The Labor Code stipulates that the vacation period is determined by agreement between the employer and the employee. In most cases, this is exactly how vacation periods are scheduled. The vacation can be taken in parts, by agreement between the employer and employee, as long as at least ten consecutive business days are observed.
When such an agreement does not occur, the employer has the authority to set the employee’s vacation dates, provided it does not start on a rest day for the worker. The employer must also consult the workers’ committee, or in its absence, the inter-union committee or the representative trade union committee of the worker concerned, beforehand.
Unless a collective regulation instrument specifies otherwise, in small, medium, or large companies, the employer, in the absence of an agreement, may only set vacations between May 1 and October 31. In companies related to tourism, the employer must schedule 25% of the vacation period that workers are entitled to, or a higher percentage resulting from a collective labor regulation instrument, to be taken consecutively between May 1 and October 31.
In cases of “competition” for the same vacation periods (such as August, when most schools are closed), these should be distributed as evenly as possible, alternating workers based on the periods taken in the previous two years.
Additionally, spouses, as well as people living in a common-law partnership or shared economy who work for the same company or establishment, have the right to take vacations at the same time, unless it causes significant harm to the company.
This is the general regulation as provided by the Labor Code, although collective labor regulation instruments may establish different terms.
