How are teachers' lessons allocated while on leave?

Question

Are the lessons of a teacher who has gone on maternity leave distributed among other teachers or is another employee hired to replace them?

Answer

According to Article 404 of the Labor Code, women are granted maternity leave, and according to Article 405 of the Labor Code, they are given leave to care for a child until the age of two or three. In common language, this is generally referred to as "Decree leave."

When an employee takes maternity leave or childcare leave until the child reaches the age of two or three, their classes can be distributed among teachers by the pedagogical council of the general education institution based on the priority sequence outlined in paragraph 15 of the Regulation "On the procedure for class formation and creating tariff lists in general education institutions."

It is also possible to temporarily hire another employee to replace the one who has gone on leave. However, according to Article 112 of the Labor Code, a fixed-term employment contract must be concluded with the new employee who is being hired as a replacement.

According to Article 405 of the Labor Code, after the end of maternity leave, at the woman's request, she is given childcare leave until the child reaches the age of two. An employee has the right to return from leave at any time.

It should also be noted that according to Article 239 of the Labor Code, the employee's previous job position is retained when they are on maternity leave and childcare leave.

For this reason, it is necessary to conclude a fixed-term employment contract with individuals hired to replace a temporarily absent employee, and determine the duration of the employment contract according to the provisions in Article 114 of the Labor Code.

In practice, some economists mistakenly interpret that an employee who has taken maternity leave or childcare leave until the child reaches the age of two or three cannot be replaced by another employee, which is incorrect.

In conclusion, when an employee goes on maternity leave or childcare leave until the child reaches the age of two or three, their lessons can either be distributed among teachers according to the above-mentioned regulations, or another employee can be temporarily hired to replace them on the basis of a fixed-term employment contract.