AZE.US
Employees in Azerbaijan are not required to use all their annual paid leave at once.
The leave may be divided into three or more periods, provided that the employer agrees and at least one part lasts no fewer than 14 calendar days.
The rules are set out in Articles 137 and 140 of Azerbaijan’s Labor Code, AZE.US reports, citing Vesti Baku.
Employer Approval Is Required
An employee may request to take annual leave in separate periods throughout the year, but the arrangement requires the employer’s consent.
The law does not require the 14-day period to be the first part of the vacation. It may be taken at any stage. The remaining days can be divided into shorter periods – for example, three, five or seven days – if both sides agree.
The Labor Code also does not limit annual leave to only two parts. An employee entitled to 36 calendar days, for example, may divide them into several periods as long as one of those periods lasts at least two calendar weeks.
An employer may refuse a proposed schedule if the employee’s absence would disrupt operations. The timing should therefore be agreed between the parties and reflected in the employer’s leave order.
What Happens to the Remaining Days?
After an employee uses one part of the annual leave, the remaining days may be granted:
- before the end of the relevant working year;
- before the end of the calendar year; or
- together with the employee’s annual leave for the following working year, at the employee’s request.
A “working year” is calculated from the date the employee began working, rather than automatically running from January through December.
How Vacation Pay Is Calculated
Vacation pay is generally based on the employee’s average earnings during the 12 calendar months preceding the month in which the leave begins.
The initial calculation is made in three stages:
- Total eligible earnings for the previous 12 months are divided by 12 to determine the average monthly salary.
- The average monthly salary is divided by 30.4 to calculate average earnings for one calendar day.
- The daily amount is multiplied by the number of calendar days of leave.
If the employee has worked for the employer for fewer than 12 months, the calculation is based on the complete calendar months actually worked.
Under the current rules, the resulting vacation payment is also compared with the salary the employee would have earned, at the latest applicable pay rate, for the working days falling within the vacation period. The employee must receive the higher amount, according to an official explanation from the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.
Employees who believe their leave was improperly denied or their vacation pay was calculated incorrectly may contact Azerbaijan’s State Labor Inspection Service.
AZE.US