Chernobyl vacation: who is entitled and who pays for additional days of rest

Last modified: February 2021

The tragic events at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 led to the fact that many citizens, residents and liquidators of the accident, caused irreparable harm to their health. Some people still live in areas exposed to the risk of infection, which cannot but affect their health. The state supports the victims in every possible way, providing them with benefits. One of these benefits in Russia was additional leave for Chernobyl victims, allowing them to rest for several days beyond the required 28 days annually.

Who is entitled to additional leave?

In order to protect the rights and interests of people who were exposed to radioactive effects after the explosion of a nuclear reactor, Law No. 1244-1 was issued, its norms are current with the latest changes dated December 2, 2019.

Depending on the degree of harm to health from the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, there are several categories that have the right to receive social guarantees and financial compensation for treatment and recovery. One of the benefits is additional Chernobyl leave, the duration of which directly depends on which category of Chernobyl victims the employee belongs to.

According to labor legislation, in addition to the mandatory paid days of paid rest, at least 28 calendar days, the employer is obliged to provide additional leave under certain circumstances:

• with preservation of average earnings, for non-use of which monetary compensation is paid upon dismissal;
• of a social nature, when, at the request of the employee, it can be timed to coincide with annual leave according to the schedule or taken separately, but is not transferred to the next calendar year.

Legislative definition of categories of citizens affected by the Chernobyl disaster

Question answer

We offer answers to the most common questions.

Is it given in parts?

Labor legislation and the aforementioned Chernobyl law do not provide a clear answer as to whether it is possible to split up the additional vacation provided, as is the case with the traditional four-week vacation.

What if you get sick?

Those who fall ill during a preferential holiday should definitely correct their sick leave, because days of illness should not rightly be included in the vacation. Thus, rest can be extended by the number of days lost due to illness.

Didn't have time to take the day off and quit?

It is well known that an employee’s days off work are compensated with a monetary payment, but not if we are talking about Chernobyl benefits. If the employee did not have time to take advantage of the benefit, then he has no right to demand compensation for it. But he may well take the time required by law to rest after a new job.

Is it given to part-time workers?

To take special leave you only need a special status. Neither length of service, nor position, nor other factors matter. Nothing prevents Chernobyl survivors from exercising their right to receive compensation from the state.

What if the employer refused?

Complying with the law, including Federal Law 1244-1, is the responsibility of every employer, therefore, if a Chernobyl employee has been refused preferential leave, he can safely contact the Labor Inspectorate or the court.

Having figured out who is entitled to a Chernobyl leave of 7 days or more, and having learned how to apply for it correctly, let us remind you once again that this type of social benefit has a number of differences. Chernobyl is not extended if it falls on holidays, and vacation pay is paid not by the employer, but by the state.

Conditions for granting leave for different categories of Chernobyl victims

Since leave for Chernobyl victims in Russia is provided as a social guarantee, let’s figure out who falls into the category of persons entitled to it.

Features of providing leave to Chernobyl victims

Conventionally, all categories of citizens who were exposed to radioactive radiation are divided into 4 categories.

Persons included in categories 1 and 2 are required to pay additional leave based on average earnings. Such rest is provided at the request of the employee - when it is convenient for him.

The other two categories of Chernobyl victims must be provided with additional time for rest upon written application, but at their own expense.

The right to receive leave for Chernobyl victims in Russia does not depend on the total length of insurance coverage and continuous work with a given employer. Moreover, if during such paid additional rest the employee falls ill, the leave must be extended or postponed to another period.

Upon termination of employment at his own request, the employee may submit a written request to be granted Chernobyl leave with subsequent dismissal. This period will be counted towards the two-week period of compulsory service, after notifying the manager of the decision to stop working.

Compensation for unused days of paid Chernobyl additional rest, guaranteed by law to persons injured during the liquidation of the accident or its consequences, is paid upon dismissal along with the calculated ones on the last day of performance of work duties.

Since leave is given to restore health, as well as additional days of rest provided for harmful working conditions, cannot be replaced during the continuation of the employment relationship with equivalent monetary compensation.

Cash compensation for unused Chernobyl leave is possible only in case of dismissal

Important nuances for the employer

If a Chernobyl survivor works for an organization, the personnel officer must take into account several important rules:

1. If during the year the employee has not yet gone on basic leave, then he has no right to ask for additional “Chernobyl” leave (see, for example, the decision of the Khimki City Court of the Moscow Region dated 02/06/2017 in case 2-8392/2016).
2. An additional rest period may be extended or postponed if the employee was ill during it.
3. There is no provision for replacing unused vacation with monetary compensation for accident liquidators, since this is a measure of social support (see letter of the Ministry of Labor dated March 26, 2014 No. 13-7/B-234).
4. The benefit is always provided for a calendar year. If the employee does not apply for it during the year, then the next year it will no longer be possible to use the remaining days.

The list of features is compiled from the most frequently asked questions.

If a pregnant woman is registered in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, she has the right to state support:

• prenatal leave is 90 days;
• to improve her health, the woman must be relocated to a safe zone;
• if a woman registers early, she receives an additional financial payment;
• Child care allowance is paid in double amount.

Attention! The benefit is paid until the child is 3 years old. Important! If the benefit is paid for 2 children, it is summed up.

The main vacation of 28 days can be divided into parts (14 and 14 days). The additional one is not divided into parts.

If a citizen falls ill during vacation, he has the right to have it extended by providing sick leave.

Additional leave is not extended for holidays.

Upon dismissal, unused rest days are not compensated by monetary payment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQi6rSEBMLw

When working part-time, a citizen has the right to use his additional rest.

Refusal of registration

The management of any enterprise does not have the right to refuse to provide additional leave to a citizen who suffered in Chernobyl. Such a refusal is a gross violation of the law.

To resolve the issue, you should contact the labor inspectorate. If this does not help, the next authority is the court.

To fully resolve the issue, it is recommended to contact an experienced lawyer.

We describe typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique and requires individual legal assistance.

To quickly resolve your problem, we recommend contacting qualified lawyers on our website.

Procedure for applying for additional leave

The leave must be documented by a written order from the employer indicating its start and end. The order must be presented to the employee entitled to this benefit against signature.

The basis for providing additional rest to a Chernobyl survivor is a written statement from him.

Note. When drawing up a priority schedule for the provision of the next annual leave, categories of persons affected by the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, who are classified as categories 1 and 2, may be assigned additional days of rest to the main leave.

If an employee is entitled to paid Chernobyl vacation days, payments are made as required by law - 3 days before the start of the vacation.

Payment

Let's look at one more important question regarding additional leave for Chernobyl victims - who pays for these days off? As mentioned above, payment for additional (Chernobyl) leave for the Chernobyl nuclear power plant for the first two categories is made by the budget.

To do this, submit an application to the social service. protection to pay for this vacation.

The following documents are attached to it:

• photocopy of the Chernobyl survivor's certificate;
• certificate of average salary taken from the enterprise;
• a certificate of the duration of leave (or an extract from the order);
• passport identification.

Certificates issued by the employer must be certified by his signature. The document on the average salary must also bear the signature of the chief accountant.

REMINDER: The document on the terms of granting leave is also endorsed by the personnel employee. Both certificates are certified by the “wet” seal of the enterprise where the Chernobyl worker works.

To calculate the monetary amount of payment for additional leave, the same formula is used as for annual leave. And the basis for this is a certificate of average wages for the full 12 months preceding the vacation. First, the daily average salary is determined.

It is calculated as follows: all wages for 12 months are divided by the number of calendar days minus holidays that fall during this period, i.e. Salary: (365 - pr) = Daily rate. Since the duration of additional rest is 14 calendar days, it is necessary to multiply the daily rate by 14: Amount = Daily rate * 14.

Package of documents for receiving benefits

Persons who lived or were sent to the Chernobyl zone, who took part in the liquidation of the accident and its consequences, have appropriate certificates confirming their preferential status.

To receive additional vacation and other benefits must be provided with a Chernobyl certificate

As a rule, when applying for a job, the following is transferred to the personnel service:

• copies of identity documents;
• work book (if available);
• copies of diplomas and certificates of the appropriate level of education and qualifications;
• a copy of the Chernobyl certificate, according to which the employer will be able to plan the provision of leave.

Since the vacation can be either paid or at your own expense, it is necessary to confirm the right to one or another benefit, for which it is sufficient:

• certificates of recognition of a disability group as a result of radiation and other diseases caused by an increased dose of radioactive radiation;
• a badge issued to the accident liquidators or a corresponding certificate;
• passports, if during the Chernobyl tragedy the person was registered at his place of residence in the disaster zone.

Is it possible to apply for child benefits at the MFC?

Upon initial application, an MFC employee will provide a list containing documents for receiving benefits and will set a time for the next visit. Next, on the agreed date, you must bring originals and copies of documents (if there are no copies, an MFC employee will take them on the spot).

Child benefits due to a family can be applied for, among other things, through a multifunctional center (MFC). To do this, you should take a list of necessary documents there in advance. Next, the applicant needs to collect documents according to this list and submit them to the MFC, where a specialist will check the completeness and correctness of the information. If everything is correct, the benefit will be assigned.

Who pays for additional vacation?

The Chernobyl survivor receives vacation pay through the enterprise's cash desk, or the money is transferred to his bank account of a credit institution. But payment for benefits for Chernobyl victims comes from the federal budget.

To reimburse the costs of paying vacation pay to persons entitled to additional paid rest, the employer sends to the social protection authorities at the place of registration of the legal entity:

• an accounting certificate calculating the amount of vacation pay paid;
• a duly certified copy of the order to provide additional days of Chernobyl leave, specifying its duration and referring to the law;
• copies of documents confirming a person’s right to preferential leave;
• details for transferring funds to the organization's account.

If we talk about who pays for Chernobyl leave for workers, we ultimately come to the conclusion that the state bears these expenses.

Sample application for Chernobyl leave

There are no special forms for filling out a written request for additional leave for beneficiaries. The document is drawn up arbitrarily; it can be written in legible handwriting or printed using modern office equipment, and must be certified by the signature of the applicant.

Typically, samples of this kind of appeal are available in the personnel service.

Sample application form

Write a statement, following the general rules of business correspondence:

• the upper right part of the document is its “header”, where the position of the first manager, surname, initials of the first name, patronymic and details of the applicant are indicated, specifying the full name, position held, preferential category;
• in the middle of the new line - the title (“Application” or “Application for additional leave”);
• move on to the text part - essentially expressing a request to receive the required days of additional leave, the period of desired rest, a link to the norms of the law;
• a separate list lists copies of attached documents confirming the right to receive paid or unpaid days of rest for a certain period;
• put the date and personal signature, next to deciphering the surname, initials of the name, patronymic.

How to register on the State Services portal: we’ll go through it step by step

Having registered on the State Services portal, you can at any time clarify the ordered services, the status of requests, payments, and view received receipts. You can see this in the Notification Feed. This tab also stores draft applications that are not completely completed for some reason.

After completing the actions, you are automatically redirected to a page where personal information is entered. In the form provided, you must indicate your passport details and SNILS number. After clicking the “Save” button, the account is assigned the “standard” level, which opens expanded access to receiving services electronically.

Legal justification for receiving Chernobyl leave

Law of the Russian Federation No. 1244-1, issued on May 15, 1991, enshrines the main measures taken by the state to implement social protection of the rights and interests of citizens:

• living in the Chernobyl zone at the time of the disaster;
• victims during the accident and liquidation of consequences.

Here the law defines:

• sources of financing benefits and compensation provided to Chernobyl victims;
• criteria for preferential categories (depending on the degree of exposure to harmful factors, injuries received that caused disability, period of stay in a zone of increased radiation).

Labor relations between hired workers and employers are regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, where in Art. 116, the legislator provides for the provision of additional annual leave with payment of average earnings in situations specified in addition to the Labor Code by other federal laws.

The right for the employer to provide free additional rest to Chernobyl victims is given in accordance with Part 6 of Art.
128 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. Order a free legal consultation