Ministry of Justice reminded of the rules for drawing up vacation schedules: what employers should know
Kyiv • UNN
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has published clarifications regarding the procedure for planning employee vacations for 2026. The vacation schedule is mandatory for all employers, including individual entrepreneurs, and must be agreed upon with the trade union.
The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has published clarifications regarding the procedure for planning employees' vacations for 2026. According to the law, a vacation schedule is mandatory for all employers, including individual entrepreneurs, regardless of the number of hired personnel. This was reported by UNN with reference to the information from the Ministry of Justice.
Details
The Law of Ukraine "On Vacations" applies to all persons working under an employment contract. Although there is no fixed date for the approval of the document in the law, the schedule is traditionally drawn up before the beginning of the calendar year. This allows the employer to balance production processes, and the employee to exercise the right to restore strength.
The order of granting vacations must be agreed with the trade union or another representative body of the labor collective and must be brought to the attention of each employee.
What the schedule should contain
The document usually records the type of vacation, its start date, end date, and total duration in calendar days. In addition to the annual basic vacation (at least 24 days), the schedule should take into account:
- social leave for employees with children (10 days);
- additional leave for long service;
- other types of recreation provided for by the collective agreement.
Legislation allows annual leave to be divided into parts, but the main continuous part must be at least 14 calendar days.
Privileged categories and changes
Certain categories of employees have the right to choose their vacation time at their own discretion. This applies to minors, persons with disabilities, single parents, and family members of military personnel.
The schedule is not a static document: it can be supplemented when new employees are hired or changed in case of an employee's illness, maternity leave, or coincidence with a training period. A properly drawn up schedule is a guarantee of the protection of labor rights and stable operation of the enterprise.