Worked for Only 2 Months: Is It Possible to Take a Full-Length Vacation?
Employees who have recently started working may not always be able to immediately take their full-length annual leave. The general rule states that this entitlement arises after six months of continuous work. However, the legislation specifies certain categories of employees who can receive their full vacation earlier.
According to Article 2, Part One of the Law of Ukraine "On Vacations" dated November 15, 1996, No. 504/96-VR, the right to vacations is granted to Ukrainian citizens who are in employment relationships with enterprises, institutions, and organisations regardless of ownership structure, as well as employees working under an individual employment contract.
The annual main vacation must be at least 24 calendar days for the working year. This year is calculated from the date the employment contract is signed.
Article 10, Part Five of Law No. 504 states that the right to the full duration of annual main and additional vacations in the first year of employment arises after six months of continuous work at the enterprise.
If an employee wishes to take their vacation before this period ends, the duration is determined proportionally to the time worked, as outlined in Article 10, Part Six of Law No. 504.
Exceptions are established in Article 10, Part Seven of Law No. 504. At the employee's request, full-length annual vacations may be granted before the six-month continuous work period ends in the first year to:
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women — before or after vacation related to pregnancy and childbirth, as well as women with two or more children under 15 years old or a child with a disability;
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persons with disabilities;
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employees under 18 years old;
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men whose wives are on maternity leave;
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persons discharged after military service, if re-employed within three months;
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part-time employees — concurrently with their main workplace vacation;
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employees studying in educational institutions who wish to align their vacation with exams, tests, or educational
activities;
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employees with a sanatorium-resort treatment voucher;
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parents-educators of family-type orphanages;
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and other employees in cases provided by law, collective agreements, or employment contracts.
In a previous report by the Judicial-Legal Newspaper, judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine Viktor Horodovenko and Halyna Yurovska explained the content of Constitutional Court Decision No. 3-r/2026 regarding a case on the constitutional submission of the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights.
The Court upheld the constitutional right to rest for vulnerable employees by recognising the unconstitutionality of a provision in the Law that allowed employers to grant unused days of annual main vacation without pay, particularly affecting persons under eighteen years old and individuals with disabilities.
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