Legal characteristics of employee recall from leave

Extracts for legal literacy News

An employee recall from the leave is a procedure strictly regulated by the labour legislation of the Donetsk People’s Republic, according to which the employer has the right, with the employee’s consent, to prematurely interrupt his/her leave and involve him/her in the performance of work duties.

A recall from the leave due to needs of the undertaking is possible only with the consent of the employee. Moreover, not every leave can be interrupted. For example, it will not work to recall an employee from the leave that he/she took at his/her own expense (non-paid).

Early recall from the annual leave is regulated by Part 2 of Article 15 of the DPR Law “On Vacations”. Thus, an employee can be recalled from the leave if it is required by needs of the undertaking (to prevent an industrial accident or to immediately eliminate the consequences of an accident, to prevent accidents, downtime, damage to an enterprise (organization, institution), emergency situations and only with his/her written consent). A similar norm is enshrined in Article 79 of the Labour Code of Ukraine (as amended, acting on the territory of the DPR).

Please note that there is a category of employees who cannot be recalled from their annual leave under any circumstances. According to Part 3 of Art. 15 of the Law of the DPR “On Vacations”, these include:

– young employees (under the age of 18),

– pregnant women,

– employees engaged in work with harmful and (or) hazardous working conditions.

In addition, it is also not allowed to call from additional educational leave employees, who combine work and study.

To recall an employee from the leave, first of all, it is necessary to draw up a memo. It is drawn up by the head of the structural unit in which the employee works. The note indicates the reason for the need to call the employee from the leave.

If the head of the organization believes that it is impossible to do without a person who has a leave (for the above reasons), it is necessary to send the latter a proposal to interrupt the leave, and receive his/her written consent in return. At the same time, we draw attention to the fact that the employee’s consent to withdraw him/her from the leave must be obtained in writing. If the employee is far from the place of work, it is possible to agree a recall from the leave by telephone or e-mail, in other ways. However, when the employee arrives at work, it is necessary to obtain his/her written consent.

If the employee does not object to his/her recall (if he/she has the opportunity to interrupt his/her leave), then an appropriate order is issued. It will not be considered a violation of labour discipline if the employee refuses to interrupt his/her leave ahead of time.

The recall can be issued for several days, a week, as well as for an indefinite period or until the reasons for which the employee was recalled from the leave are eliminated.

Upon recall, the employee must be provided with that part of the leave that remained unused. In this case, the employee can choose (in accordance with Part 2 of Article 15 of the DPR Law “On Vacations”):

– use this part of the leave at any time convenient for him/her in the current year;

– add the unused part of the leave to the vacation for the next year.