How to get compensation for unused leave

When this is relevant

This guide is useful before dis­missal, after re­ceiv­ing the final set­tle­ment, or when the em­ploy­er’s leave balance does not match your records. Check both the number of days and the average daily cal­cu­la­tion base.

If you are check­ing pay for current annual leave rather than leaving your job, use the guide to check­ing leave pay and the leave-pay cal­cu­la­tor under Pro­ce­dure No. 100. The cal­cu­la­tor derives average wages from ac­cru­als and cal­en­dar days; the com­pen­sa­tion cal­cu­la­tor takes the average daily bases as inputs.

Em­ploy­ees of a Kyiv company are subject to na­tion­wide rules. In prac­tice, obtain the item­ized records in writing before HR doc­u­ments or access to in­ter­nal systems become un­avail­able.

What procedure applies

Article 83 of the Labour Code and Article 24 of the Law “On Leave” provide com­pen­sa­tion upon dis­missal for all unused annual leave days and statu­to­ry ad­di­tion­al leave for em­ploy­ees with chil­dren. Do not au­to­mat­i­cal­ly extend this rule to other leave types.

Para­graph 2 of Pro­ce­dure No. 100 sep­a­rates the cal­cu­la­tion bases. En­ti­tle­ments accrued by 31 De­cem­ber 2023 use pay­ments accrued in 2023; en­ti­tle­ments from 1 January 2024 use the general base of the last 12 cal­en­dar months before payment. A mixed balance there­fore re­quires two cal­cu­la­tions.

Once payroll pro­vides the average daily amounts, check the arith­metic with the com­pen­sa­tion cal­cu­la­tor. It does not de­ter­mine days from length of service or replace payroll’s cal­cu­la­tion.

Steps to take

1. Request the balance. Ask for a table by em­ploy­ment year and leave type showing days granted and unused.
2. Check the orders. Compare HR data with orders, ap­pli­ca­tions, and the actual leave periods.
3. Sep­a­rate en­ti­tle­ments. List days accrued by the end of 2023 sep­a­rate­ly from days accrued from 2024.
4. Obtain both bases. Ask payroll to show cal­cu­la­tion periods, in­clud­ed pay­ments, ex­clud­ed cal­en­dar days, and average daily results.
5. Check the arith­metic. Mul­ti­ply each group’s days by its average daily amount and add the gross por­tions.
6. Doc­u­ment dis­crep­an­cies. Submit a written claim with your table, copies of doc­u­ments, and a request for a cor­rect­ed cal­cu­la­tion.

What to check before filing

Do not confuse a cal­en­dar year with an em­ploy­ee’s em­ploy­ment year. HR tracks annual leave en­ti­tle­ment and its balance by em­ploy­ment periods. Pro­ce­dure No. 100 re­quires iden­ti­fy­ing when the right to each rel­e­vant day accrued.

If the em­ploy­er gave only one average daily amount, ask whether the balance in­cludes days accrued by the end of 2023 and how the tran­si­tion­al rule was applied. Check which pay­ments and periods payroll in­clud­ed or ex­clud­ed.

Leave com­pen­sa­tion is a sep­a­rate part of the final set­tle­ment. If dis­missal also en­ti­tles you to sev­er­ance pay, review it sep­a­rate­ly using the guide to sev­er­ance pay.

When to consult a lawyer

Seek a review if the em­ploy­er does not dis­close the balance by em­ploy­ment year, applies one base to mixed en­ti­tle­ments, omits ad­di­tion­al leave, or refuses to correct a doc­u­ment­ed error.

In Kyiv and Kyiv region, a lawyer can compare HR orders, payslips, and Pro­ce­dure No. 100, prepare a clear claim table, and iden­ti­fy the ap­pro­pri­ate remedy. Act prompt­ly if you are also chal­leng­ing the dis­missal, since dif­fer­ent claims may have dif­fer­ent dead­lines.