The time spent by the employee on sick leave is not included in the calculation of vacation pay, which is directly provided for by current legislation. During the period of his own illness, the employee receives a special allowance, which is not used in determining the average earnings.
The calculation of vacation pay paid to any employee is based on the amounts received by the employee for the performance of his job duties. At the same time, the average earnings are the basis for the appointment of vacation pay, therefore it does not include various social benefits, the amount of which may differ significantly from the salary of a particular employee. For the same reason, almost all periods in which the employee did not actually perform work duties due to certain reasons are excluded from the calculation. So, in the special rules for calculating average earnings, it is noted that those periods of time during which the employee was on sick leave are excluded from the calculation period.
Why is the sick leave not included in the calculation of vacation pay?
The reasons why the legislator refused to include the period when the employee was on sick leave in the calculation of average earnings is the need to ensure an increased level of guarantees for the employee. The amount of sick leave payments is tied to the total duration of the employee's insurance experience, while these amounts can range from sixty to one hundred percent of the employee's average earnings. If these payments were taken into account when calculating vacation pay, then employees with little experience would receive payments, the amount of which would be lower than their usual earnings. That is why the exclusion of sick leave from the calculation of vacation payments looks quite logical and reasonable, protects the interests of employees.
What to do if the vacation pay is calculated incorrectly?
If an employee discovers that his vacation pay is calculated incorrectly due to the inclusion of sick leave in the specified period, then he should contact the accounting department of the organization to carry out the recalculation. It is recommended to draw up an application in writing, and if the responsible accounting employee refuses to satisfy the request for recalculation, it is also necessary to seek a written justification for such a decision. If such a justification is provided, then the employee will be able to appeal to the supervisory authorities with a complaint or draw up a statement of claim to the court to recover the unpaid part of vacation pay due to their incorrect calculation. In this case, you will have to formulate your own requirements for the employer as concretely as possible, attach your calculation of the amount of vacation payments, based on the norms of the current legislation.
