In simple terms
Holiday pay (отпускные, otpusknye) is the money your employer pays for the time of your annual paid leave. While you are on leave, no salary is calculated, and holiday pay replaces it. It is calculated not from your base salary but from your average earnings over the last 12 months, so bonuses also affect the amount.
The basic leave in Russia is 28 calendar days a year (Art. 115 of the Labour Code). It can be split into parts, but one of them must be at least 14 days. Public holidays are not counted as leave days and are not paid as holiday pay, and the leave is extended by those days.
How holiday pay is calculated
Average daily earnings = Income for 12 months / (12 × 29.3)
Holiday pay = Average daily earnings × Days of leave
29.3 is the average number of calendar days in a month. Income includes salary and bonuses, but not sick pay, maternity pay, previous holiday pay or financial assistance.
If a month was not fully worked (because of sick leave or a holiday), its days are counted separately: 29.3 / number of calendar days in the month × number of calendar days worked. Payments for such periods are also excluded from income.
Example with numbers
Over 12 months you earned 720,000 ₽, every month was fully worked, and you take 28 days of leave.
- Average daily earnings: 720,000 / (12 × 29.3) = 720,000 / 351.6 ≈ 2,047.78 ₽.
- Holiday pay: 2,047.78 × 28 = 57,337.84 ₽.
- Personal income tax (НДФЛ) 13%: 7,454 ₽ (tax is rounded to the whole rouble).
- Take-home: 57,337.84 − 7,454 = 49,883.84 ₽.
If in one 31-day month you had been ill for 10 days, that month would count as 29.3 / 31 × 21 ≈ 19.85 days, and the divisor would become 11 × 29.3 + 19.85 ≈ 342.15. The salary for that month would also be taken only for the days worked.
Calculate it yourself
Change the numbers and the step-by-step calculation updates instantly. Russian rules for 2026.
When it must be paid
Holiday pay must be paid no later than three calendar days before the leave starts (Art. 136 of the Labour Code). If it is late, you can postpone your leave, and the employer must pay compensation for each day of delay: at least 1/150 of the key rate of the central bank applied to the amount owed.
Leave is usually arranged by the leave schedule or by a leave application. Unused days do not disappear when you leave the job: you will be paid compensation for unused leave, which you can calculate in the final pay calculator.
How to avoid mistakes
- Count calendar days, not working days: weekends inside the leave are paid, public holidays are not.
- Holiday pay is based on average earnings, so it can be both higher and lower than your usual monthly salary.
- Personal income tax is withheld from holiday pay, and the amount in your payslip is shown before tax.
- If maternity leave or childcare leave fell into the calculation period, the rules change; ask your accounts department.
In Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus
Russia
The basic leave is 28 calendar days a year. Average daily earnings = income for 12 months / (12 × 29.3); holiday pay must be paid no later than 3 days before the leave starts, and personal income tax (НДФЛ) is withheld from it.
Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan paid annual leave is at least 24 calendar days. Average earnings are calculated for 12 months from the days actually worked; the 29.3 coefficient is not used.
Belarus
In Belarus the basic leave is at least 24 calendar days. Average daily earnings are calculated from 12 months of earnings with a coefficient of 29.7; income tax of 13% and 1% to the social protection fund (ФСЗН) are withheld.
Sources: Labour Code of the Russian Federation («Трудовой кодекс РФ»), ConsultantPlus