Annual leave in Serbia: how many days I get and how it is calculated
Annual leave under Serbia's Labour Act (Zakon o radu): at least 20 working days, pro-rata share, deadlines, pay for unused leave, paid and unpaid leave.
How many days of annual leave you get under the Labour Act
The Serbian Labour Act (Zakon o radu) gives every employee at least 20 working days of annual leave per calendar year (Art. 69(1)). That is the floor. The actual number of days you are entitled to is set in the collective agreement, the employer's work rules (pravilnik o radu) or your employment contract, by increasing the statutory minimum for contribution at work, working conditions, work experience, qualifications and other criteria in those documents (Art. 69(2)). So the first step is always the same: read what your contract and the work rules say about leave. If they give fewer than 20 days, that clause is contrary to the Act.
Three rules in Art. 70 govern how days are counted. A working week counts as five working days, so 20 working days means four full weeks. Public holidays, paid leave and sick leave are not counted as leave days. If you fall ill while on leave, you continue your leave after the sick leave ends.
Annual leave is a right you cannot waive. The employer cannot deny it or replace it with money; the only exception is the end of employment, when unused days are paid out (Art. 68(4) and Art. 76). The same applies to sole traders and small companies: the Labour Act applies to every employer, meaning any domestic or foreign legal entity or natural person employing at least one person (Art. 5).
Annual leave after six months or after one month
People often search for "annual leave after six months", but the six-month rule no longer applies. Under the current text you acquire the right to use annual leave after one month of continuous work from the date employment started with the employer (Art. 68(2)). The six-month period was in an earlier version of the Act and was removed by the 2014 amendments. Sick leave and leave with salary compensation count as continuous work (Art. 68(3)), so being on sick leave in your first month does not push back the date from which you can take leave.
One month of work is a condition for using the leave, not for earning the days. The number of days you get in your first year is calculated pro rata, under the rule in the next section.
How annual leave is calculated: the pro-rata share with examples
In the year in which you start a job and in the year in which your employment ends, you are entitled to one twelfth of the annual leave for each month worked in that year (Art. 72). This is the pro-rata share (srazmerni deo). The formula is simple:
pro-rata share = full annual leave under your contract x (months worked in that year / 12)
Example 1: your contract gives you 24 days of leave. You started on 1 April. You work nine months until 31 December, so for that year you are entitled to 24 x 9/12 = 18 working days. From 1 May, after one month of work, you can start using them.
Example 2: your employment ends on 31 May and your full leave is 20 days. For that year you are entitled to 20 x 5/12 = 8.33 days. If you had used three days by then, the employer pays you compensation for the rest under Art. 76. The Act does not say how a fraction of a day is rounded; that is governed by the employer's general act or practice, so check the work rules for that detail.
In a year in which you do not change jobs there is no pro-rata calculation: you are entitled to the full number of days from 1 January. If you changed employers in the same year, each employer owes you its own pro-rata share.
When and how leave is taken: the decision, splitting it, collective leave
Annual leave is taken all at once or in parts. If it is taken in parts, the first part lasts at least two working weeks without interruption within the calendar year, and the rest is taken by 30 June of the following year at the latest (Art. 73(2)). You are entitled to take the leave in two parts; splitting it into more parts requires an agreement with the employer (Art. 73(3)). An employee who could not use the leave because of maternity leave, childcare leave or special childcare leave is entitled to use it by 30 June of the following year (Art. 73(4)).
The employer decides when the leave is taken, depending on the needs of the business, after consulting you (Art. 75(1)). The written decision (rešenje) is delivered at least 15 days before the leave starts; if you take the leave at your own request, it may be delivered immediately before the leave (Art. 75(2) and (3)). A date already set may be changed no later than five working days before the leave starts (Art. 75(4)). The decision may be electronic, and in writing at your request (Art. 75(6)).
Collective annual leave means the employer decides that all employees, or all employees in one unit, take leave at the same time. The Act allows this: one decision listing the employees and units is posted on the notice board at least 15 days in advance, which counts as delivery (Art. 75(5)). Those days come out of your allowance, and you are still entitled to a first part of at least two uninterrupted weeks.
Pay during leave and compensation for unused leave
During annual leave you do not receive salary but salary compensation (naknada zarade) equal to your average salary in the previous 12 months, in line with the general act and the employment contract (Art. 114(1)). The same applies to public holidays that are non-working days and to paid leave. In practice this means that increases and bonuses from that period enter the calculation, not only the base salary. An employer who fails to pay salary compensation in line with the Act commits a misdemeanour (Art. 274(1)(10)).
When employment ends and the leave has not been used in full or in part, the employer must pay you monetary compensation instead of the leave, equal to your average salary in the previous 12 months, in proportion to the number of unused leave days (Art. 76(1)). This compensation has the character of damages (Art. 76(2)). It is paid together with all other outstanding amounts within 30 days of the end of employment at the latest (Art. 186). This applies to every way employment can end: dismissal, expiry of a fixed-term contract, mutual termination or retirement. In a mutual termination, check that the calculation of unused days is written into the agreement.
Paid and unpaid leave under the Labour Act
Paid leave (plaćeno odsustvo) is absence from work with salary compensation (Art. 77). You get up to five working days in total per calendar year for your own wedding, the birth of your child by your wife, a serious illness of a close family member and other cases set out in the general act and the contract; the split between cases is set by the general act (Art. 77(1) and (2)). On top of that, five more working days for the death of a close family member and two consecutive days for each voluntary blood donation (Art. 77(3)). Close family means spouse, children, siblings, parents, adoptive parent, adopted child and guardian (Art. 77(4)); the general act and the contract may give more days and a wider circle (Art. 77(5) and (6)). Salary compensation is the average salary in the previous 12 months (Art. 114).
Unpaid leave (neplaćeno odsustvo) is different: you have no right to it; the employer may grant it (Art. 78(1)). During unpaid leave your rights and obligations from employment are suspended, unless the Act, the general act or the contract provides otherwise (Art. 78(2)). You receive no salary, and before requesting it check with the employer what happens to your health insurance and contributions for that time.
Weekly rest and working on Saturday and Sunday
A working week lasts, as a rule, five working days, and the employer sets the schedule; with shift or night work it may be organised differently (Art. 55). Saturday work is therefore not unlawful in itself, as long as it falls within full-time hours of 40 a week (Art. 51) and a schedule you were told about at least five days in advance, or exceptionally, because of unforeseen circumstances, at least 48 hours in advance (Art. 56(1) and (2)).
Weekly rest lasts at least 24 hours without interruption, to which the daily rest under Art. 66 is added, and as a rule it is taken on Sunday (Art. 67(1) and (2)). The employer may set another day if the nature of the work and the organisation of work require it (Art. 67(3)). If it is necessary for you to work on your weekly rest day, the employer must give you at least 24 hours of uninterrupted rest during the following week (Art. 67(5)).
The Labour Act does not prescribe increased pay for Sunday work. The statutory minimum increases apply to work on a public holiday (at least 110% of the base), night work and overtime (at least 26% each) and length of service (at least 0.4% per year) (Art. 108(1)). A weekend premium exists only if the collective agreement, work rules or contract provide for it (Art. 108(4)). If Sunday work means exceeding 40 hours a week, it is overtime and is paid at the increased rate; see the page about unpaid overtime.
What to do if your employer refuses you leave
First, a written request. By email or registered mail, ask the employer for a decision on the use of annual leave and state the period you propose. An employer that decides on your right but issues no decision or fails to deliver it to you commits a misdemeanour (Art. 193 and Art. 274(1)(15)). You need a paper trail for everything that follows.
Second, the labour inspectorate. Supervision of the application of the Labour Act is carried out by the labour inspectorate (Art. 268), which may order the employer by decision to remedy the violation within a set period (Art. 269). Acting contrary to the annual leave provisions (Arts. 68-75) is a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of RSD 400,000 to 1,000,000 for a legal entity, RSD 100,000 to 300,000 for a sole trader and RSD 20,000 to 40,000 for the responsible person (Art. 275). A report is free and does not rule out a court claim.
Third, the court. A claim against a decision that violates your right is filed within 60 days of delivery, or of learning of the violation (Art. 195); that period cannot be extended. Monetary claims, such as unpaid compensation for unused leave after employment ended, become time-barred after three years (Art. 196). Claim unused days from the previous year before 30 June, while they can still be taken, because after that date, while employment continues, the Act does not convert them into money.
Is there a new law on annual leave for 2025 or 2026
No. The annual leave provisions (Arts. 68-76) were last substantively amended in 2014, when the six-month waiting period for first use of leave was replaced with one month. The latest amendment to the Labour Act, through the e-sick-leave statute (Sl. glasnik RS No. 109/2025), does not touch leave. A search for "Labour Act annual leave 2025" or "2026" therefore leads to the same text described here. If you come across announcements of a new Labour Act, check whether it has been published in the Official Gazette; until it is, this text applies.
When to consult a lawyer
For most leave questions you do not need a lawyer: the contract, the work rules, a written request and the labour inspectorate resolve most disputes. Legal advice makes sense when the employer persistently issues no decisions and your 60-day deadline is running, when the calculation of compensation for unused days at the end of employment is disputed (especially where several years of leave went unused), or when refusing leave is part of a bigger picture, such as pressure to sign a mutual termination or a dismissal that follows right after your request.
Sources
- Labour Act (Zakon o radu, Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 24/2005, 61/2005, 54/2009, 32/2013, 75/2014, 13/2017 - Constitutional Court decision, 113/2017, 95/2018 - authentic interpretation and 109/2025 - other statute), Arts. 5, 51, 55, 56, 67-78, 108, 114, 186, 193, 195, 196, 268, 269, 274 and 275
- Labour Act, consolidated text (paragraf.rs), used to check the wording of individual articles
- Labour Inspectorate, Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs
- Law on Court Fees (Zakon o sudskim taksama, Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 28/94 ... 91/2025), Art. 10
- Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement (Tarifa o nagradama i naknadama troškova za rad advokata, Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 43/2023 and 56/2025), Items 13 and 14
What to do
- Check your employment contract and the employer's work rules (pravilnik o radu) or collective agreement: the Act gives at least 20 working days, and the exact number you are entitled to is set in those documents, increased for length of service, working conditions, qualifications and other criteria (Art. 69).
- Check whether you started or are leaving the job this year: in that case you get a pro-rata share, one twelfth of the annual leave for each month worked in that year (Art. 72).
- Do not count public holidays, sick leave or paid leave as leave days; a working week counts as five working days, so 20 working days means four weeks (Art. 70).
- Ask the employer for a written decision (rešenje) on the use of annual leave; it must reach you at least 15 days before the leave starts, unless you take the leave at your own request (Art. 75).
- Plan the first part of the leave, at least two working weeks without interruption, within the current year and use the rest by 30 June of the following year (Art. 73).
- During the leave you are paid salary compensation equal to your average salary in the previous 12 months, not just your base salary (Art. 114).
- If your employment ends and you have not used your leave, claim monetary compensation in proportion to the unused days (Art. 76); the employer pays it within 30 days of the end of employment at the latest (Art. 186).
- If the employer refuses leave or issues no decision, send a written request, then a report to the labour inspectorate (Arts. 268 and 269), and file a court claim against a decision that violates your right within 60 days (Art. 195).
What it costs
A report to the labour inspectorate is free and in practice the first step when an employer refuses leave or issues no decision. Unpaid compensation for unused leave is a monetary claim from employment: the employee generally pays a court fee based on the value of the dispute, with a possible exemption for limited means (Art. 10 of the Law on Court Fees). For smaller amounts a written request and the inspectorate are often a cheaper route than a claim.
Basis for the attorney fee: Tariff item 14 of the Tariff on Attorneys' Fees and Expense Reimbursement (employment disputes, non-quantifiable claim) when annulment of a decision is sought; Tariff item 13 (quantifiable claim) when payment of compensation for unused leave is sought.
FAQ
Am I entitled to annual leave after six months, or earlier?
Earlier. Under the current text of the Labour Act you acquire the right to use annual leave after one month of continuous work from the date employment started with the employer (Art. 68(2)). The six-month rule comes from an older version of the Act and no longer applies. Sick leave and paid leave count as continuous work (Art. 68(3)). If you started during the year, the number of days is calculated pro rata, as one twelfth of the annual leave for each month worked (Art. 72).
How is annual leave calculated if I start a job mid-year?
For the year in which employment starts you get a pro-rata share: one twelfth of the annual leave for each month worked in that year (Art. 72). Example: if your contract gives you 24 days a year and you started on 1 April, you work nine months until the end of the year, so you are entitled to 24 x 9/12 = 18 working days. The same rule applies in the year employment ends. The Act does not say how a fraction of a day is rounded; that is governed by the employer's general act or practice.
Can my employer refuse me annual leave or pay me instead?
No. An employee cannot waive the right to annual leave, and the right cannot be denied or replaced with monetary compensation, except when employment ends (Art. 68(4)). The employer decides when the leave is taken according to the needs of the business, but after consulting you and by a written decision (Art. 75). An employer who acts contrary to the annual leave provisions commits a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of RSD 400,000 to 1,000,000 for a legal entity and RSD 100,000 to 300,000 for a sole trader (Art. 275(1)(3)).
What is collective annual leave and can the employer impose it?
Yes. Collective annual leave means the employer sets a period in which all employees, or all employees in one organisational unit, take their leave, for example during a summer production shutdown. In that case the employer may issue one decision listing the employees and organisational units and post it on the notice board at least 15 days before the leave starts, which counts as delivery to the employees (Art. 75(5)). Collective leave days are taken out of your annual leave allowance, so the rules on the number of days and on salary compensation apply to them too.
How many days of paid leave do I get under the Labour Act?
Up to five working days per calendar year in total, for your own wedding, the birth of your child by your wife, a serious illness of a close family member and other cases set out in the general act and the employment contract; how many days go to each case is set by the general act (Art. 77(1) and (2)). On top of that you get five more working days for the death of a close family member and two consecutive days for each voluntary blood donation, including the day of donation (Art. 77(3)). Close family means spouse, children, siblings, parents, adoptive parent, adopted child and guardian (Art. 77(4)). During paid leave you receive salary compensation equal to your average salary in the previous 12 months (Art. 114).
Do I get extra pay for working on Saturday or Sunday?
The Labour Act itself does not prescribe an increase for Saturday or Sunday work. The statutory minimum increases apply to work on a public holiday that is a non-working day (at least 110%), night work (at least 26%), overtime (at least 26%) and length of service (at least 0.4% per year) (Art. 108(1)). A weekend premium exists only if the collective agreement, work rules or employment contract provide for it (Art. 108(4)). What the Act does prescribe is a weekly rest of at least 24 hours without interruption, as a rule on Sunday, and if you have to work on your weekly rest day the employer must give you 24 hours of rest during the following week (Art. 67).
What happens to my leave if I fall ill during annual leave?
Sick days are not counted as annual leave. If you become temporarily unfit for work under the health insurance rules while on annual leave, you are entitled to continue your leave once the sick leave ends (Art. 70(3)). The same applies to public holidays that are non-working days and to paid leave: they are not counted as annual leave days either (Art. 70(2)).