Zaposleni sa nepunim radnim vremenom ima plaćeno odsustvo.

It is originally an adjective/participle meaning employed, but here it is being used as a noun: employee.

So in this sentence, zaposleni is:

• masculine singular
• nominative
• the subject of the sentence

Serbian does this a lot: an adjective can stand on its own when the noun is understood.

Grammatically, zaposleni is the masculine singular form, so on the surface it looks masculine.

However, in official, legal, or general statements, Serbian often uses the masculine singular as a generic form, much like English can say the employee without focusing on gender. If you specifically mean a female employee, you would normally say zaposlena.

Because Serbian has no articles.

So zaposleni can mean:

• an employee
• the employee
• sometimes just employee in a general sense

You understand which one is meant from context, not from a separate word like a/the.

The preposition sa means with, and here it describes the type of employee: an employee with part-time working hours, i.e. a part-time employee.

This is a fairly formal way to say it. Literally, the phrase is something like with incomplete working time, but the natural meaning is part-time.

Because sa requires the instrumental case here.

The base phrase is:

• nepuno radno vreme = part-time / reduced working hours

After sa, it becomes instrumental:

• sa nepunim radnim vremenom

The adjectives must agree with the noun, so:

• nepuno → nepunim
• radno → radnim
• vreme → vremenom

The dictionary/basic form is nepuno radno vreme.

That is the nominative singular form. In the sentence, it changes because of the preposition sa.

A useful way to think of it is:

• basic form: nepuno radno vreme
• after sa: sa nepunim radnim vremenom

Because vreme belongs to a neuter noun pattern that often adds -en- / -men- in oblique cases.

So:

• nominative: vreme
• instrumental: vremenom

This is normal for this noun, even if it looks a little irregular at first.

Because the subject is singular: zaposleni = employee.

So:

• zaposleni ima = the employee has
• zaposleni imaju = employees have

Even though zaposleni can also be a plural form in other contexts, here the rest of the sentence clearly shows it is singular.

Because odsustvo is a neuter noun.

Adjectives in Serbian must agree with the noun in:

• gender
• number
• case

So:

• plaćen = masculine
• plaćena = feminine
• plaćeno = neuter

Since odsustvo is neuter, the correct form is plaćeno odsustvo.

Not exactly.

Odsustvo means absence or leave. In work-related language, plaćeno odsustvo means paid leave / paid time off.

If you mean annual vacation/holiday, Serbian more specifically uses godišnji odmor.

Yes, s and sa are two forms of the same preposition: with.

In many situations, both are possible, but sa is often preferred when it sounds smoother or clearer. In this sentence, sa nepunim radnim vremenom is the normal and natural form.

Yes, it is correct, especially in a formal or administrative style.

A slightly more explicit version would be:

• Zaposleni sa nepunim radnim vremenom ima pravo na plaćeno odsustvo.

That means A part-time employee has the right to paid leave. The original sentence is shorter, but both are natural in formal Serbian.