Zaposleni koristi plaćeno odsustvo, a ne godišnji odmor.

Yes — zaposleni can be both:

• an adjective meaning employed
• a noun meaning employee / employees

In this sentence, it is being used as a noun: the employee.

Why can we tell? Because it is the subject of koristi (uses / is taking), so the sentence is talking about a person, not just describing someone as employed.

Also, Serbian often uses adjective forms as nouns when the meaning is clear. So zaposleni literally comes from employed, but in practice it very often means employee.

Here it is most naturally understood as singular: the employee.

That is because the verb is koristi, which is 3rd person singular: he/she uses or the employee uses.

If the subject were plural, you would expect:

• Zaposleni koriste... = Employees use / are taking...

So:

• zaposleni koristi = the employee uses / is taking
• zaposleni koriste = employees use / are taking

Yes, koristiti literally means to use, but in Serbian it is also commonly used with things like:

• leave
• vacation time
• services
• rights
• opportunities

So koristiti odsustvo means something like:

• to take leave
• to make use of leave
• to be on leave

This is normal Serbian usage. English would usually say is taking paid leave rather than uses paid leave, but Serbian prefers koristiti in this kind of context.

Koristi is the 3rd person singular present tense form of koristiti.

So it can mean:

• he uses
• she uses
• it uses
• the employee uses / is taking

In Serbian, the present tense is also often used in contexts where English might choose a different wording, depending on the situation.

A quick mini-paradigm:

• ja koristim = I use
• ti koristiš = you use
• on/ona koristi = he/she uses
• mi koristimo = we use
• vi koristite = you use
• oni koriste = they use

Because plaćeno has to agree with odsustvo.

Odsustvo is:

• neuter
• singular
• here in the accusative, but for neuter singular nouns in this pattern, nominative and accusative look the same

So the adjective must also be:

• neuter singular → plaćeno

Compare:

• plaćen radnik = a paid worker / employee (masculine)
• plaćena pauza = a paid break (feminine)
• plaćeno odsustvo = paid leave (neuter)

This is standard adjective-noun agreement in Serbian.

Odsustvo means absence or leave.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• time away from work
• leave from duty
• an official absence

In this sentence, plaćeno odsustvo means paid leave.

So while the literal meaning of odsustvo is close to absence, in workplace language it often corresponds to English leave.

They are related but not the same.

• plaćeno odsustvo = paid leave
• godišnji odmor = annual leave / vacation time

So godišnji odmor is a specific type of time off — your regular yearly vacation allowance.

Plaćeno odsustvo is broader and can refer to other kinds of paid absence, for example leave granted for a particular reason, depending on legal or workplace rules.

So the sentence is contrasting two categories:

• the employee is taking paid leave
• not annual vacation leave

Literally:

• godišnji = annual / yearly
• odmor = rest / break / vacation

Together, godišnji odmor means:

• annual leave
• yearly vacation
• often just vacation, depending on context

In employment language, this is the normal Serbian term for the vacation days an employee is entitled to each year.

A ne is a very common Serbian way to mark contrast:

• ..., a ne ... = ..., and not ... / ..., rather than ...

In this sentence:

• Zaposleni koristi plaćeno odsustvo, a ne godišnji odmor.
• The employee is taking paid leave, not annual leave.

The a adds a contrastive feeling, something like:

• as opposed to
• rather than
• not instead

If you removed a, the sentence would sound less natural in this kind of contrast.

They are in the accusative, because they are the direct objects of koristi.

The verb koristiti takes a direct object:

• koristiti nešto = to use something

So:

• koristi plaćeno odsustvo
• koristi godišnji odmor

Now, their forms:

• odsustvo is neuter singular, and its nominative and accusative are the same
• odmor is masculine inanimate singular, and for masculine inanimate nouns, nominative and accusative are also the same

So although they are accusative here, they look unchanged.

Serbian has no articles like a/an/the.

So Serbian simply says:

• zaposleni = employee / the employee
• godišnji odmor = annual leave / the annual leave

Whether English should use a, the, or no article at all depends on context and translation style.

In this sentence, English often sounds most natural as:

• The employee is taking paid leave, not annual leave.

Yes, depending on context, that can be a very natural translation.

A more literal translation is:

• The employee is taking paid leave, not annual leave.

But in smoother English, especially outside a legal/HR context, you might also say:

• The employee is on paid leave, not on vacation.

That said, godišnji odmor in workplace language is more precisely annual leave / vacation leave, so if the context is official or legal, it is better to keep that distinction.

It sounds neutral to formal, especially because of the workplace/HR vocabulary:

• zaposleni
• plaćeno odsustvo
• godišnji odmor

This is the kind of sentence you might see in:

• HR documents
• workplace policies
• legal or administrative writing
• formal explanations about employee status

In casual speech, people might choose simpler or more everyday wording depending on the situation.

Yes, Serbian often omits the subject if it is clear from context, because the verb form already gives information about the subject.

So you could say:

• Koristi plaćeno odsustvo, a ne godišnji odmor.

That would mean:

• He/She is taking paid leave, not annual leave.

But if you want to specify exactly who is being discussed — the employee — then keeping zaposleni is useful.

The word order is straightforward and natural:

• Zaposleni = subject
• koristi = verb
• plaćeno odsustvo = object
• a ne godišnji odmor = contrast

So the structure is basically:

• Subject + Verb + Object + contrasting phrase

You could change the word order for emphasis, but this version is the most neutral and clear.

For example, if you emphasized the type of leave, you might hear:

• Zaposleni koristi plaćeno odsustvo, a ne godišnji.

But the original full version is the safest and most standard for learners.

Yes. In everyday speech, people often shorten godišnji odmor to simply:

• godišnji

For example:

• On je na godišnjem. = He is on vacation / on annual leave.

But in a fuller, more explicit sentence — especially in formal language — godišnji odmor is completely normal and often preferable.