Summer Prize: Teachers complain about refusals to grant them full vacations
It is a common practice in Russian regions when teachers who have not worked a full year are refused to be given full leave, Izvestia found out. For teachers, depending on their position, it can range from 42 to 56 days. In addition, there are situations when school administrators persistently ask teachers to share their vacations in order to work, for example, during the organization of the state final assessment (GIA). The trade unions confirmed to the publication that they had met with such appeals from teachers, moreover, they called the situation normal. How to prevent violation of vacation rights, even if you have not worked at school for a whole year, is in the Izvestia article.
Why don't teachers go on vacation?
About half of Russian teachers cannot take their 56 days of vacation in full, according to a study by Aktion Obrazovanie. It also notes that every fifth teacher is faced with the fact that the school administration decides for him when he will go on vacation. And about 20% of the teachers surveyed said that they had their vacation time divided into parts without asking for consent.
"This is indeed a regular, common story," the Teacher trade union confirmed to Izvestia. "Either they don't give you a full vacation or they tear you apart because of the state final assessment (OGE or USE), or they try to give you less than a full one if the teacher hasn't worked for 10.5 months."
They noted that full leave should be provided regardless of the length of work before it begins, if the teacher has worked for six months.
"That is, if you got a job on September 1, 2023, then in June 2024 you have the right to take a full vacation," the organization said.
The union explained that the Labor Code prohibits the division of vacations without the consent of the employee. And if a teacher quits after working for less than a year, but was on full leave, then there is a situation of overpayment of vacation pay. Therefore, the school management is trying to prevent such a situation in this way.
According to one of the representatives of educational institutions interviewed by the publication, "there are no legal opportunities to recover overpaid vacation upon dismissal, and the inspectors consider this to be waste or misuse of funds."
Refusal to grant leave under the pretext of "did not work for 10.5 or 11 months" is illegal if the teacher has already worked for more than six months and wants to use the leave in advance or proportionally, Yuri Mirzoev, Director General of the national law firm Mitra, told Izvestia.
— An employer cannot set his deadline unilaterally, he must be guided by the Labor Code. The employee has the right to use the leave for the first year of work after six months of continuous work," he said.
Teachers also reported that they were being pulled out of vacations for events, and this is not just work during the OGE and USE.
— Now I'm arguing with the director to pay for an event from the department, in which we allegedly participated at will, — said one of the teachers.
According to the explanations of the All-Russian Trade Union of Education, the Labor Code provides for the possibility of recalling an employee from vacation or dividing the vacation into parts, but this is allowed only with his consent.
What are the rules for granting vacations?
The order of leave is determined according to the schedule, which is drawn up taking into account the opinion of the employee and must be approved no later than two weeks before the beginning of the year, Yuri Mirzoev explained.
— The educational process and GIA periods are an objective reality of the employer, and this fact should be taken into account when making a vacation schedule, — he said. — But if the schedule was drawn up without taking into account the wishes of the teacher and he was not introduced to it under his signature, this is a violation. It is possible to split the vacation into parts only by agreement of the parties. Forced crushing due to GIA is illegal.
He stressed that the employer's duty is to organize work in such a way as to ensure both exams and teachers' right to rest.
— And the refusal to grant leave during the period set by the schedule is a violation, — said the lawyer.
In all cases of violation of vacation rights, he recommended contacting the State Labor Inspectorate, and then, if the problem is not resolved, you can go to court demanding compensation for moral damage.
Izvestia sent a request to Rostrud with a request to inform whether statistics are being kept on teacher complaints of such violations. The press service of the department noted that teachers' appeals are not singled out separately, but recalled that, according to the government decree on annual basic extended paid leave, depending on the position they hold, their leave can range from 42 to 56 calendar days.
"In accordance with labor legislation, paid leave must be granted to an employee annually at any time of the working year in accordance with the order of annual paid leave established by the vacation schedule, which is mandatory for both the employer and the employee," the Federal Labor Agency said.
The division of leave into parts is possible only by agreement between the employee and the employer.
"If no agreement is reached, leave is granted in an indivisible part," the department noted.
Postponement of leave to the next working year is possible in exceptional cases — when granting leave to an employee in the current working year may adversely affect the normal course of work of the organization, with the consent of the employee. In this case, the vacation must be used no later than 12 months after the end of the working year for which it is granted.
The law prohibits the failure to provide annual paid leave for two consecutive years, the Federal Labor Agency emphasized.
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