The labor legislation of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility for employees of Russian enterprises to receive additional leave for work within the framework of an irregular schedule. Corresponding legal norms regulate the procedure for processing such legal relations, the specifics of the use of rest days by employees, which are guaranteed by law, and also the features of calculating compensation for additional holidays. What is the essence of the considered legislative preference? How can an employee, using additional leave for an irregular schedule, combine it with other days of rest?
In what cases is leave granted for irregular work?
In accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, employees of Russian enterprises are entitled to count on additional vacation days for irregular working hours annually. But before considering their specifics, we define the concept of “irregular working hours”. Again, based on the norms that are given in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
The legislator prescribes to be abnormal those days on which a person may be called to perform labor duties at any time of the day at the initiative of the employer. Moreover, irregularity is applied if the employee carries out activities as part of a part-time day or provided that he has a shorter duration.
In this case, the work performed by an employee is not classified as overtime. Similarly, the irregular working day of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not allow us to consider the night shift as an employee fulfills his duties. Both relevant formats of labor activity are regulated by other norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and require execution through other types of agreements.
Another aspect of the considered format of work is that the employer does not need to obtain consent from the employee to perform duties in excess of the norm. At the same time, the company should not coordinate its actions with the union if the employee is part of it.
The most important condition for applying an irregular working day is the correct accounting of the time of employees performing their functions. Consider its features in more detail.
Accounting for working hours with irregular schedule
If the employer company sets an irregular working day for certain employees, the Labor Code of the Russian Federation instructs it to carry out the correct accounting of the time during which specialists carry out their duties. This action is primarily necessary in terms of ensuring the avoidance of processing.
In practice, accounting of working time with an irregular schedule is most often carried out using special time sheets or accounting books. Usually for this purpose various unified forms of documents are used. It is common to use computer programs for the efficient accounting of working time at an enterprise. In many cases, the corresponding types of software allow the use of standardized forms of documents, designed to solve the problem in question.
If the accounting of working time shows that this or that employee has overworked his hours, the employer is obliged in one way or another to compensate the specialist for these labor costs. Moreover, just additional vacation days for irregular working hours can be used as a mechanism for appropriate compensation. Consider what their duration may be.
Duration of additional vacation with irregular schedule
In accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the duration of leave for irregular working hours should be at least 3 calendar days. A specific indicator is defined in the local regulations of the employer, issued on the basis of agreements that are concluded with employees of the enterprise. As a rule, the approval of these documents takes into account the complexity, intensity of work, results achieved by specialists.
Additional vacation days for irregular working hours should be a condition of an employment contract with a specialist. Let's consider this aspect in more detail.
Additional leave in the employment contract
Indeed, the requirements of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are such that the employing company is obliged to include the condition for additional leave with an irregular working day in the labor contract. At the same time, apart from this indication, the contract should contain formulations reflecting information about how many days of vacation for an irregular working day an employee will receive. In addition, the contract must also record the days of rest of the employee, appointed on other grounds. For example, due to the specifics of a person’s labor function or in connection with the peculiarities of the area in which the specialist works.
In principle, the conditions under which an employee is granted additional vacation days for an irregular working day can be reflected in the collective agreement. Or, as we noted above, in a local regulatory act. But in both cases, the employment contract should contain references to the relevant provisions.
The most important local regulatory act of the employer when registering labor relations with specialists working according to an irregular schedule is a document that reflects a list of posts and professions for which an appropriate work mode is established. At the same time, how this obligation should be fulfilled in state institutions is regulated by separate federal legal acts. In turn, private firms determine the appropriate list on their own.
The list of posts with irregular working hours in public institutions
So, the list of positions and professions recorded in the local documents of state organizations is determined by law - in a separate decree of the Russian government. In accordance with the rules of law approved therein, irregular working hours can be established:
- for leaders of the organization;
- economic staff;
- technical specialists;
- employees in positions in which work cannot be accurately accounted for;
- workers who themselves plan the time for the performance of their labor duties;
- specialists who work on a schedule that involves the division of working time into parts with an indefinite duration.
The specific name of the position, fixed in the local regulatory act, can be determined on the basis of various sources of law. Such as, for example, the qualification directory of posts. Or, as an option, an order to approve a professional standard. It does not matter what position the employee holds in terms of the procedure for providing days of rest according to the schedule under consideration. If it is a manager, locksmith or driver, vacation for irregular working hours is guaranteed to the employee in full compliance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation or local regulations.
It is worth noting that in the corresponding sources published by the enterprise management, the list of positions of employees who work according to an irregular schedule should be formed in any case, even if the company is private and the government’s decisions do not apply to it. Although many experts, of course, recommend forming it taking into account the provisions of the following legal acts. That is, to include in this list of posts in the categories that we reviewed above.
The content of the act on the list of posts with a standardized working day
It is advisable to reflect in the local normative act approving the list of posts that require employees to perform irregular work, indicators of the duration of the corresponding additional leave in relation to specific positions. In this case, the complexity of the work performed, its complexity and other indicators identified by the employer or determined in the process of concluding an agreement between him and the employee are taken into account. But for none of the positions listed in the list, additional leave should not have a duration shorter than the minimum indicator that is set in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, namely 3 days.
Let us now consider how, in fact, an additional vacation is provided for irregular work in practice. This procedure is characterized by a number of important nuances that are useful to pay attention to.
Providing additional leave for an irregular schedule in practice: nuances
Additional vacation days for irregular working hours can be provided by the employer at the same time as the main days of rest, as well as other holidays guaranteed by law or local regulations. The procedure for their use is determined in accordance with agreements between the employer and the employee.
For example, the total number of days of rest can be determined by summing up all the holidays that are supposed to be spent on an employee. The corresponding mechanism, therefore, can be fixed to the employment contract or additional agreements to it. The employee must use the leave based on the approved schedule. In this case, the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, regulating how employers should provide their employees with additional paid leave for irregular working hours, are generally the same as those characterizing the use of rest by employees on a common basis.
In particular, in this case, the rule of law should be applied, according to which the total vacation, consisting of those that are provided for various reasons, can be divided into several. However, the duration of each should not be less than 2 weeks.
The right to additional leave for carrying out labor activities within the framework of an irregular schedule arises for a person, as in the case of ordinary leave, provided that 6 months are spent in the organization. In some cases, additional rest may be replaced by compensation. Consider this nuance in more detail.
Compensation instead of extra leave
In this case, again, it is legitimate to talk about the application of the general norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. In accordance with them, the payment by the employer of compensation to the employee for days of vacation that are not used is a right, not an obligation. Moreover, in some cases, the legislation of the Russian Federation establishes a ban on compensation for leave to certain categories of citizens. In any case, payment of leave for irregular working hours in the form of appropriate compensation can be made only if the employee takes time off for compulsory leave - 28 days a year. In some cases, an employee can be legally guaranteed an even longer period of rest, for example, if he carries out his activities in the Far North or in areas that have the status of equal to him.
It is worth noting that for residents of the respective regions of the Russian Federation, a rule has been established in accordance with which full or partial pooling of annual holidays can be carried out within a period not exceeding 2 working years. In general, citizens who work in the North, in many cases, have the right to rely on holidays for various reasons. Therefore, the total length of days of rest for these workers usually exceeds that which characterizes the labor activity of citizens who work in more southern regions.
An important nuance: if an employee leaves, and he has unused vacation days, including those that are appointed due to the person’s work on an irregular schedule, they must be compensated by the employer.
Features of calculating additional leave
Let us now consider how to calculate vacation for irregular working hours. Calculation of the duration, as well as payment of the corresponding period of rest is also governed by the provisions of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. As in the case of ordinary days of rest, the provision of additional leave for irregular working hours is paid by the employer company based on the average employee earnings. This indicator is calculated by multiplying the average daily earnings of a person by the number of working days within a given billing period. The structure of the calculations must include indicators such as salary, bonuses and allowances.
In turn, if a person wants to replace the right to leave for irregular working hours with compensation, then in this case the average earnings are determined by a different formula. The total amount of the citizen’s salary is taken within the calculation period, after which it is divided by the number of calendar days worked by a person. In this case, the following indicators are taken into account:
- the number of months that the specialist worked in the company;
- the average monthly number of calendar days, which corresponds to 29.4, based on the norms established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.
Other options for calculating the number of calendar days are also possible, for example, in the event that any months within the calculation period are not fully worked out by a person. In this case, the employee’s working days multiplied by the coefficients specified in the legislation may also be taken into account.
Summary
So, we have determined how, in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, an employee is provided with additional vacation days for an irregular working day. The reason for their appointment is the fact of the existence of legal relations between the enterprise and the employee, assuming the second to fulfill their labor duties according to a schedule, which may differ significantly from the usual daily schedule and, therefore, reflect the preferences of the employer primarily regarding the organization of work.
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation regulates how the employees of Russian enterprises should be granted the leave in question, in general, through the same legal principles that characterize the regulation of the provision of other additional leaves, and in many respects the main ones.
As with regular rest days, an employee who intends to take advantage of them must send an application to the employer. Vacation for irregular working hours is provided according to a pre-approved schedule. His compensation is carried out in the same way as in the case of other types of additional holidays.
The calculation of rest days for an irregular schedule is similarly regulated. This procedure is carried out using the average earnings indicators, which are calculated when determining the payment for rest with an irregular schedule in the same way as in the case of other types of vacations.
In state institutions, the list of positions in which specialists can carry out labor activities as part of an irregular working day uses the one approved by law. Specific names of these posts may contain a qualification guide or a professional standard.
The conditions for granting leave for abnormal work are fixed in contracts, collective bargaining agreements or local regulations of the employing company.