Clients of our PRWT accounting office are wondering whether quarantine and isolation should be treated as a sick leave in the context of Art. 165 and art. 166 of the Labor Code?

Let us assume that an employee after maternity / parental leave applies for both annual and parental leave. During the vacation leave period, he or she is quarantined / isolated. In this case, does the quarantine / isolation interrupt the vacation leave and therefore the employee postpones the vacation leave and thus childcare leave?

Yes, quarantine / isolation is treated on a par with sick leave and, consequently, interrupts the vacation leave (Articles 165 and 166 of the Labor Code). The employee should submit an application to postpone the holiday leave and, consequently, the parental leave to the further period following the end of quarantine / isolation.

However, it should be remembered that currently, due to the possibility of an employee working in quarantine / isolation, there may be a situation in which the employee will be able to take vacation leave during quarantine / isolation.