When it's time to plan the summer vacation in the workplace, many questions can arise. What am I, as an employee, actually entitled to? How much am I, as an employer, obliged to consider the employee's preferences? In the following, we will go through important parts of the Holiday Act to clarify what actually applies. However, it is important to note that for employers and employees covered by collective agreements, different rules than those stipulated in the Holiday Act may apply, either in whole or in part.
The Annual Leave Act applies to employees. Independent contractors are not covered by the Annual Leave Act.
In employment contracts that are intended to last for a maximum of three months and that do not extend beyond that period, it may be agreed that no annual leave shall be taken. In such cases, the employee is entitled to holiday pay.
The calculation of annual leave days according to the Annual Leave Act is based on the assumption that an employee works five working days a week and is off on Saturdays and Sundays. The main rule is therefore that an employee is entitled to twenty-five annual leave days per full holiday year. If the employment begins after August 31 during the holiday year, the employee is only entitled to five annual leave days for that year. In the first year of employment, the number of annual leave days is calculated proportionally.
Non-working days and public holidays that fall during the period of annual leave are not counted as annual leave days.
According to the Annual Leave Act, it is not possible to take only part of a day as annual leave.
An employee who changes employment is entitled to annual leave in the new employment only to the extent that the employee has not already taken such leave in the previous employment.
The fact that an employee is entitled to annual leave does not mean that the employee is entitled to holiday pay.
According to the Annual Leave Act, paid annual leave must be earned. Earning takes place during the so-called earning year, which, according to the Annual Leave Act, runs from April 1st to March 31st of the year before the holiday year. The holiday year is therefore the year following the earning year. The holiday year also runs according to the Annual Leave Act from April 1st to March 31st.
An employee may waive the right to annual leave that is not associated with holiday pay. Unpaid leave cannot be carried over to a later time.
Upon request, an employee must inform the employer of their preferences regarding the scheduling of unpaid annual leave or the extent to which the employee wishes to waive such leave. Notification does not need to be given until the employer has notified the employee of the number of days of unpaid annual leave that the employee is entitled to or can be expected to be entitled to.
The main rule in the Annual Leave Act is that the scheduling of annual leave should be negotiated according to the Act on Co-determination at Work (MBL), and the annual leave should be scheduled so that the employee has a period of leave of at least four weeks during the months of June to August.
If the employee is not represented by a negotiable organization or if such an organization does not wish to negotiate, the employer should instead consult with the employee regarding the scheduling of the leave.
If it is not possible to reach an agreement on how annual leave should be scheduled, the employer decides on the scheduling. However, the employer is obliged to inform the employee of the decision. The notice must be given no later than two months before the start of the leave. If there are special reasons, the notice may be given later, but at least one month before the start of the leave, if possible.
According to the Annual Leave Act, annual leave should be scheduled so that employees who work part-time or have irregular working hours have the same length of annual leave as employees who work full-time.
The Annual Leave Act does not provide any explicit rules on this matter. However, collective agreements often have clear rules regarding annual leave for part-time work.
An employee who regularly works on Saturdays or Sundays or both is entitled to leave corresponding to the time of weekends during annual leave of at least five days, partly during the annual leave and partly either immediately before or immediately after it. If the annual leave is at least nineteen days, the employee is entitled to leave corresponding to the time of weekends both immediately before and immediately after the leave, unless there are specific reasons against this.
If an employee in such cases has leave of corresponding duration on a weekday that is not a Saturday or Sunday and that falls during the annual leave, that weekday is counted as a day of annual leave.
If the annual leave is shorter than five days and the employee is off on a Saturday or Sunday that would otherwise have been a workday, such day is counted as a day of annual leave. A non-working day should then not be considered as a day of annual leave.
According to the Annual Leave Act, holiday pay may be calculated in different ways. It is the employer who decides on the method of calculating holiday pay if no collective agreement applies.
Holiday pay according to the regular salary rule is the current weekly or monthly salary, any fixed wage supplements, and a certain holiday allowance.
Holiday pay according to the percentage rule amounts to twelve percent of the employee's accrued salary in employment during the earning year.
An employee who is entitled to more than 20 paid annual leave days during a holiday year is entitled to save days for a later year. The employee may only save the annual leave days that exceed the 20 days. The saved annual leave days must be used within five years from the end of the year in which the days were saved. The right to save annual leave only applies to paid annual leave.
Some absences from work are considered as equivalent to working time according to the Annual Leave Act. Such absences are therefore eligible for holiday pay. This applies to absences due to illness, parental leave, work-related injury, care for a relative, leave for carriers of contagious diseases, leave for carrying out total defense duty, leave for education in Swedish for immigrants, leave for trade union training, and for certain sign language training.
The number of days of absence for the reasons mentioned above that are eligible for holiday pay may vary. Check what applies in your case.
If an employment ends before the employee has received their holiday pay, it shall be paid out as holiday compensation. Holiday compensation must be paid no later than one month after the employment ended.
Keeping these points in mind during vacation planning helps both employers and employees comply with legal requirements and ensure a smooth handling of the vacation.
