Application for leave at your own expense: procedure for application and provision

How to write an application for leave without pay? Samples of 2021 for frequently occurring cases, as well as situations when the administration has and when it does not have the right to refuse to provide leave at its own expense, are discussed in this material.

Almost every employee encounters situations in life when, due to objective or subjective circumstances, as well as personal desires, the employee needs days off from work in addition to annual paid leave. In this case, the employee has the right to write an application for leave without pay. The 2021 sample is no different from the application samples of previous periods, since no fundamental changes have occurred in the legislation governing this aspect of labor relations.

Synonyms for unpaid leave are “leave at your own expense” and “unpaid leave.” This leave is not paid by the employer and wages are not accrued during the leave period.

Existing types of leave are prescribed separately in the Labor Code - this means that they do not affect each other. In cases where the employee has already used his annual paid and allotted additional leave, he has the right to ask for leave at his own expense and receive it, if there is the good will of the employer or the employee is entitled to leave by law.

Note that leaves without pay can be divided into those that the employer is obliged to provide to the employee due to the requirements of the Labor Code and those that the employee may be denied.

Leave without pay (WW) - “what do you eat it with”?

Concepts synonymous with this are “unpaid leave”, “at one’s own expense” and “administrative leave”. All these terms refer to free days allowed to an employee at his request, for which no payment is accrued. These days are not related to basic annual leave, additional paid leave, weekends and holidays.

REFERENCE! All types of leave are prescribed separately in the Labor Code, which means they do not affect each other. Even if the employee has already gone on annual and additional leave due to him, no one has the right to prevent him from asking for days at his own expense and obtaining permission, if this is the will of the employer or the established legislative norm.

Advantages of administrative leave related to work activities:

• preservation of the employee’s job (one cannot be dismissed from such leave, except during the liquidation of the enterprise);
• exclusion of the period of administrative leave from the calculation of the average monthly salary (the amount does not become less due to an additional non-working period);
• the vacationer retains the right to tax benefits for these periods;
• Leave without SWP does not affect the calculation of financial assistance for the birth of a child.

Disadvantages of such a vacation:

• lack of any payment for these days;
• illness during this leave does not give the right to sick pay;
• time away from work does not count toward retirement, because contributions to the Pension Fund do not go into the period of absence of salary;
• such leave does not count towards the probationary period if it was taken during its completion.

NOTE! If an employee was released at his own expense for a period of more than 2 weeks in total for the year, then his “working” year will shift by a number of days exceeding 14, that is, these days will not be included in the length of service (Article 121 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

Further actions of the personnel officer

Once the application without pay has been agreed upon with management, it should be completed correctly. To do this, issue an order based on the unified T-6 form or use one developed independently.

If the organization does not use unified forms (this is acceptable), the order will look different. But the main thing is that the sheet indicates who is going on vacation and for how long.

If, due to the absence of an employee, a replacement is needed, it is necessary to select an employee who has the opportunity, for an additional fee, to temporarily assume responsibilities for the absentee. An additional agreement is signed with him, and the enterprise issues an order to temporarily fill the position.

Let us remind you that orders allowing you to be absent from the workplace at your own expense must be kept in the organization for at least 75 years. Only after this period has expired is it recommended to transfer the order to the archives.

Motroy Alena Journalist

In 2004, she graduated from the Faculty of Journalism of Moldova State University with a degree in Journalism and Communication Science.
In 2003-2011 she worked in well-known Moldovan socio-political publications. After moving to the Russian Federation, since 2014 I have been collaborating with the Russian online press All articles by the author

Is the employer obligated or entitled?

The manager has the right to decide whether the employee’s vacation will affect the work of the enterprise and whether he can afford it. But there are a number of reasons, enshrined in the Labor Code, when the employer’s opinion on this matter is not taken into account.

Vacation cannot be denied

The law regulates situations when refusal to leave without pay for up to 5 days is unlawful:

• the arrival of a newborn in the family;
• wedding of the employee himself;
• death of loved ones.

ATTENTION! Regarding the last point: the law does not define the circle of loved ones whose death may become a mandatory reason for a vacation without SWP. Their list can be fixed in additional documents or in each specific case left at the discretion of the employer.

Events that may lead to mandatory administrative leave are in no way related to each other: the employee has the right to leave work for 5 calendar days each time, even if these events happened one after another, and even more than once. The employer cannot refuse him.

Who else will definitely be released?

In addition to the unconditional reasons for leave, there are socially protected categories of workers who cannot be told “no” in response to a request for “non-monetary” leave. These include:

• employees who have reached retirement age (can take additional days off up to 2 weeks during the year);
• parents and widows of military personnel (up to 14 days);
• military spouses (have the right to extend their regular leave until the end of the spouse's leave);
• disabled people (up to 2 months);
• students without interruption from work (for entrance exams, intermediate certification of full-time students, defense of diplomas).

The employer will release at any time and for any reason (for up to 14 calendar days) if he is asked to do so by those mentioned in the collective agreement:

• father-mother of two or more children, if the children are under 14;
• caring for a disabled person under 18 years of age;
• single mother;
• father or other person in whose care a child without a mother (up to 14 years of age).

You may not let go

All other reasons for leave without SWP are assessed by management to ensure they are respectful. Theoretically, an employee can ask to be released for any reason and for any period of time, but the manager decides whether to meet him halfway.

INFORMATION! In a collective agreement, local acts, agreements, you can give reasons that in a given organization will give the right to temporary freedom.

If the manager did not consider it possible to agree to the employee’s request, then unauthorized departure on administrative leave is regarded as absenteeism, and the culprit may well receive a reprimand upon return and even be fired.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION! Not necessarily, but the boss has the right to demand from the employee a document certifying the reason given in the application. If the requirement was voiced, but the document was not provided after returning from vacation, then the time the employee was absent from work may be considered absenteeism.

Voluntarily and nothing else

The employer has no right to force an employee to go on unpaid leave in order to save on the required payments for downtime. If the labor inspectorate establishes this fact (for example, based on an employee’s complaint), the fine for the company may be 30-50 thousand rubles, and for the manager - 1000-5000 rubles.

How to apply

A sample application for leave without pay can be downloaded from our website. The document is drawn up in any form. The main thing is that the application must indicate the start date of the vacation and the number of days required. The manager must approve the application by stamping his visa on it. And after that the personnel officer issues an order.

Public sector organizations must use standard forms of primary accounting documents. The order to provide rest is issued in a unified form No. T-6. Following the manager’s signature, the employee also signs the order. In this way, the fact of the employee’s absence is documented.

We follow the procedure

Registration of vacations without SWP is in many ways similar to the protocol for regular vacations, but has a number of nuances.

1. Unpaid vacation days are not included in the schedule and are not reflected in it.
2. An employee cannot be recalled from this type of leave.
3. Exiting administrative leave earlier than stated is discussed with the employer on an individual basis.

What about replacement?

There are cases when an employee asks for a long unpaid leave, the employer agrees and invites a temporary worker to his position under a fixed-term contract. If a vacationer wants to return to duty earlier than planned, what should he do with a conscript?

It is necessary to study the employment contract concluded with the latter. If it specifies a specific event as termination, namely the departure of the main employee, then the conscript will be fired. If a specific date is indicated in the contract, then the vacationer in a hurry will have to wait.

Can an organization, on its own initiative, send an employee on leave without pay?

Rest without pay is provided to an employee only at his request for valid reasons in his personal life. It is not possible at the initiative of the employer.

There are times when an unstable situation arises at an enterprise. For example, management was unable to foresee the scope of work and downtime occurred. Downtime caused by the employer must be paid. But ignorant or unscrupulous employers, trying to justify their business risks, offer their subordinates to go on vacation at their own expense. This is illegal.

Calculation of holidays without SWP

In the accounting sheet, unpaid days unoccupied by employees are coded by a combination of letters or numbers with a code (one option is selected). The table shows generally accepted codes for types of holidays without FWP.

Why write a statement?

The application serves as the basis for making a decision on granting leave and

issuing a corresponding order (if the manager makes a positive decision).

Before not going to work, an employee must agree on a vacation period with the employer and wait for the order to be issued.

This is necessary to be absolutely sure that everything is formalized according to the law and then there will be no claims from the employer regarding missed working time. After all, the verbal consent of the manager, in itself, does not mean anything, and if he subsequently does not formalize everything as expected, he will be able to punish the employee disciplinary.

In this situation, it will be quite difficult for the employee to prove that his absence is justified, because he will not be able to provide documents confirming the employer’s consent to approve his application.

If you are denied time off

Consider the situation of overtime work. You had to work beyond your working hours or on weekends or holidays, then the employer is obliged to pay for this overtime. The employee, in turn, has the opportunity to choose: receive money or take rest days during the working month. If the employer refuses to provide you with time off in such a situation, then he is violating your labor rights (Article 153 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation). In this case you should proceed as follows:

• write an official statement and register it as an incoming document;
• receive a written refusal;
• write a complaint to the labor inspectorate. In the document, indicate exactly how you tried to resolve the conflict. Attach a copy of your application and the manager's written response.
• receive a response from the labor inspectorate within 30 days.

If a violation of the employee’s rights is revealed, the employer will be held accountable under Art. 5.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

What is time off

There is no such concept in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. However, there are “additional days off”, “leave without pay”, “day off on account of vacation”. However, if an employee asks the manager for time off, he will be understood. The concept of “time off” is used in everyday life and means an additional day of rest when needed by the employee. As a rule, time off is:

• rest period lasting 1-2 days;
• may last only a few hours;
• there is no payment for this period, i.e. short-term leave without pay.

It is impossible to get time off at any time. To receive such a day off, the employee must work off his additional rest in one way or another. For example, time off can be given on account of time worked or on account of the future. It is important to remember that time off must be agreed upon with management, who may refuse to provide an additional day off. However, there is a category of employees who can take time off without the approval of their superiors:

• pensioners;
• participants of the Great Patriotic War;
• disabled people, people with disabilities;
• relatives of a serviceman who died while performing military duties.