Opportunity to Not Use Vacation Days for Years No Longer Exists: Amendments to the Labor Code

As a result of amendments made to the labor code of Armenia, regulations have been introduced concerning the maintenance of annual vacation procedures. According to the new changes, there is no longer the possibility to carry over unused vacation days for years. The employer will be given the leverage to grant vacation to an employee without their request.

“For years, the labor code contained a provision that if you did not use your annual vacation for a given year, you could transfer it for at least 18 months and still use it. In reality, we see that this requirement was frequently not upheld. There were cases where employees did not take vacations for years, even up to 15 or 20 years. We studied the situation, employers indicated that employees did not submit requests, while employees said they wanted to but employers did not allow it. We proposed a change to find a solution,” stated Zhora Sargsyan, head of the Department of Labor and Employment of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, in an interview with Armenpress.

The proposed solution is as follows: starting from December 1, 2023, after the start of each employee's work year, the employee has one year to use their annual vacation. If they do not use their annual vacation for that year, they are entitled to carry it over for up to 18 months. If they still do not use their vacation after this period and do not submit a request to go on leave, the employer will be allowed to send them on vacation without the employee's request. This will be a new tool for employers, so they no longer have to wait for the employee's application.

“However, if the employer, having this right, does not exercise it, meaning they do not send the employee on vacation without their application, the employer will pay a penalty to the employee for each day not provided, at a rate of 0.15% of the average monthly salary, but no more than the average monthly salary itself. These changes aim to ensure that, at least by 2026 and thereafter, employees do not accumulate vacation days,” Sargsyan noted.

This regulation does not apply to vacation days accumulated before December 1, 2023. This amendment pertains to work years starting after December 1, 2023. Previously accumulated annual vacation days will continue to be preserved and will be considered accrued. Employees will either be able to use their current annual vacation days alongside or, in case of termination of their employment contract, they will be compensated in the final settlement.