the employee no later than three days in advance.

It would seem that this principle is formulated as clearly as it is defined in Art. 22 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, deadlines for transferring personal income tax from vacation pay: no later than the last day of the month of their transfer. However, this is not entirely true; in practice, various situations arise, which we will discuss in more detail later.

Explanations from the Ministry of Labor - how to count 3 days?

The Ministry of Labor was forced to answer numerous questions from employer representatives regarding the period for payment of vacation pay.

How to count 3 days?
Do they include payday or not?

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First, in an information letter dated June 16, 2014, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia spoke in the spirit that the established period begins the next day after payment, that is, the day of payment is not included in the deadline (see explanations in the document “On the need for recalculation vacation amounts taking into account changes in the average monthly number of calendar days"). This position is consistent with the general procedure for calculating terms adopted in Russian legislation, however, such a rule is not enshrined in the Labor Code; on the contrary, in Art. 14 states that the period of time associated with the emergence of any rights of employees begins from a specific date that determines their beginning. The special procedure for calculating deadlines is always specified separately by the legislator.

It is not surprising that an explanatory letter No. 1693-6-1 dated July 30, 2014 followed, from the text of which it could be concluded that Rostrud (Federal Service for Labor and Employment, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection) is of the opinion that in widespread situations where an employee goes on vacation on Monday, payment can be made on Friday. Thus, Rostrud ambiguously spoke in favor of the position of calculating the three-day period directly from the date of payment.

However, not all courts supported Rostrud at that time; there was no uniformity in judicial practice. Perhaps the only provision that has not been questioned is that the law deals with calendar days, not working days. But how to count these 3 days, neither legislators nor law enforcement officials could give a clear answer.

Information about 6-NDFL

Form 6-NDFL was introduced into the circulation of tax reporting documents not so long ago. Since the beginning of 2021, all companies and entrepreneurs who have hired employees are required to report in the form of this form.

6-NDFL must be filled out so that the organization can provide the income of employees and send it to the Federal Tax Service.

Important ! This declaration is submitted to the tax authorities quarterly by all companies that have entered into agreements with individuals.

Form 6-NDFL

6-NDFL must be completed if you need to pay your salary in installments. Moreover, if income tax was deducted from an employee twice in parts, then the information must also be provided twice. Similar actions must be taken for issuing vacation pay. How to properly fill out this declaration? When is it not necessary to issue it? And what should you pay special attention to when sending a report to the tax office?

Basic moments

Citizens who live on the territory of the Russian Federation and receive wages must pay taxes. The amount of taxes depends on the salary and status of the citizen.

The 2-NDFL certificate is already known to everyone and has become a reporting standard. This certificate is issued by both individuals and legal entities.

Important ! If it is not, then a fine will be charged.

2-NDFL

Last year, the Federal Tax Service introduced another form, which is submitted by companies and organizations every quarter. Declaration 6-NDFL shows special nuances that are associated with income and taxes.

This declaration is filled out by employers for the total payroll tax of employees who are individuals and working in the state, and the 2-NDFL certificate refers to reporting for a specific employee.

The declaration can be submitted:

electronic;
on paper.

If the declaration is submitted on paper, then this method is more suitable for organizations with no more than 25 employees.

Important ! If there are many employees, then the 6-NDFL certificate must be sent electronically.

Form 6-NDFL is completed by employers

Income that is subject to personal income tax is indicated in the above certificate. This includes, in addition to salary, bonuses, incentives and vacation pay.

How to indicate wages along with vacation pay in 6-NDFL?

When filling out this declaration, it is important to remember that it is not necessary to indicate non-taxable income. The document must contain all information about the tax agent and his obligations to the tax authorities.

In the 6-NDFL declaration, vacation pay and wages are required to be indicated, as are bonuses along with sick leave. These types of returns are taxed at a rate of 13 percent and must be reported on tax documents.

In addition to income received by individuals, the following data must also be displayed:

date of sending money to the employee’s account (actual);
date of withholding of personal income tax;
the day the tax is sent to the tax authorities of the Federal Tax Service.

Form 6-NDFL indicates taxable income

One of the main requirements when submitting a certificate is the mandatory compliance with all deadlines set by the Federal Tax Service. The first certificate is sent to the authorities no later than May, and the last one – before April of the following year.

Important ! Moreover, the latest report must be submitted together with the first certificate for the next year that has begun, but no later than May.

In order not to delay the submission of 6-NDFL certificates, you should personally go to the tax authorities to submit the certificates. If the documentation is sent by mail, you must require official confirmation of receipt of the letter.

If the declaration is submitted electronically, then all dates will be indicated automatically and there is no need to worry about them.

You can submit the 6-NDFL declaration electronically

All information on employee income must be indicated in the document for a specific date. For example, if an employee took a vacation, but not a full one, but wanted to divide it into parts, then, accordingly, payments are indicated separately. Similar actions are performed with salaries: the date of the advance and the date of the main payment are indicated, which are written separately from each other.

Important ! In the case where wages and vacation pay were paid together, the company indicates this in the certificate, otherwise an error will occur, which will lead to various sanctions, including a fine.

Responsibility for violation of deadlines for payment of vacation pay

But, if such a violation did occur, or occurs at the enterprise, then you should remember that if the terms of payment of vacation pay are violated, the employer is subject to liability: financial, criminal and administrative.

The employer's financial liability is provided for in Article 236 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. It states that for delays in wages, vacation payments, dismissal payments, etc., the organization is obliged to pay monetary compensation to the employee. Such compensation may be provided for in labor or collective agreements, and can, in principle, be any amount agreed upon with the employees.

But there is one important “but”: compensation for delayed payments cannot be calculated less than 1/300 of the refinancing rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation on the day of actual payment of vacation pay for each day of delay. Delay in payment of vacation pay is considered from the next day after the due date and ends on the day of actual payment (including this day).

The timing of payment of vacation pay to the employee must be strictly observed, special attention must be paid to days falling on weekends and holidays, since the employer will bear financial responsibility in any case, regardless of whether he himself is to blame for the delay or some circumstances beyond his control.

Important nuances

In addition to the three-day period given to the head of the company for the payment of vacation pay, holidays and weekends should be taken into account. If the day of transfer falls on a holiday, the employer is obliged to pay the amount in advance.

Labor legislation requires mandatory compliance with payment deadlines and prohibits the accrual of vacation pay in installments.

Actions of the organization's management related to the implementation of regulations should not lead to infringement of the rights of subordinates. If a company is experiencing financial difficulties, which prevents it from paying social leave benefits on time, then the director should contact the Social Insurance Fund. The fund will transfer the required amount, but the employer must pay for the first days from its own treasury.

If a company employee has not taken annual official leave for several years, responsibility for this lies entirely with the employer. It is he (the HR department of the enterprise) who is obliged to monitor the exercise by employees of the right to leave. In this situation, the legislation guarantees the employee compensation for vacation money in full.

Opinion of Rostrud: what is the period for payment of vacation pay?

It echoes the norms of Art. 136 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and letter of Rostrud dated July 30, 2014 No. 1693-6-1, defining a three-day minimum in calendar days counted before the start of vacation. The document also notes the need to take into account non-working days. If they exist, the period by which payments must be made increases, i.e. The required amounts will have to be paid out in 4, 5 or more days. For example, when providing leave from June 14, 2021, payment is made not on the 10th, but on the 9th of June on Saturday (it was a working day), since the 10th and 11th of June are weekends, and the 12th is a holiday day.

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However, letter No. 1693-6-1 does not clarify this circumstance: whether the day of payment should be counted within the three-day period. Only the possibility of issuing vacation pay on Thursday or Friday to an employee who goes on vacation on Monday is mentioned.

The absence of this clarification has given rise to differences in the interpretation of deadlines in different regional labor inspectorates. Thus, in the Irkutsk region, it is considered legal to pay vacation pay 2 days on the 3rd day before the vacation, and in the St. Petersburg GIT it is recommended to transfer or issue money for vacation 3 days on the 4th.

In practice, based on legal regulations, security considerations and simple everyday caution, accountants make payments exactly on the 4th day. In addition, there are many conflicting decisions of the Arbitration Court.

When to pay personal income tax on vacation pay in 2021

It is worth noting that in most cases it is not necessary to apply for annual paid leave. The fact is that enterprises draw up a vacation schedule, of which the employee is notified in advance, against signature. When the deadline established by the schedule approaches, the director issues an order to grant vacation, and the accounting department calculates vacation pay based on it. The employee, having read the order, puts his signature on it as a sign of consent.

If an employee requires paid leave, but not at the time established by the vacation schedule, he must write an application at least 4-14 days before the expected date of departure. About the timing of payment of vacation pay, see the video below: If the last of the three days before the issuance of vacation pay coincides with a weekend As mentioned above, vacation pay must be issued no less than three days before the first day of vacation.

Changing the billing period

It should be noted that the organization has the right to change this order. This possibility is provided for by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. To do this, you need to officially fix the length of the pay period in the collective agreement, for example, make it six months, but in this case you will have to recalculate vacation pay twice (for the year and for the period of time that is established), and then compare these amounts. The thing is that, according to the law, the amount of vacation pay cannot be less than the amount that is calculated based on annual earnings.

How is vacation calculated?

The payroll period can be worked by the employee completely or partially. Depending on this, different formulas are used to calculate average earnings for vacation.

If the period is worked out in full and leave is granted to the employee in calendar days, then the average daily earnings are determined as follows (Article 139 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clause 10 of the Regulations, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 24, 2007 No. 922):

29.3 is the average monthly number of calendar days in a year.

If the billing period is not fully worked out, another formula is used:

In turn, the last indicator - the number of days worked in months not fully worked - is determined taking into account the proportion separately for each such month.

A formula that takes into account months not fully worked is used if the employee’s pay period included excluded periods: vacations, business trips, periods of temporary disability, etc. (Clause 5 of the Regulations, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 24, 2007 No. 922).

Having determined the amount of the employee’s average daily earnings, you can calculate the amount of vacation pay (clause 9 of the Regulations, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 24, 2007 No. 922):

Accrual of vacation in 2021: example

Example 1. Calculation of vacation pay for a fully worked pay period

Manager Safonov A.N. in accordance with the vacation schedule, from May 21, 2021, another paid vacation of 14 calendar days should be granted. The billing period is from May 1, 2021 to April 30, 2021. The amount of payments taken into account when calculating average earnings was 516,000 rubles.

Solution.

Average daily earnings: 1467.58 rubles. (RUB 516,000 / 12 months / 29.3)

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Amount of vacation pay: 20,546.12 rubles. (RUB 1,467.58 x 14 days)

Example 2. Calculation of vacation pay when the billing period is not fully worked

Let's use the condition of the previous example and assume that Safonov A.N. from October 11 to October 13, 2021, he was on a business trip, and from March 19 to March 26, 2021, he was on sick leave. The amount of payments taken into account when calculating average earnings was 509,000 rubles.

Solution.

Average monthly number of days worked in October 2021: 26.5 days. (29.3 / 31 days x (31 days – 3 days)).

Average monthly number of days worked in March 2019: 21.7 days. (29.3 / 31 days x (31 days – 8 days)).

Average daily earnings: RUB 1,491.79. (RUB 509,000 / (29.3 x 10 months + 26.5 days + 21.7 days))

Amount of vacation pay: RUB 20,885.06. (RUB 1,491.79 x 14 days)

Changes in vacation pay payment terms from July 1, 2021

In such a situation, in the employment contract, the director of the company makes reference to a specific provision of the collective agreement. When paying an employee his salary, the accountant indicates the following information on the pay slip:

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the main part of the salary, which is accrued for a specific month;
the size and basis of the deductions, if any;
monetary compensation, vacation pay, severance pay, etc.

Deadlines for payment of advance payments in 2021 From October 3, 2021, the changes provided for by 272-FZ came into force. Some amendments to the law also apply to advance payments.

The employer prescribes salary accrual periods here. He can also prescribe the issuance periods, describe them in another act, and leave a link to the document in the contract;

Rules of routine. The head of the company must indicate the periods for calculating wages in the rules of the schedule, and in other documents leave a reference to this provision. The fact is that the rules of the schedule are followed by all employees, and the employment contract is followed only by a specific employee. The company may not have a collective agreement;
Collective agreement. In this document, the head of the enterprise indicates the point in which the periods for accrual of salary are entered.

However, the legislation does not indicate whether this should be 3 full days or whether rest can begin on the third day after payment of vacation pay. It is also not indicated which days we are talking about: working days or calendar days. Three days can be interpreted in different ways. In the situation that became the basis for the decision of the Perm Regional Court, the State Labor Inspectorate came to the organization with an unscheduled inspection of compliance with labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts containing labor law norms. The inspectors found a violation in the timing of payment of vacation pay.

They indicated that after payment of vacation pay, at least 3 full calendar days must pass before the start of the vacation. If this requirement is not met, the employee's rights are violated.

In the inspection report, GIT inspectors classified all situations where employees received vacation pay 3 days in advance as violations of deadlines, taking into account the day of going on vacation itself.

You can get a vacation after working a full six months. But this is a vacation “in advance”. Then leave will be granted every 11 months. At the end of each calendar year, a vacation schedule is drawn up, according to which all employees “walk” in the next calendar year.

Vacation can be divided into several parts, but one of them should not be less than 14 calendar days. Then you can “split” your vacation into at least 1 calendar day.

The procedure for “leaving” for a well-deserved work holiday is as follows:

the HR department notifies the employee in writing 2 weeks before the scheduled leave date;
the employee writes a leave application;
the employer signs the application and an order is issued based on it;
the employee receives “vacation pay” - compensation for the fact that he does not work on these days.

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Vacation pay is paid based on the employee’s average earnings for 1 working day in the previous working year. To do this, you need to know the billing period - that is, the start and end date of the working year. For example, an employee goes on vacation in 2021 on July 8, and he got a job on March 23, 2021. The calculation period for vacation pay in 2021 is from March 23, 2021 to March 22, 2019.

To calculate average earnings, it is necessary to add up all labor payments to the employee and divide by the number of days he actually worked in the last working year. The result is the average employee's earnings per 1 working day. This number must be multiplied by the number of days of rest.

Additional questions

Why vacation pay is less than salary

An unpleasant fact: vacation pay is often less than salary.

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The concept of wages in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

Salary for days worked is calculated simply: the salary is divided by the number of working days in the month and multiplied by the number of days worked. For example, in August of this year there are 23 working days, and in May - 20. One working day in May will cost more than in August.

Average daily earnings - the basis of vacation pay - are calculated on calendar days, not working days. Therefore, the SDZ is usually less than the cost of a working day.

When vacation falls only on working days - for example, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - then for these three days the person receives three SDZ. And three working days are deducted from his salary, which, as a rule, are more expensive.

Vacation pay can be unpleasantly small:

if the employee was on maternity leave, on sick leave, on a business trip, on vacation, or participated in blood donation days;
when there was a salary increase during the year;
there were no bonuses during the year (or there were, but not for work, but incentive payments in honor of an anniversary, for example);
there are holidays in the month.

The vacation application was submitted less than 3 days before the expected vacation date

Most likely, such leave will not be issued: the employer will not have time to make calculations and pay vacation pay.

Although the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not regulate the time for submitting an application for vacation, given that vacation pay must be paid 3 days before its start, the application must be submitted at least 4 days in advance. Otherwise, the employer simply will not have enough time to complete the registration and payment within the period established by law.

When the deadline established by the schedule approaches, the director issues an order to grant vacation, and the accounting department calculates vacation pay based on it. The employee, having read the order, puts his signature on it as a sign of consent.

If an employee requires paid leave, but not at the time established by the vacation schedule, he must write an application at least 4-14 days before the expected date of departure.

If the last of three days before the issuance of vacation pay coincides with a weekend

As mentioned above, vacation pay must be issued no less than three days before the first day of vacation. The deadline for paying vacation pay in 2020 remains the same; no changes regarding statutory standards have been adopted.

If the third day is a weekend or non-working day, the payment must be made taking this into account, that is, 4 or 5 days in advance. If the payment is made not through a cash register, but by non-cash transfer to a bank card, you need to take into account the working hours of banks. You may have to make the transfer earlier than 3 days before the start date of your vacation.

For example, an employee is scheduled to go on vacation starting May 10, 2017. His vacation pay must be paid no later than May 7. Considering that May 7 is Sunday, and May 6 is Saturday, the day the benefit is issued is shifted. Even if the accounting department works on Saturdays and makes a transfer to the card, the bank is not working, which means the employee will not receive the money. Therefore, payment of vacation pay must be made no later than May 4-5, 2021.

When should government employees be paid vacation pay?

How many days are paid vacation pay before civil servants go on vacation? In accordance with paragraph 10 of Art. 46 of the Law “On the State Civil Service” dated July 27, 2004 No. 79-FZ, the employer of a civil servant is obliged to transfer vacation pay to him 10 calendar days before the vacation.

Moreover, in this case, the norms enshrined in Law No. 79-FZ take precedence over those approved in the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 73 of Law No. 79-FZ). The norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation within the framework of labor relations with the participation of civil servants are applied if norms similar in focus are not contained in the specified federal law.

If a government employee's holiday pay is delayed, his employer may also be subject to penalties similar to those established for private employers. At the same time, “percentage” sanctions are applied specifically according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, since Law No. 79-FZ does not have alternative norms to them.

Financial assistance and health benefits

Financial assistance to an employee paid in the period for which vacation pay is calculated is not taken into account.

By decision of the management team, additional allowances may be applied to the vacation accruals of employees of this enterprise, in addition to the accrued money as basic ones. In particular, such additional payment can be financial assistance. It can act as a fixed equal amount for each employee, the best specialists of the enterprise who have shown high performance or have no penalties or comments for the period being calculated.

This kind of financial assistance can act as compensation for a trip to a sanatorium or dispensary (so-called health benefits).

But, one should take into account the fact that neither financial assistance nor health contributions should be taken into account when calculating vacation amounts.

Billing period

One of the main quantities for determining the amount of vacation pay is the billing period. It is he who determines how much vacation pay is accrued. If the employee’s working time at the enterprise exceeds one year, then this value will be 12 months, while a month is usually considered to be the period from the first to the last day of the month, inclusive. Thus, the calculation will be made from the 1st to the 30th (31st) day of each month, excluding February. In this case, the calendar month will be from the 1st to the 28th (29th). This rule also applies when calculating vacations that begin in the current year and end in the next. In this case, the period for which vacation pay must be accrued will also be equal to the twelve previous months.

However, there are often cases when an employee whose work experience at the enterprise is less than this period goes on vacation. How are vacation pay calculated in this case? If an employee has been working in an organization for less than one year, then the period for which these payments are calculated lasts from the first working day to the last day of the month preceding the vacation.

Problems of calculating the period for payment of vacation pay

There are no special rules for calculating the period for payment of vacation pay. In this regard, in law enforcement practice there has not been a single position on the issue of calculating the period for paying leave. So, for example, from the Information of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation dated June 16, 2014 “On the need to recalculate vacation amounts taking into account changes in the average monthly number of calendar days,” it follows that specialists from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection believe that the three-day period begins the next day after payment for vacation.

And from the above letter dated July 30, 2014 No. 1693-6-1, in our opinion, it follows that Rostrud adheres to the position that the three-day period should be calculated directly from the day of payment of vacation (the letter states that payment of vacation pay can be made on Friday (three days before the start of the vacation), and within the meaning of the explanations contained therein, we are talking about a situation where the employee is granted vacation on Monday).

Judicial practice on this issue is also not uniform. Thus, some courts believe that the payment day is included in these three calendar days (decision of the Moscow City Court dated 02/18/2014 No. 7-764/14, decision of the Pavlovo-Posad City Court of the Moscow Region dated 09/03/2012 in case No. 2-1590/ 2012, ruling of the Investigative Committee for civil cases of the Moscow City Court dated 09/02/2010 No. 33-23757, decision of the Shilkinsky District Court of the Trans-Baikal Territory dated 10/19/2012 in case No. 2-843/12), others - that between the date of granting leave and the date of payment should be at least three full days (see, for example, the decision of the Bezhitsky District Court of Bryansk, Bryansk Region dated October 20, 2014 in case No. 2-2266/14, the decision of the Industrial District Court of Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Territory dated November 13, 2012 in case No. 2 -5201/2012; decision of the Penza Regional Court of July 23, 2015 in case No. 7-288/2015).

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