Leave for military personnel due to the birth of a child: when they may not be granted leave even by law

In Ukraine, the right of servicemen to leave is determined by the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," which establishes the possibility of granting various types of leave. During martial law, their implementation is carried out taking into account service conditions and is formalized by the decision of the military unit commander.

The right of servicemen to leave: what the law provides

Servicemen, except those undergoing basic military service, are guaranteed the right to annual main leave with retention of monetary and material support. Separately, during such leave, a monetary aid for recovery in the amount of one month's monetary allowance is provided.

During martial law, the duration of the annual main leave for all servicemen is fixed and amounts to up to 30 calendar days (granted in parts, no more than 15 days at a time), regardless of length of service. This is defined in part 18 of Article 10-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families." In addition, during martial law, the provisions of the Labor Code regarding holidays and non-working days do not apply.

The annual main leave must be granted during the calendar year. In cases when it was not used, the law allows its transfer to the next year. In particular, by decision of authorized leaders in the Ministry of Defense system, other military formations, and law enforcement agencies, such leave for the previous year may be granted in the first quarter of the next year as an exception if it was not used earlier.

Specifically, during martial law, the annual main leave may be granted provided that no more than 30% of the total number of servicemen of a certain category in the respective unit are absent simultaneously.

Additionally, the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families" defines the possibility of granting leave for family circumstances and other valid reasons.

Leave for family circumstances without retention of monetary allowance is granted to a serviceman in the following cases:

• Marriage – duration up to 10 calendar days.
• In case of serious health condition or death of close relatives, leave is granted depending on the degree of kinship: up to 7 calendar days if it concerns a wife or husband, parents, children, stepfather or stepmother, full brothers and sisters, as well as parents of the spouse or persons under whose care the serviceman was.
• For other relatives, such leave may be up to 3 calendar days. In all these cases, the time required for travel to the place of leave and back is not counted.
• In case of fire or other natural disaster that befell the family of the serviceman or persons mentioned in subparagraph 2 of this paragraph – duration up to 15 calendar days excluding the time needed for travel to the leave location and back.

Moreover, by decision of the military unit commander, servicemen (except conscripts) may be granted leave for family circumstances and other valid reasons with a total duration of no more than 15 calendar days per year without retention of monetary allowance.

At the same time, the legislation does not single out the birth of a child as a separate independent basis for granting leave to servicemen during service. Relevant regulation is contained in article 10-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," which establishes a general category of leave for family circumstances and other valid reasons without forming an exhaustive list of specific life situations.

Official explanations from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and legal assistance state that during martial law, leave for family circumstances, including in connection with the birth of a child, is usually granted for up to 10 calendar days with retention of monetary allowance. Travel time may be separately considered – up to 2 days one way, which can increase the actual absence duration to 14 days.

The presence of grounds for granting leave is confirmed by relevant documents, including birth or death certificates, medical certificates, certificates of fire or other official confirmations. In cases where it is impossible to collect a full package of documents in advance, this is noted in the report, and the military unit commander may decide to grant leave even without full documentary confirmation at the time of application.

When leave may be denied

The commander may refuse to grant leave to a serviceman only within the limits defined by law, and such refusal cannot be arbitrary. The procedure for granting leave during martial law is regulated by Article 10-1 of the Law of Ukraine "On Social and Legal Protection of Servicemen and Their Families," which provides that leave is granted taking into account service conditions and based on the decision of the military unit commander.

The grounds for refusal may be service necessity related to ensuring the combat readiness of the unit, performing assigned tasks, or the impossibility of temporarily replacing the serviceman. The law also considers restrictions on the simultaneous absence of personnel on leave, which may affect the decision.

At the same time, the law does not give the commander the right to ignore the very grounds for leave. This means that family circumstances or other valid reasons provided for in Article 10-1 must be considered, and refusal must be related exclusively to objective service circumstances.

Procedure for arranging leave for a serviceman

To grant leave, the serviceman submits a report addressed to the military unit commander, which can be done through the "Army+" application. The report indicates the type and duration of leave, grounds for granting it, place of stay, approximate travel time, and a list of attached documents.

Available supporting documents justifying the reason for leave (death certificate, medical certificates, certificates of emergency circumstances, including fire, etc.) are attached to the report. If it is impossible to obtain such documents in advance, this is noted in the report.

After submission, the report is considered by the commander taking into account the combat situation and the needs of the unit, and the decision on granting leave is made individually.

In case of a positive decision, an order is issued by the military unit and a leave ticket of the established form is issued.

After the leave ends, the serviceman is obliged to return to the place of service within the specified time. If circumstances arise that prevent timely arrival, the commander must be informed by available means of communication.

Recall that earlier "Judicial and Legal Newspaper" reported on the types of leave guaranteed to servicemen.

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