The grant of vacations

September deadline for overdue vacations

It is obligatory that vacations has to serve recovery. Therefore the employee not only has the right to recover, but the duty to enable it. This results in the statutory regulation of the deadline to grant vacations and of the restriction that a part of the vacancy shall not be less than two weeks.

The employee has not only the duty to go on a relaxing vacancy, but above all to fix the time of his relaxing vacation, in co-ordination with the employer. Such agreements have to take the corresponding statutory regulations into account. Labour regulations determine that the deadline for granting vacations is the last day of September, following the year of the vacation entitlement (art. 168 K.p.). Please note: This deadline concerns granting and not taking overdue vacation. Employer observes all appropriate legal provisions, if she/he grants the overdue vacation at the last day of September, following the year of vacation entitlement. In such a situation it is important that the employee goes on vacation after the end of September.

The mentioned ‘September deadline regulation’ does not concern the so called ‘vacation on request’ (‘urlop na żądanie’). Granting this kind of vacation art. 168 K.p. cannot be applied. There is also no other regulation that determines the date of the grant or the commencement of such leave. Due to the absence of statutory provisions, it is believed that the holiday on demand (4 days) maybe taken by the employee, within the applicable limitation period for this claim.

Vacation dates according to other legal provisions

The September date for granting overdue vacation concerns all employees, unless there are statutory special labour regulations. Under Polish labour law there are specific categories of employees with corresponding provisions.

If the employer failed to grant vacations on time this constitutes an offence, whatever the underlying causes are.

Different deadlines are allowed in the case of a first additional vacancy because of a disability. This claim comes into effect after one year of working, calculated from the day constituting the degree of disability. After receiving this entitlement the employer should grant the vacation immediately-the beginning should be determined together with the employee. In this case there are no legal provisions on deadlines for granting the vacation. In view of the fact whereby the employee is entitled, any regulations would be obviously unfounded. The day of granting this vacation can be moved, depending on one year of working, starting at the day stating the degree of disability. The period for granting this vacation has the same character.

Source: GazetaPodatkowa, 15 September, 2014