Before you go on holiday, it helps to know how much will actually be paid. In Azerbaijan, vacation pay is not simply your monthly salary — it is based on what you earned over the previous twelve months. Here is how the calculation works, step by step.
The formula
Under Article 140 of the Labour Code, vacation pay is based on your average earnings for the 12 calendar months before the month in which your leave starts — no matter which working year the leave is for. The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population explains the calculation in three steps:
- Average monthly earnings: add up your gross wages for those 12 months and divide by 12.
- Average daily earnings: divide the monthly average by 30.4 — the average number of calendar days in a month.
- Vacation pay: multiply the daily figure by the number of calendar days of leave.
Vacation pay = (gross earnings for the last 12 months ÷ 12 ÷ 30.4) × days of leave
Months in which you were on partially paid social leave, on unpaid leave that was not your own initiative, or idle through no fault of your own are replaced with the nearest fully worked months, so they do not pull your average down. If you have worked for less than 12 months, the average is based on the full calendar months you have actually worked.
A worked example
Say your gross salary was 1,200 AZN in each of the last 12 months and you are taking 21 days of leave:
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Total for 12 months | 1,200 × 12 | 14,400 AZN |
| Average monthly earnings | 14,400 ÷ 12 | 1,200.00 AZN |
| Average daily earnings | 1,200 ÷ 30.4 | 39.47 AZN |
| Vacation pay (gross) | 1,200 ÷ 30.4 × 21 | 828.95 AZN |
You will not get less than your salary
The ministry also highlights an important safeguard: vacation pay cannot be lower than your last salary. The calculated amount is compared with the salary for the working days that fall within your leave. If the average-based figure comes out lower — for example, because you recently got a raise — the payment is brought up to your current salary level.
How many days of leave do you get?
- Basic leave: at least 21 calendar days a year (Article 114). Some groups get 30 days — for example agricultural workers, employees in managerial and specialist positions, and doctors and other medical staff — and teachers get 56 days under Article 118.
- Length of service: 2 extra days for 5–10 years of service, 4 days for 10–15 years and 6 days for more than 15 years (Article 116).
- Parents: women with two children under 14 get 2 extra days; women with three or more children under 14, or with a child with a disability, get 5 extra days (Article 117). Fathers raising children alone and adoptive parents have the same right.
- Public holidays don't use up your leave: non-working public holidays that fall during your leave are not counted as leave days (Article 114).
Gross amount vs. what reaches your card
The figures above are gross. Just like your salary, vacation pay is subject to income tax and to mandatory social, unemployment and medical insurance contributions, so the amount transferred to your card is lower.
Calculate yours in seconds
Our vacation pay calculator does all of this for you: enter your gross salary for the last 12 months and the number of leave days to see the gross and net amount, plus the end-of-month payment for the days you work in the vacation month.
This article is for general information only. For special cases — such as bonuses, part-time work or partially worked months — check with your employer's HR or accounting department.
