Vacation Days

Q. I have worked as an accountant for the past eight years. My annual paid leave has been 15 days per year. I notice that the new labor law states that I should be getting 21 days of paid leave per year for the first five years and 30 days for each year after. When I confronted my employer, he said the new law hasn’t gone into effect. What do I do?

Ans. I advise that your boss understand that the new law may be on paper, but it is sharper than steel. If your boss disagrees, you should complain at the nearest labor office.

Read to him Article (109-1), which states, “A workman shall be entitled each year to a prepaid annual leave of not less than 21 days, to be increased to 30 days if the workman spends five consecutive years in the service of the employer.”

This is how it works in your case of eight years of service.

Any vacations you have already taken will be calculated according to the old labor law: 15 days for each of the first five years, and 21 days for each year after that. For any pending vacations that you have not taken, the new law applies; it will be 21 days, not 15 for your first five years.

Two examples for clarification:

Example 1: Suppose you took 45 days of vacation during eight years. In this case the new labor law will apply on all the rest of the years. It will be 21 days for each of the remaining two years of the first five years, and 30 days for each of the following three years.

Example 2: Suppose you took all your vacations for the first five years plus 15 days for the sixth year. Here, NLL provision of 30 days will apply to each one of the seventh and eight years, i.e., sixty days.