Employers regularly face situations where an employee requests several days of paid annual leave even though less than six months have passed since their hiring date. In practice, many employers believe they may grant leave proportionally to the days “earned,” for example 5 or 7 calendar days. However, such an approach contradicts the requirements of the Labor Code.

Let us examine when leave during the first working year may indeed be granted before six months of employment and why the legislator established a minimum threshold of 14 calendar days.

Before the vacation season, both employees and employers traditionally raise one of the most common questions: can paid annual leave be granted to an employee who has not yet worked for six months? And if so, is it mandatory to grant at least 14 calendar days at once?

Let us review how this issue is regulated by the Labor Code of the Republic of Belarus.

General Rule: Vacation Leave After 6 Months of Employment

According to Part 1 of Article 166 of the Labor Code, annual labor leave (basic and additional) for the first working year is granted no earlier than after 6 months of employment with the employer.

There are exceptions to this rule. Certain categories of employees listed in Part 2 of Article 166 of the Labor Code are entitled to request leave before the expiration of the six-month period.

For all other employees, the general principle applies: before the expiration of 6 months, leave may only be granted by agreement between the employee and the employer.

Part 4 of Article 166 of the Labor Code provides that before the expiration of 6 months of employment, annual leave may be granted proportionally to the worked portion of the working year, but for no less than 14 calendar days. This provision most often raises questions in practice.

The "14-Day Trap”: Why Can’t Less Be Granted?

Many people believe that if an employee has proportionally “earned” only 5–7 days of leave, then this is exactly the amount that may be granted. However, this is incorrect.

If the employer agrees to grant annual leave in advance (that is, before the employee completes 6 months of employment), the employer must formalize leave for a duration of at least 14 calendar days.

In other words, the employer effectively has only two options:

• grant at least 14 calendar days of leave; or

• refuse to grant annual leave until the employee reaches 6 months of service.

Granting, for example, 5 calendar days of annual leave in such a situation would violate Article 166 of the Labor Code, since the law expressly states: “but not less than 14 calendar days.”

What Is the Legislator’s Logic?

This approach is connected with the social nature of annual leave. The legislator proceeds from the assumption that annual leave must ensure полноценный rest for the employee. Therefore, before 6 months of employment, leave cannot be split into short periods.

Even if the employee has actually “accumulated” only several days, the employer may either grant at least 14 calendar days or refuse leave until the required length of service is reached.

What If the Employee Needs Only 5 Days?

If the employee critically needs to be absent for only several days, an alternative option may be considered — granting social leave in accordance with Article 190 of the Labor Code.

The rule requiring a minimum of 14 calendar days does not apply to social leave.

What Happens After 6 Months of Employment?

After the employee has worked for 6 months, the general rules regarding the granting and division of annual leave apply.

According to Article 174 of the Labor Code, leave may be divided into parts by agreement between the employee and the employer. At the same time, one part of the leave must consist of at least 14 calendar days.

It is important to note that after the employee acquires the full right to annual leave, the law does not require that the first part of the leave be 14 days long. For example, the following options are possible:

• first 5 days, then 14 days, and then the remainder;

• first 14 days, then several shorter periods;

• other combinations.

The main condition is that during the working year at least one part of the leave must be uninterrupted and consist of at least 14 calendar days.

Summary for Employers

If the employee does not belong to the privileged categories listed in Part 2 of Article 166 of the Labor Code, the employer has the right to refuse granting annual leave before the employee completes 6 months of employment.

If the employer is willing to allow the employee to take annual leave before 6 months of employment, the leave must be formalized for at least 14 calendar days.

If the employee only needs several days off, it is safer to use the mechanism of social leave under Article 190 of the Labor Code.

Granting a “short” annual leave period before the expiration of 6 months of employment may be regarded as a violation of labor legislation and may lead to claims from the Department of the State Labour Inspectorate.

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