The hidden reason for the increase in the number of vacations at your own expense has been revealed

“This is a proven and favorite way for employers not to pay salaries”

Russians have become more likely to take vacations at their own expense: in the third quarter of this year, the number of such workers exceeded 3.4 million people. And this is a record for at least ten years. Moreover, the situation is extremely contradictory, since it is observed against the backdrop of a total shortage of personnel and a decrease in overall unemployment to an unprecedented level of 2.9%. There is a serious suspicion that mass vacations at one’s own expense are nothing more than a hidden form of unemployment.

According to the audit and consulting network FinExpertiza, the number of employees of large and medium-sized enterprises who went on leave without pay increased by 4% in July-September (to 3.44 million people) compared to the period a year ago.

The number of people taking personal leave increased the most in the construction sector (+14%), scientific and technical activities (+7%), health care and education (+6%). The authors of the study attribute this dynamics to two circumstances. Firstly, some of the staff, who were previously ready to work overtime and earn more, could develop elementary fatigue and a persistent request for rest. In another scenario, enterprises experiencing financial difficulties (and there are still plenty of them in the country) by hook or by crook force workers to go on leave without pay so as not to pay for downtime. However, there is at least one more option, and Aleksey Zubets, a professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, told MK about it.

“The third quarter falls mostly in the warm summer months, when the bulk of citizens tend to take paid vacations for obvious reasons,” says MK’s interlocutor. – And if the employer, for some reason, does not provide them, people can easily solve the problem at their own expense, also using their days off. Among other things, this indicates two things: the population has more available funds and the dictatorship of the employee has become established in the Russian labor market. Which often dictates its terms to the company, presenting it with a fact: they say, do what you want, and I’m going to rest.”

It used to be – in 2008-2009, in 2014-2015, in 2020 – employers literally put people on the street, but today, when there is no crisis and there is a desperate need for specialists and labor, they cannot afford this. Accordingly, Zubets summarizes, there is no hidden unemployment in the country. Moreover, it does not exist in conditions of total state funding, when many enterprises regularly receive money from the budget.

True, not all experts share this point of view. “Leaves without pay are a proven method, beloved by domestic employers, of not paying wages,” says Pavel Kudyukin, a member of the Council of the Confederation of Labor of Russia. – It is difficult to imagine that the current dynamics have a different background. Why did workers suddenly decide to go about their business en masse, losing money? In general, the situation looks paradoxical. On the one hand, we are constantly shouting about labor shortages in one sector or another. On the other hand, financial and resource heterogeneity in the economy has increased: industrial enterprises that consistently receive government orders are doing better than others. And it is mainly purely commercial, market companies that are experiencing difficulties. Yes, on average, effective demand has increased due to inflationary pressure, but at the same time it is extremely unevenly distributed across regions and product groups.”

Forced leave at one’s own expense is prohibited by law, but this provision is easily circumvented in practice: the employer will always have compelling arguments for the employee to “voluntarily” apply. In the end, for employees, this is better than a full-fledged dismissal. At the same time, in cases where the company management has no one to fill the corresponding jobs, it is extremely reluctant to provide people with leave without pay. For this, reinforced concrete grounds are needed (for example, force majeure circumstances in the family), which have nothing to oppose, argues Kudyukin.