Last updated on January 23, 2024.

Paid Time Off (PTO) in Russia

Vacation Leave Quota

28 days

Regular employees in Russia are entitled to 28 calendar days of basic annual leave. Employees engaged in specific types of work, those with particular specialties, or those belonging to categories of particular favor or privilege are eligible for extended basic annual leave. The length of both the basic and extended annual leave is measured in calendar days, without a set upper limit. Employees with a fixed-term contract for seasonal work are also entitled to vacation—about two days for each month worked.

Longer Vacation Leave

Extended basic annual leave, with more vacation days, is granted to certain categories of employees, such as:

At least 30 days: Employees with disabilities,

42–56 days: Teachers,

48 days: Doctors of Science,

36 days: Candidates of Science,

30 days: Judges, prosecutors, and Investigative Committee employees.

There are some other categories that are also entitled to longer vacation leave, and all this is defined and determined following the Code (Кодекс) and additional federal laws.

Eligibility

In their first year of employment, an employee becomes eligible for leave after working continuously for six months at the company. However, they may take paid leave even before completing six months if both an employer and an employee agree.

However, only employees working under an employment contract for a entire calendar year have a right to a full vacation entitlement of 28 days.

Taking a Vacation

Vacation days may be split into two segments; each must be at least 14 days. Any public holidays occurring during the vacation period are not counted as part of the vacation days and are unpaid.

Annual leave is called Отпуск in Russian.

Carry Over

Carryover of vacation days, also known as rollover or brought forward, is allowed only in exceptional cases. Vacation should be taken within 12 months following the end of the work year for which it is given. However, in special circumstances where taking leave in the present work year might negatively impact the organization’s standard activities, it is permitted to postpone vacation days to the following work year.

Payout

An employee receives his or her average earnings while on vacation. If an employee’s vacation is more than 28 calendar days, they can choose monetary compensation for the extra days, provided they submit a written request.

Payment of Unused Annual Leave Upon Termination

Upon termination, an employee receives payment for any unused annual leave or has the option to use their remaining vacation days, during which they will be compensated at their standard rate of pay. This demands a written request from the employee. The final day of the leave is regarded as the day of dismissal. This is not allowed in cases of dismissal due to misconduct.

Sick Leave in Russia

Up to 12 months.

Employees in Russia have the right to take sick leave in cases of injury or illness. Sick days may be taken both for their own health needs or to provide care for an ill or injured child or close family member.

Sick Leave for an Employee’s Own Health

Generally, employees are entitled to a standard sick leave of 15 days for their own diseases or injuries that are not severe. If an employee’s illness or injury lasts for 16 days or more, a medical board decides whether and how long sick leave should be extended, up to a maximum of 12 months.

The employee is required to provide a certificate to the employer, although this may be done after the end of sick leave.

Payout

For the initial 3 days of absence because of illness, the employer is liable for payment. Following that, the employee is eligible for social security benefits, including a temporary incapacity allowance that the Social Insurance Fund of Russia pays for with insurance premiums from the employer.

The payment for sick days varies from 60% to 100% of the employee’s salary.

Family Care Leave

An employee who is considered the caregiver of a sick child or a close relative is allowed to take leave in order to help or regularly look after them.

Employees are also entitled to 5 days of leave per month in order to care for a disabled child under 18 years old. Parents, guardians, or adoptive parents of a disabled child may take this leave.

Payout

A caregiver is also eligible to receive a temporary incapacity allowance while on leave related to family care.

Maternity and Paternity

Maternity Leave in Russia

140 fully paid days

A female pregnant employee in Russia receives 140 days of fully paid maternity leave.

This leave is split into

• Prenatal leave of 70 days (which is 84 days in the case of multiple births)

and

• Postnatal leave of 70 days (which is 110 days in cases of multiple births and 86 days in cases of complications)

A pregnant female employee is entitled to take her vacation, either before or after maternity leave, without having to complete six successive months of service.

Payout

A female employee on maternity leave is entitled to 100% of her average salary in the 2 years prior to the leave, up to a specified maximum. This payment is provided by Russian social security.

Paternity Leave Russia

5 unpaid days

Paid paternity leave is not a statutory right of employees in Russia. However, an employee who has become a father is eligible for up to 5 unpaid days of paternity leave.

Bereavement Leave in Russia

5 unpaid days

An employer is required to provide up to 5 days of unpaid leave for an employee suffering the death of an immediate family member.

Jury Duty Leave in Russia

There is no legal definition of jury duty leave.

Military Leave in Russia

14 unpaid days

An employee who is a spouse or a parent of an active or inactive member of the armed forces and who has died due to a disease or injury sustained during their military service must be provided with up to 14 days of unpaid leave.

Voting Leave in Russia

There is no law defining voting leave.

Public Holidays in Russia for 2024

8 official public holidays plus additional holidays last 18 days in total

Russia observes 8 public holidays annually. New Year’s holidays span over 5 days, and Orthodox Christmas spans over 2 days. In addition to these, there are five more additional holidays in 2024. All this means that there are 18 days that are observed in 2024.

Russia observes a whole holiday week from New Year (January 1) to Christmas (January 7). Being Christian Orthodox, Russian religious holidays are celebrated according to the Julian calendar.

A complete list of official holidays celebrated in Russia:

There are additional holidays in 2024:

• April 29 & 30 — Monday and Tuesday;

• May 10 — Friday;

• December 30 &31 — Monday and Tuesday.

However, some days that fall on Saturday are additional working days in 2024:

• April 27 — Saturday;
• November 2 — Saturday;
• December 28 — Saturday.

Sources

1. Local Laws & Regulations, https://www.atlashxm.com/en/countries/russia
2. Payroll and Benefits Guide Russia, https://www.papayaglobal.com/countrypedia/country/russia/
3. Definitive Guide to Hiring in Russia, https://www.globalexpansion.com/countrypedia/russia
4. Vacation Leave in Russia (in Russian), https://www.banki.ru/news/daytheme/?id=10975124
5. Procedure for Calculating Vacation (in Russian), https://www.garant.ru/actual/otpusk/479408/
6. Public Holidays in Russia (Bank of Russia), https://www.cbr.ru/eng/other/holidays/

Check out our Leave Laws page to learn more about laws in various countries.