In brief
- Application form: There is no standard mandatory form. The application may be drawn up in any format, but must specify the start date and duration of the leave.
- Leave by mutual agreement: Leave for family reasons may be granted for up to 30 calendar days per year (Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Leave’).
- Compulsory leave: In the cases provided for in Article 25 of Law No. 504/96-VR (marriage, death of close relatives, etc.), the employer is not entitled to refuse to grant leave.
- During martial law: By mutual agreement, the duration of leave without pay may exceed 30 days (Article 12(3) of Law No. 2136-IX). For internally displaced persons (IDPs) and employees who have travelled abroad, the employer is obliged to grant leave of up to 90 calendar days (Article 12(4) of Law No. 2136-IX).
Sample application for leave at the employee’s own expense
In legislation, this procedure is referred to as ‘leave without pay’. You must specify the reason, the start date and the total number of days.
To the Director of ‘Company Name’ Ltd
Full name of the director
from [Employee’s position]
[Employee’s full name]
APPLICATION
I hereby request unpaid leave for family reasons for a period of [N] calendar days from [start date] to [end date] in accordance with Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Leave’.
[Date] [Signature]
Important points to note when completing the form:
For one day: if you only need 1 day, specify the exact date: ‘for 1 calendar day — [date]’.
For compulsory leave: be sure to specify the grounds and the relevant legal provision, for example: “in connection with marriage in accordance with paragraph 8 of Part 1 of Article 25 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Leave’”.
Statutory leave or leave by mutual agreement: a comparative table
| Grounds / Category of employees | Maximum duration | Is the employer entitled to refuse? |
| Family circumstances and other reasons (Article 26) | Up to 30 calendar days per year | Yes, granted by mutual agreement |
| Marriage (para. 8, part 1 of Article 25) | Up to 10 calendar days | No, the employer has no right to refuse |
| Death of close relatives (spouse, parents, child, brothers, sisters) | Up to 7 calendar days | No, the employer has no right to refuse |
| Mother (or a father raising children without a mother) with two or more children under 15 years of age or a child with a disability (para. 1, part 1 of Article 25) | Up to 14 calendar days per year | No, they have no right to refuse |
| Old-age pensioners and persons with a Group III disability (clause 6, 7, part 1 of Article 25) | Up to 30 calendar days each year | No, they are not entitled to refuse |
A full list of eligible categories and grounds is set out in Article 25 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Leave’ (No. 504/96-VR). There is no limit on the number of individual applications during the year — the main thing is not to exceed the total annual limit.
Specifics of granting leave during martial law
Leave by mutual agreement without the 30-day limit:
In accordance with para. 3 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX, whilst martial law is in force, an employer may, at the employee’s request, grant leave without pay without being subject to the 30-day limit.
Compulsory leave for IDPs and persons abroad:
Employees who have left Ukraine or acquired the status of an internally displaced person (IDP), the employer is obliged to grant unpaid leave for a period of up to 90 calendar days (Part 4 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX).
Restrictions for critical infrastructure:
The employer has the right to refuse to grant any leave to employees of critical infrastructure enterprises, defence production enterprises or those involved in mobilisation tasks, except for maternity leave and leave to care for a child under 3 years of age (Part 2 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX).
Leave entitlement, prohibition of coercion and special provisions for education staff
Inclusion in leave entitlement:
Following the entry into force of Law No. 3494-IX (dated 22 November 2023), periods spent on leave without pay under Article 26 of the Law on Leave and under Part 3 and 4 of Article 12 of Law No. 2136-IX shall not be counted towards the service period entitling the employee to annual basic leave. However, days of compulsory leave under Article 25 are included in this period of service.
Prohibition of coercion:
Unpaid leave is granted exclusively at the employee’s initiative. Forcing employees to take unpaid leave by decision of the employer constitutes a gross breach of labour legislation.
Restrictions on the substitution of annual leave:
Such leave should not be confused with the provision in Article 12(1) of Law No. 2136-IX, which allows the employer to limit the provision of basic annual leave to 24 days, with the remaining days granted without pay. This provision does not apply to teaching staff and heads of educational institutions. The legislation does not provide for any additional specific requirements regarding the submission of applications by teachers.
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