Additional Parental Leave: Who is Eligible?

Leave is a great opportunity to relax and gain strength for new work ideas. In addition to the annual basic leaves we are accustomed to, there is a wide variety of additional leaves. Each of them has its own rules for granting and duration. Let's take a closer look at the additional social leave for children.

Who can receive additional social leave for children

Additional leave for children belongs to the category of social leaves and, in accordance with the Law "On Vacations", is granted to the following categories of employees:

• one of the parents who has 2 or more children under 15 years of age
• one of the parents who has a child with a disability
• one of the parents who adopted a child
• mother (father) of a person with a childhood disability of subgroup A of group I
• single mother
• father of a child or a person with a childhood disability of subgroup A of group I, who raises them without a mother (including in cases of the mother's prolonged stay in a medical institution)
• a person who has taken a child into guardianship, or one of the foster parents.

What has changed since May 09, 2021

The main innovations that have occurred in the procedure for granting such leave are:

1. Equal right to receive additional social leave for children is granted to both the mother and the father. Provided that the father of the children takes this leave, the mother loses the opportunity to use this type of leave in the current year.
2. The right to receive such leave also appears for a woman who is on maternity leave until the child reaches 3 years of age. Since two leaves cannot be used simultaneously, in such a case, the father of the child can use the additional social leave for children.

What is the duration of additional social leave for children

This type of leave is granted only if the above-mentioned grounds exist, for a duration of 10 calendar days, excluding holidays and non-working days. If there are several grounds for receiving social leave for children, its duration is extended but cannot exceed 17 calendar days (Part 2, Article 19 of the Law "On Vacations").

 

Leave for Children in 2021

Additional social leave for children has its own peculiarities, namely:

1. The right to such leave is retained if it is not used during the current year and can be carried over to another year.
2. Monetary compensation for unused leave days is accrued only upon the employee's dismissal.
3. Granted at the primary place of employment.
4. Paid at the expense of the enterprise.
5. The period for which additional social leave for children is accrued is the calendar year.
6. Holidays and non-working days are not included in the leave duration and are not paid.
7. The leave is not divided into parts. The only exception is the existence of several grounds for receiving this leave (it is possible to divide the leave into two separate parts – 10 calendar days and 7 calendar days).
8. This is an independent type of leave, which is not included in the duration of other leaves: basic annual and basic additional.

What are the conditions for employers to grant additional social leave for children

One of the parents planning to take leave must provide the employer with supporting documents. The main document is copies of children's birth certificates. However, if the child belongs to certain privileged categories, a copy of the following must also be attached:

• child's disability certificate
• court decision on adoption or child adoption certificate
• marriage dissolution certificate
• agreement on placing children in a foster family, etc.

It is mandatory to provide documentary confirmation that one of the parents has not yet used such leave. Such a document can be a certificate of arbitrary form from the place of employment, issued by the accounting or HR department.

Sample application for additional social leave for children

You can find a sample application for additional social leave for children by following this link.

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