Additional leave for service members with combatant status: procedure and conditions

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine clarifies the conditions and procedure for granting service members the leave established by the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’ – up to two weeks per year (or up to three weeks for individuals with exceptional merits to the Homeland).

General provisions and legal framework

The entitlement to this type of leave is guaranteed by Ukrainian legislation. Additional leave stipulated by the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’ – up to two weeks per year (or up to three weeks per year for individuals with exceptional merits to the Homeland), with service remuneration retained – is guaranteed under the first paragraph of point 18 of Article 101 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Social and Legal Protection of Military Personnel and Their Family Members’. 

The duration of additional leave is 14 calendar days per year (or 21 calendar days for individuals with exceptional merits to the Homeland) and is granted with service remuneration retained.

Specifics of granting leave during martial law 

Under martial law and in accordance with the restrictions established by law, granting the additional leave stipulated by the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’ to service members entails specific provisions.

The decision to grant this type of leave is made by the unit commander. The commander makes this decision based on the service member’s report, taking into account the need to perform combat tasks, the operational situation, and the requirement that no more than 30% of the relevant unit's personnel may be absent at the same time.

This leave is granted within the calendar year from the moment the service member becomes entitled to it, regardless of the length of actual service completed during the current year. It is an additional type of leave and is granted on top of the main annual leave.

The leave is granted as one uninterrupted period of 14 calendar days (or 21 calendar days for individuals with exceptional merits to the Homeland) and may not be divided into parts. For this type of leave, additional time may be granted for travel within Ukraine to and from the place of leave. This period may not exceed two days each way.

Compensation for unused leave days

The additional leave provided for by the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Status of War Veterans and Guarantees of Their Social Protection’ is cumulative. This means that unused days of additional leave are not forfeited after the end of the calendar year. Therefore, upon discharge from military service, the service member is entitled to monetary compensation for all unused days of this leave accumulated over previous years of service, regardless of the grounds for discharge (except discharge for service incompatibility, discharge pursuant to a final court conviction, or discharge due to systematic non-fulfilment of contract conditions).