Social leave for children: what documents are needed and when the employer can refuse
Employees who claim social leave must confirm their right to receive it with the appropriate documents. In their absence, labor disputes may arise between the employee and the employer regarding the provision of such leave.
The Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine explains that according to the Law "On Leave" and the Labor Code, certain categories of employees are entitled to an additional annual paid social leave lasting 10 calendar days. Such leave can be granted, in particular, to one of the parents who have two or more children under 15 years old, parents of a child with a disability, single mothers or fathers, adoptive parents, guardians, as well as foster parents. Public holidays and non-working days are not included in the duration of this leave.
From the provisions of the mentioned articles, it follows that one of the parents has the right to additional social leave provided that the other parent has not used their right to such leave in the current calendar year.
Current legislation does not specify a concrete list of documents that one of the parents must present to confirm that the mother (father) has not used the right to additional social leave.
The employer may be provided with any properly executed and duly certified document that reliably confirms that the other parent has not been granted such social leave.
The decision to grant the specified social leave is made by the employer taking into account the submitted documents. Since the legislation does not specify which exact documents the employee must submit to receive additional social leave, it is advisable to specify their list in the employer's local act (for example, internal labor regulations).
Defining the list of documents to confirm the right to receive additional leave in local acts agreed upon with employees or their representatives ensures compliance with the norms of Article 21 of the Labor Code, i.e., equality of labor rights of employees and prevention of discrimination in the labor sphere.
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine in a letter dated 14.04.2008 No. 235/0/15-08/13 clarified that the employer has the right to refuse an employee social leave for children if the employee does not provide documents confirming the right to such leave.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel t.me/sudua and to Google News SUD.UA, as well as to our VIBER and WhatsApp, our page on Facebook and on Instagram to stay informed about the most important events.
