If you have employees working for your Hungarian company, they will be entitled to paid time off in line with Hungarian labor law. PTO is not an option: you as an employer must make sure that your employees have taken all their PTO by the end of each year.
Paid time off in Hungary
Paid time off is the time an employee spends not working while the employer still pays them a wage, referred to as an absence pay. In Hungary, both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to at least 20 days each year off work, which are called PTO days or vacation days.
As an employer, it is your job to make sure your employees take their days off, while keeping the following in mind:
- Officially, it is you (the employer) who must assign these days. In reality, each organization has a system for negotiating days off, ensuring appropriate substitution is provided for each role, or that days are taken off when business is slow.
- Under specific circumstances, some vacation days may be carried over to the next calendar year. The number of such days is limited, however, and the procedure requires additional paperwork and negotiation.
- Each employee is entitled to decide when they want to take PTO regarding at least 7 of their available days. Regarding the rest of the days, the employer can decide on their own or negotiate it with the employees.
- Each employee should take at least one longer leave that includes 14 subsequent days off – these can include weekends and public holidays too.
- Not letting an employee take their paid time off and offering a bonus or other compensation instead is not normally allowed. The only time this is allowed is when an employment relationship is terminated and the employee has not been able to take proportionately enough time off during the year. However, even then it is more frequent to allow the employee to take their “missing” time off during their notice period.
Additional paid time off under specific circumstances
The number of vacation days available to each employee depends on their age and the number of their children. In addition, employees may be exempt from work under special circumstances, such as donating blood, attending mandatory health checkups, or after the death of a close relative. In all these cases, you pay employees 100% of their absence pay.
On top of vacation days, employees also get sick days. If they cannot work and they can verify this with a doctor’s note, the first 15 sick days in any year are paid by the employer at 70% of the employee’s absence pay. If an employee is sick for longer than that, they can remain on sick leave at no cost to your company. Instead, they will receive a sickness benefit from the state at 50-60% of their absence pay, depending on for how long they have been insured in Hungary before they got sick.
Parents of minor children are also entitled to extra time off in order to take care of their children. However, on such days their compensation is even more reduced. Read more here.
Standard vacation days / year depending on age
This paid time off is mandatory, the employer pays 100% of the absence pay.
- Under 18 years: 25 days
- 18-24 years: 20 days
- From 25 years: 21 days
- Form 28 years: 22 days
- From 31 years: 23 days
- From 33 years: 24 days
- From 35 years: 25 days
- From 37 years: 26 days
- From 39 years: 27 days
- From 41 years: 28 days
- From 43 years: 29 days
- From 45 years: 30 days
Extra vacation days based on the number of children
This paid time off is mandatory, the employer pays 100% of the absence pay.
The number of PTO days awarded based on the number of children is added to the number of days awarded based on age.
- 1 child under 16 years: +2 days
- 2 children under 16 years: +4 days
- 3 or more children under 16 years: +7 days
- Child with a disability: +2 days for each disabled child
Maternity leave
At least 6 weeks is mandatory, at least 2 weeks should be taken after the birth of the child. Unpaid leave.
When a child is born, the mother is entitled to 6-24 weeks of unpaid leave. During this time, she is not paid by the employer, but she may receive maternity benefits from the state, normally at 100% of their absence pay. The leave may be extended until the child turns 3, but benefits are reduced gradually.
Paternity leave (optional)
Not mandatory, partial compensation.
When a child is born, during the first 4 months, the father is entitled to an extra 5 days of paternity leave at 100% of their absence pay, or an extra 7 days in case of twins. Moreover, he can take another 5 days at 40% of their absence pay. This is also available for adoptions – in that case, to both parents.
Parental leave (optional)
Not mandatory, partial compensation.
Until the day the child turns 3, each parent gets an extra 44 days total related to taking care of their child. On these days, you pay these parents 10% of their absence pay.
Paid time off and payroll
Your job as an employer includes making sure that working time and time off is registered properly on a working time sheet. The payroll specialist at your Hungarian company will calculate monthly salaries and taxes based on the working time sheet of each employee, which should contain all the paid and unpaid leaves they have taken over the month.
Helpers provides comprehensive business services to small and medium-sized businesses in Hungary. This includes assistance not only with the residence permit and work permit applications of your employees, but also with a wide range of HR and payroll services relevant to employing foreigners in Hungary. Should you need assistance with business setup, residency application, accounting, payroll, HR, or any ongoing services, feel free to contact us.
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