Holidays and leave without a headache
The Holiday Act grants employees the right to time off – and employers the obligation to keep track of the balance. Here’s how to manage holidays, self-certification, and other leave without it turning into chaos.
Holidays and leave may sound simple until you’re sitting with a spreadsheet trying to calculate how many days an employee has left, how much can be carried over to next year, and whether the self-certification was used up. With a bit of structure – and a system that keeps the balance updated – it becomes manageable. Here’s the most important information.
Note: This is a general introduction. Collective bargaining agreements and individual contracts may provide better rights than the statutory minimum.
What the Holiday Act provides
The Holiday Act grants all employees the right to at least 25 working days of holiday each year. Working days include Saturdays, so 25 working days equals four weeks and one day. Many also have an additional fifth week of holiday as agreed in their contract, bringing the total to 30 working days. Employees over 60 have the right to an extra week of holiday.
Holiday pay is accrued the year before the holiday is taken and amounts to at least 10.2 percent of the holiday pay base (12.5 percent for those with five weeks of holiday).
Carrying over unused holiday
Did the employee fail to take all their holiday this year? According to the Holiday Act §7, up to 12 working days can be agreed to be carried over to the next holiday year. Holiday that is neither taken nor legally carried over must, in principle, be transferred anyway – holiday should not simply ‘disappear’. A system that distinguishes between this year’s quota and carried-over balance makes this much easier to keep track of.
Holiday requests and planning
Most conflicts around holiday are due to poor planning, not ill will. Let employees submit holiday requests digitally, collect them in one place, and compare them against staffing needs. That way, you’ll spot early if half the department wants week 28 and can find a solution before it becomes a problem. The employer decides the timing of the holiday but must discuss it with the employee well in advance.
Self-certification and sick leave
Sick leave is a separate category that should not be deducted from the holiday balance. Self-certification can be used for a certain number of days per case and per year, depending on whether the company is an IA enterprise. If an employee falls ill during their holiday, the holiday days can be claimed back with a doctor’s certificate. The point is that the different types of leave must be kept separate – holiday, self-certification, sick leave, and leave of absence do not count the same way.
Keep the balance alive
- One source of truth. All types of leave are recorded in the same place, so the balance is always accurate.
- Automatic updates. When holiday is approved, it is deducted from the quota immediately.
- Clear distinction. Holiday, carried-over holiday, and sick leave are displayed separately.
In short
The Holiday Act grants at least 25 working days, up to 12 can be carried over, and sick leave is kept separate from holiday. Submit holiday requests digitally, plan against staffing needs, and let the system keep the balance updated. Then you can ditch the spreadsheet – and the discussions that come with it.
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