Paid leave after maternity leave in Bulgaria: how many days
Leave accrued before and during maternity leave is not lost. See how many days you get, how they are used and what to do if your employer refuses.
Contents7 sections
- 1.Leave keeps accruing while you are on maternity leave
- 2.How to find out how many days have accrued
- 3.Why the leave does not burn
- 4.In what order the leave is used after maternity leave
- 5.Summer is your right if your child is under 7
- 6.How much money you will receive for this leave
- 7.Frequently asked questions
You come back from maternity leave and HR (личен състав) tells you that the leave you accrued before the birth has been lost. In most cases that is not true.
The law protects leave that was postponed because of maternity. Here is what you are entitled to, how it is used and what to do if your employer refuses.
❓Is paid annual leave lost during maternity leave?
Leave keeps accruing while you are on maternity leave
The amount of paid annual leave for each calendar year is determined in proportion to your length of service (трудов стаж) with the employer. This is the key to the whole question.
All three kinds of leave connected with raising a child count as length of service. That is why the days continue to accrue while you are at home with your child.
| Type of leave | Counts as length of service | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy and childbirth, 410 days | Yes, in full | Art. 163(14) КТ |
| Raising a child up to 2 years of age | Yes, in full | Art. 164(4) КТ |
| Unpaid leave for raising a child up to 8 years of age, as a general rule 6 months for each parent | Yes, in full | Art. 167а(8) КТ |
| Ordinary unpaid leave | As a general rule up to 30 working days in a calendar year | Art. 160(3) КТ |
Days of paid annual leave accrue according to length of service, so the type of leave is decisive.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 164(4)
Leave for raising a child up to 2 years of age counts as length of service.
Official Bulgarian text
„През време на отпуск по предходните алинеи на майката (осиновителката) или на лицето, което е поело отглеждането на детето, се заплаща парично обезщетение при условия и в размери, определени в отделен закон. Времето, през което се ползува отпускът, се признава за трудов стаж.“
Ordinance on Working Time, Rest Breaks and Leave (НРВПО)
Art. 22(1)
The amount of leave for the year follows the length of service with the employer.
Official Bulgarian text
„За ползуване на платения годишен отпуск за втората и следващите календарни години не се изисква нов 4-месечен трудов стаж, като в тези случаи размерът на отпуска за съответната календарна година се определя пропорционално на трудовия стаж на работника или служителя в това предприятие.“
Ordinary unpaid leave is different
If after the two years you stayed at home on ordinary unpaid leave under Art. 160 of the Labour Code, as a general rule the first 30 working days in a calendar year count as length of service. Time beyond that counts only if the Labour Code, another law or an act of the Council of Ministers provides for it.
Unpaid leave for raising a child up to 8 years of age under Art. 167а is a different kind of leave and counts in full. Check your order (заповед) to see which of the two you took.
20 working days
Minimum basic paid annual leave for a full calendar year
Source: Labour Code (КТ), Art. 155(4)
Twenty days is the statutory minimum. A collective or individual employment contract may provide for more, so check your contract.
How to find out how many days have accrued
For a full calendar year in which all your leave for pregnancy, childbirth or raising a child counts as length of service, the full annual amount under your contract accrues. If your contract provides for the statutory minimum, that is 20 working days for that year.
For an incomplete year the amount is proportional to the length of service recognised. Ask your employer for a written statement by calendar year and compare the days shown with the annual amount in your contract. Simply counting calendar months can give a wrong result with part months, different working hours or another kind of unpaid leave.
For the pay formula itself, see the detailed explanation in the explanation of pay during paid leave.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
Why the leave does not burn
The rule rests on two articles that have to be read together. The first says when the leave is postponed, the second when it lapses.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 176(1), item 2
Lists who may postpone the use of paid annual leave to the next calendar year. Item 2 covers the employee who is on another kind of leave at the time.
Official Bulgarian text
„2. работника или служителя - когато ползва друг вид отпуск или по негово искане със съгласието на работодателя.“
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 176а(2)
For postponed leave the limitation period runs from the end of the year in which the reason ceased, not from the year the leave is due for.
Official Bulgarian text
„правото на работника или служителя на ползването му се погасява по давност след изтичане на две години от края на годината, в която е отпаднала причината за неползването му.“
Ordinance on Working Time, Rest Breaks and Leave (НРВПО)
Art. 38
In the case of maternity leave the postponement does not depend on a separate request.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато работникът или служителят ползва друг вид законоустановен отпуск, писмено искане до работодателя за отлагане на ползването на платения годишен отпуск за следващата календарна година не е необходимо.“
Ordinance on Working Time, Rest Breaks and Leave (НРВПО)
Art. 38а
This is the special rule for the start of the two-year limitation period.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато ползването на платения годишен отпуск е отложено по реда на чл. 176, ал. 1, т. 2 КТ поради ползване на друг вид законоустановен отпуск от работника или служителя, давностният срок за ползване на отложения отпуск започва да тече от края на календарната година, през която работникът или служителят се е завърнал на работа.“
Leave for pregnancy, childbirth or raising a child is another kind of statutory leave. For it, the two-year period starts from the end of the calendar year in which you actually returned to work.
2 years
from the end of the calendar year in which you returned to work
After you return you have two years, counted from the end of the year of your return, to use the postponed leave.
The most common mistake on returning to work
The sentence “your leave burnt while you were on maternity leave” does not follow from the Labour Code. If you hear it, ask in writing for a statement of how many days of unused leave are recorded for you, by year.
For the postponement because of maternity leave itself, no separate written request is needed. A written request is needed when you want the employer to approve specific days of paid leave.
In what order the leave is used after maternity leave
The procedure is the same as for any other employee, but when returning from maternity leave every step matters, because we are talking about several accumulated years.
Steps for using the leave
Submit a written request
Paid annual leave is approved on the basis of a written request to the employer. Write exactly which days you want and for which calendar year.
Wait for written approval
The leave is taken with the employer’s written approval. Verbal agreement does not protect you if a dispute arises later.
Watch the six-month period
until 30 June of the following yearFor postponed leave the employer must make sure it can be used in the following calendar year, but no later than 6 months after the end of the year the leave is due for. After a long maternity leave this period may already have expired when you return.
If refused, you set the time yourself
14 days’ written noticeIf the employer does not approve the leave within this period, you have the right to determine yourself when to take it, by notifying the employer in writing in advance.
Ordinance on Working Time, Rest Breaks and Leave (НРВПО)
Art. 22(2)
Official Bulgarian text
„Платеният годишен отпуск се разрешава въз основа на писмено искане на работника или служителя до работодателя.“
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 176(3)
The tool to use if the employer refuses. The notice is in writing and with exact dates.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато работодателят не е разрешил ползването на отпуска в случаите и в сроковете по ал. 2, работникът или служителят има право сам да определи времето на ползването му, като уведоми за това писмено работодателя най-малко 14 дни предварително.“
State in the request which calendar year the days are from. In practice it is sensible to start with the oldest leave that has not yet lapsed, because its limitation period will expire sooner. This is a recommendation to avoid losing days, not an order of use required by the law.
When maternity leave covers a whole year
The employer’s six-month period does not shorten the special two-year limitation period. If the six-month period has already expired when you return and the employer does not approve the leave, Art. 176(3) gives you the right to determine the time yourself with written notice of at least 14 days in advance.
The right must be exercised before the end of the two-year period, which starts from the end of the calendar year of your return.
Summer is your right if your child is under 7
There is a separate rule that almost nobody mentions to mothers. It applies for years after the return from maternity leave.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 174
The exception at the end of the text refers to Art. 173(4): the cases in which the employer grants leave without the employee’s consent.
Official Bulgarian text
„Работници или служители, ненавършили 18-годишна възраст, и майки с деца до 7-годишна възраст ползуват отпуска си през лятото, а по тяхно желание - и през друго време на годината, освен в случаите по чл. 173, ал. 4.“
How to use this in practice
If your child has not yet turned 7, as a general rule you have the right to take your leave in the summer. Cite Art. 174 of the Labour Code in your written request.
There is an exception in the cases under Art. 173(4), when the employer may grant leave even without the employee’s consent, for example in the case of downtime of more than 5 working days or collective leave for everyone.
How much money you will receive for this leave
Here is the hidden loss that almost nobody warns about. The leave is paid at the average daily gross pay for the last month with at least 10 days worked.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 177(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„За времето на платения годишен отпуск работодателят заплаща на работника или служителя възнаграждение, което се изчислява от начисленото при същия работодател среднодневно брутно трудово възнаграждение за последния календарен месец, предхождащ ползуването на отпуска, през който работникът или служителят е отработил най-малко 10 работни дни.“
If you start paid leave straight after maternity leave and have no later calendar month with at least 10 days worked, the base will usually be the last such month from before the maternity leave. That does not necessarily mean you will get exactly the old amount: with some general pay rises a supplement is due under Art. 21(2) of the pay ordinance.
Example: 20 days of leave on two different bases
Base: the last month before maternity leave, €700 gross for 21 days worked
Exact calculation: €700 ÷ 21 × 20
€666.67
Base: the first full month worked after returning, €900 gross for 21 days worked
Exact calculation: €900 ÷ 21 × 20
€857.14
Total
a difference of about €190 for the same 20 days
The calculation uses the exact values and rounds the final amounts shown to euro cents. The example assumes that the base month and the month of the leave each have 21 working days. With a different number of working days, a correction coefficient applies under Art. 18(2) НСОРЗ. Possible supplements under Art. 21 НСОРЗ are not included.
Ten days in an earlier month can change the base
If your pay has gone up while you were on maternity leave, consider working at least 10 days in one calendar month and starting the leave in the following calendar month. That worked month can then become the new base.
If, on the other hand, there is no month at all with at least 10 days worked for this employer, the pay is determined from the agreed basic pay and the additional pay of a permanent nature under Art. 177(2).
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of Pay (НСОРЗ)
Art. 18(2)
The number of working days in the base month and in the month of the leave affects the exact amount.
Official Bulgarian text
„При определен месечен размер на трудовото възнаграждение установеното по ал. 1, изречение първо среднодневно брутно трудово възнаграждение се коригира с коефициент, получен от отношението на броя на работните дни на месеца, приет за база, и броя на работните дни на съответния месец, през който се ползва отпускът.“
Ordinance on the Structure and Organisation of Pay (НСОРЗ)
Art. 21(2)
With a general pay rise the supplement can make up for the old base.
Official Bulgarian text
„Когато по силата на нормативен акт на Министерския съвет, колективен трудов договор или вътрешен акт на работодателя от определена дата са увеличени работните заплати, но работникът или служителят към тази дата или след нея е бил в платен отпуск, поради което увеличението не се е отразило в базата, от която се изчислява възнаграждението за платен отпуск по реда на чл. 177 от Кодекса на труда, към възнаграждението за отпуска се заплаща добавка, изчислена с процента на увеличение на новото и предишното брутно трудово възнаграждение, определени по трудовото правоотношение.“
Frequently asked questions
Can I take money instead of leave?
No, while your employment contract is in force. Compensation in money is prohibited and is possible only when the employment relationship is terminated.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 178
Official Bulgarian text
„Забранява се компенсиране на платения годишен отпуск с парични обезщетения освен при прекратяване на трудовото правоотношение.“
If the employment relationship is terminated, compensation is paid for the unused days whose right has not lapsed by limitation. For how it is calculated, see the calculator for compensation for unused leave.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 224(1)
Attention: part of the text below does not apply. The words “for the current calendar year in proportion to the time recognised as length of service, and for unused leave postponed under Art. 176” („за текущата календарна година пропорционално на времето, което се признава за трудов стаж, и за неизползвания отпуск, отложен по реда на чл. 176“) were declared unconstitutional by Decision No. 12 of 11 November 2010 of the Constitutional Court in constitutional case No. 15 of 2010. The official text of the law still contains them, so you will also meet them when you open the provision yourself.
Official Bulgarian text
„При прекратяване на трудовото правоотношение работникът или служителят има право на парично обезщетение за неизползвания платен годишен отпуск за текущата календарна година пропорционално на времето, което се признава за трудов стаж, и за неизползвания отпуск, отложен по реда на чл. 176, правото за който не е погасено по давност.“
What this means for you
Do I have to take the leave for raising a child up to 2 years first?
Leave for raising a child up to 2 years of age is your right, not an obligation. If you decide not to take it or to interrupt it, you can ask for your paid annual leave.
For the benefit during the second year, see what you are entitled to on maternity leave in the second year.
Where can I check how many days of unused leave are recorded for me?
The employer keeps records of the use, interruption and postponement of leave. Ask for a written document with the balance by calendar year. The employer must issue the documents certifying facts about the employment relationship within 14 calendar days of the written request.
Labour Code (КТ)
Art. 128а(1)
The request must be in writing and state what facts you want certified.
Official Bulgarian text
„По писмено искане на работника или служителя работодателят е длъжен да му издаде и предостави необходимите документи, удостоверяващи факти, свързани с трудовото правоотношение, в 14-дневен срок от искането.“
Ordinance on Working Time, Rest Breaks and Leave (НРВПО)
Art. 43а
Official Bulgarian text
„Работодателите водят документация за платения годишен отпуск на работниците и служителите, която съдържа информация за ползване, прекъсване и отлагане на ползването, както и за изплатените възнаграждения по чл. 177 КТ и за изплатените обезщетения по чл. 224 КТ.“
You can also follow the data on your length of service through the electronic employment record.
They are refusing me leave. What next?
First submit the written request and get a registration number. If the period under Art. 176(2) passes without approval, notify the employer in writing at least 14 days before the days you have chosen.
If that does not help either, you can file a complaint with the General Labour Inspectorate (Главна инспекция по труда), an executive agency that monitors compliance with labour legislation.
Pravko provides legal information but does not replace consulting a lawyer. In a dispute about specific days, a deadline or an amount, seek out a licensed lawyer.
Have a question about refused leave or days your employer does not recognise?
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
⚠️ Important
Pravko provides legal information, but it does not replace advice from a lawyer. For important legal matters, consult a licensed lawyer.
