- Annual leave shall be no fewer than 22 working days per calendar year, in accordance with Article 92, paragraph 2, of the Labor Code, as amended by Law No. 91/2024.
- The old four-calendar-week rule no longer applies as of August 2024, but it still appears in many employment contracts.
- Official holidays are not included in the days of leave. When a holiday falls during annual leave, the leave is postponed.
- The old requirement that at least one calendar week of leave be taken without interruption has been removed from Article 93, paragraph 3.
- Vacation days are accrued through the end of the first quarter of the following year, and the vacation date is announced at least 30 days in advance.
Annual leave is no fewer than 22 working days during the calendar year. In practice, it is also known as regular leave. This is stipulated by Law No. 91/2024, which takes effect in August 2024. Until then, the Labor Code defined the minimum as four calendar weeks, a formulation that no longer applies.
Annual leave, or annual vacations as the Labor Code calls it, is the employee's right to paid days off. This article was published when the law appeared in the Official Gazette. Below you will find what changed, what remains the same, and what is being corrected today in employment contracts.
Read also: Schedule, breaks and leaves: the complete guide
What did Law No. 91/2024 change regarding annual leave?
Law No. 91/2024, adopted on July 26, 2024, and promulgated by Decree No. 305 of August 7, 2024, made two amendments to the Labor Code. It entered into force 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
| Until August 2024 | From August 2024 |
|---|---|
| The minimum was four calendar weeks, including weekends. | The minimum is 22 working days, according to Article 92, paragraph 2. Only working days are counted. |
| At least one calendar week of the leave had to be taken without interruption. | This requirement has been removed from Section 93, point 3. There is no longer a mandatory minimum for the allocation of days. |
For most employees on a five-day workweek, the first change brought more days. Four calendar weeks contained 20 working days. The new minimum of 22 days therefore adds two working days per year.
How many days of annual leave are you entitled to today?
No fewer than 22 working days during the upcoming work year. The unit of measurement is the working days according to your schedule. Therefore, Saturdays and Sundays are not counted when they are not working days.
Official holidays They are not included in annual leave. When a holiday falls on a paid annual leave day, the leave is postponed for that day.
When the year of service is not complete, days are calculated in proportion to the duration of the employment relationship. This is provided for in Article 92, paragraph 3. Periods of temporary disability are considered work time, so the medical certificate does not reduce the number of leave days.
Calculated example: an employee who starts work in October.
An employee is hired on October 1, 2026, and works a five-day week. By the end of the year, he has three months of employment. The calculation is 22 divided by 12 and multiplied by 3. The result is 5.5 days of leave.
For the year 2027, he has fully met the minimum of 22 working days. The figures are illustrative and are rounded according to each employer's internal rules.
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Which requirement was removed from Article 93?
The phrase requiring the taking of at least one uninterrupted calendar week has been removed. Until August 2024, this provision required that part of the annual leave be taken as a full week.
After the removal, the law no longer sets any minimum for the periods into which the annual leave is divided. The allocation of days remains a matter of planning between the parties. The other rules of Article 93 have not changed.
What you need to correct in the employment contracts
The old four-calendar-week wording is still found in many contracts and internal regulations. It is no longer valid and in practice grants fewer days than the legal minimum. Therefore, contracts are being updated with the new wording.
An exact clause can be constructed based on this model by filling in the parts in square brackets.
The employee is entitled to paid annual leave of [number of days, not less than 22] working days during the next calendar year, in accordance with Article 92 of the Labor Code. Public holidays are not included in annual leave. The start date of the leave is determined by the employer, taking into account the employee's wishes, and is notified to the employee at least 30 days in advance.
Model clause for the individual employment contract
The contract may grant more than the legal minimum, but not less. Likewise, internal regulations that calculate leave in calendar weeks are reviewed under the same wording.
The contract that still retains the four-week provision is not cost-saving. It's a dispute deferred until the employee's departure.
Andi Haxhillari, AlProfit Consult
Which rules remain the same as before?
Law No. 91/2024 affected only two points, so the rest of the annual leave rules remain in effect. The start date of the vacation is determined by the employer, taking into account the employee's wishes. Notice is given at least 30 days in advance, in accordance with Article 93, paragraph 1.
Leave is postponed when the employee is hospitalized or stays home due to illness or accident, as confirmed by a medical certificate. Annual leave days are taken during the work year or up to the end of the first quarter of the following year. Thus, the 2026 annual leave days may be taken until March 31, 2027.
The right to unused vacation days expires three years from the date it accrues. Payment in lieu of paid leave is allowed only upon termination of the employment relationship, pursuant to Article 94, paragraph 5. The condition is that the days must remain unused.
The employer also keeps a record of annual leave under Section 95, which is presented whenever requested. Work inspection. The full rules, with the table by article and practice errors, are on our page. annual leave. That page is updated whenever the law changes.
As of the date this article was verified, Articles 92 through 95 have not undergone any further published amendments.
Every time there is a tax or financial change that affects your business, we notify you directly by email with a practical explanation.
Send me free notificationsFrequently asked questions
What is the annual leave according to the Labor Code?
No fewer than 22 working days during the upcoming work year. The basis is Article 92, paragraph 2, as amended by Law No. 91/2024. The contract may provide for more, but not less.
Does the four-calendar-week rule still apply?
No. The wording was replaced with 22 working days in August 2024. In practice, it provides fewer days than the legal minimum.
Am I required to take a week off without interruption?
Not anymore. The uninterrupted calendar-week requirement was removed from Article 93, paragraph 3, by Law No. 91/2024. The allocation of annual leave days is planned between the parties.
Can I be paid in cash instead of annual leave?
Only when the employment relationship has ended and days remain unpaid, in accordance with Article 94, paragraph 5. During the employment relationship, this substitution is not permitted.
Until last year's annual leave is taken.
Until the end of the first quarter of the following year, that is, until March 31. The three-year limitation period in Article 93(4) indicates until when the right must be exercised. It does not mean that the days accumulate for three years.
Read also: How to hire your first employee, from registration to the mandatory file
Official source: Official Publications Center. You can find the other rules of the employment relationship at Our Guide to the Labor Code.
