It is often the case that the employee is entitled to full rest leave or more days than he/she would have been entitled to at the time of the leave, and later in the year the individual employment contract ends.
In this case, the employee has the obligation to return the part of the rest leave allowance corresponding to the unused period, as provided by Law 53/2003 – Labour Code in article 256: “the employee who has received from the employer an unpaid amount is obliged to return it”.
In practice, employers withhold this amount from the last pay statement, but according to article 169 paragraph (1) of Law 53/2003 – Labour Code : “no deduction from the salary can be made, except in the cases and conditions provided by law”, and according to article 169 paragraph (2): “deductions by way of damages caused to the employer can only be made if the employee’s debt is due, liquid and payable and has been established as such by a final and irrevocable court decision”.
Therefore, the amount cannot be withheld by the employer from the employee’s salary entitlements upon termination of the individual employment contract, but must be repaid voluntarily by the employee. If the employee does not agree to repayment, the employer must apply to the court.
In order to reimburse the amount, the employer shall draw up a document stating that the employee has taken undue rest days and the amount of these days, and on the basis of this document, the employee shall pay the amount in cash or to the company’s account.
The employer will correct the payroll and the 112 declaration for the month in which the employee took undue rest leave.