Basic annual leave, 20 days per year, is increased depending on the age of the employee (and not on the seniority in the company) up to 30 days per year. The annual leave entitlement is also increased for children. Annual leave must be taken within the calendar year.
Vesting
Articles § 115 to § 121 of the Labor Code (Act I of 2012, § 115 Mt) organize paid leave for employees.
Basic paid annual leave, 20 days per year (Mt § 116) shall be increased depending on the employee’s age (and not according to seniority) according to the following rule (Mt § 117):
| Age reached during the year | Total days / year | |
| Basic holiday | 20 | |
| From 25 years of age | 21 | |
| From 28 years of age | 22 | |
| From 30 years of age | 23 | |
| From 33 years of age | 24 | |
| From 35 years of age | 25 | |
| From 37 years of age | 26 | |
| From 39 years of age | 27 | |
| From 41 years of age | 28 | |
| From 43 years of age | 29 | |
| From 45 years of age | 30 |
An employee is entitled to additional paid leave depending on the number of dependent children (Mt § 118):
| Dependent children under 16 | days | |
| 1 child | 2 | |
| 2 children | 4 | |
| From 3 children | 7 |
The number of additional paid leave is increased by 2 days for each disabled child.
Young fathers are entitled to parental leave of 5 days (7 days for multiple births) taken within 2 months of the birth of their child.
Young workers are entitled to five additional days to the year of their 18th birthday.
The annual leave entitlement should be calculated in proportion of the time of service for employees who joined or left the company during the year (Mt § 121). The following periods are eligible for paid leave (§ 115 Mt):
- actual working time;
- paid vacation;
- maternity leave;
- unpaid leave for the care of a child up to 6 months;
- periods of incapacity for work, within the limit of 30 days per calendar year;
- reserve military service to a maximum of 3 months per year;
- the actual people released from work in accordance with Article Mt § 55 (1) b-k.
Exercise of rights
Under Article 122-1 § Mt, the employer sets the holiday periods after listening to the employee’s wishes.
Mt § 122 (2): At least 7 days of leave must be granted by the employer on the dates requested by the employee, except for the first 3 months of a labor contract. For such leave, the employee must ask for holiday dates requested at least 15 days in advance.
Unless otherwise agreed, the leave must be granted in any period of 14 consecutive days.
Leave dates should be given to the employee at least 15 days in advance.
Mt § 123. The leave must be taken within the calendar year. However, for people who joined the company after 30th September, can take leave from the quarter from October to December may be taken until 31st March of the following year.
On joint agreement of the employee and the employer only a third of annual leave can be taken the following year.
Mt § 123 (3): If an employee was unable to take his leave for reasons peculiar to it, the company must grant within 60 days following the lifting of the reasons that impeded it.
Mt § 123 (4): leave taken straddling two years, where the share of the second year does not exceed 5 days, are deemed attached to leave the first year.
Mt § 123 (5): In serious and exceptional economic circumstances, the employer can change a schedule leave already communicated, disrupt leave pending or if the collective agreement so provides, may postpone a quarter of leave to the 31st March of the following year. Mt § 123 (7): the employer must compensate the employee for damages caused by the modification of a planning holidays or interruption leave pending. Travel time employee of his vacation to the company, time to return to his place of vacation and of course leave interruption period are not counted in the leave taken by the employee.
Mt § 124: leave is granted per working day depending on the employee’s working hours. Part-time employees benefit of leave of the same duration to that of their schedule and are calculated on an hourly basis.
Payment in lieu
Mt §125-1. On termination of employment only, payment in lieu of untaken accrued annual leave will apply. In any other circumstances, payment in lieu of untaken accrued annual leave is forbidden. The accrued annual leave is calculated in proportion to the time worked and taking into account the holidays already taken to the termination date of employment.
Clarifications
The system of paid leave is intended to provide paid time off for employees. Therefore the Act strictly regulates the payment in lieu of paid leave with a simple additional remuneration.
The termination date of employment is not modified by the number of days of leave paid in lieu. If a contract terminates on the 15th of the month and the employee has 3 days of leave earned but not taken, he will receive remuneration equal to 3 days off but his last day of work remains on the 15th, and not 18.
