Leave in Hungary

Employees are entitled to 20 days of paid time off and 15 days of paid sick leave. For the duration of the basic and additional leave, the employee is entitled to an absence fee from the employer that is calculated based on the basic salary and other allowances.

The employee is entitled to additional holidays based on age or other personal circumstances. Please see below the additional days of holidays based on the employee’s age:

Employees are entitled to 15 working days of sick leave per calendar year while not being able to work due to illness. During the period of sick leave, the employer is obliged to pay the employee 70% of the employee’s absence pay. A doctor must issue a certificate of the employee’s incapacity for work, which the employee must present to the employer.

The mother is entitled to 24 weeks’ maternity leave and is obliged to take 2 weeks of it. The employer must grant the maternity leave so that it falls not earlier than 4 weeks before the expected date of childbirth. The same rules apply, and the same period of maternity leave is granted to a woman who has adopted a child. After 24 weeks of maternity leave, the employee is eligible for unpaid child care leave until the child is three years old.

Employees are entitled to additional paid time off for taking care of children under 16 and fully or partially disabled children of any age.

Unless otherwise agreed, holidays shall be allocated by the employer so that for at least 14 consecutive days once in a calendar year the employee is exempted from work obligations (including weekends and public holidays). The employer generally allocates holidays but must allocate 7 days based on the employee’s request. The employee must notify the employer at least 15 days in advance. The employer may change the date of the employee’s leave or interrupt it with compensation only if an event of important economic interest happens or if there is a reason directly and seriously affecting the employer’s operations. Leave time shall not be financially compensated.

There are two types of unpaid leave:

• leave the employer is obliged to grant at the employee’s request
• unpaid leave agreed by the parties

The first type always has a reason laid down by law and can be used only if the conditions set out by law are met. The employee is eligible for two years of unpaid leave maximum for the following reasons:

• taking care of children under three years old
• effective volunteer reservist military service
• period of receiving child care benefits
• long-term personal care of a relative

The other type of unpaid leave is also possible by mutual agreement reached by the employer and the employee. The employee requests a leave of absence in writing at least 15 days in advance. If both parties agree to continue the employment relationship later, it is advisable to clarify the circumstances and the duration of unpaid leave in the agreement. If the parties do not agree on the length of unpaid leave, either party has the right to terminate the agreement at any time. A leave of absence without pay ends at the time the employee has indicated — at the earliest, on the 30th day following the delivery of the termination of leave statement.