Holiday Act - days saved & vacation pay as a percentage
December 2, 2023
The Holiday Act contains rules and exceptions that are important to know for both employees and employers. Here we have collected everything you need to know.
Today's holiday law came into force in 1978 and since then all workers in Sweden have a number of rights regarding holiday leave. Here you can read more about the rules that apply under the Holiday Act, what exceptions exist, how the Holiday Act applies to part-time work and much more.
This is what the holiday law says
The Vacation Act constitutes an agreement between employer and employee and ensures a number of rights for the employee. The purpose of the law is to guarantee all workers time for recovery. In addition to the right to vacation leave, the employee is also entitled to vacation pay or vacation pay.
The main rules of the holiday law
- An employee is entitled to receive 25 days of vacation leave.
- Four weeks of vacation days shall fall in a continuous period between June and August.
- Financial compensation for holidays is paid either as holiday pay or as holiday pay.
- Holiday compensation must be at least 12 percent of the salary and be specified on the salary statement.
- An employee has the right to save at least five paid vacation days.
- Vacation leave is earned during the previous year.
- Holiday allowance by law is 1.82 percent of the weekly wage or 0.43 percent of the monthly salary.
Exceptions to the rules of the Holiday Act
Since the holiday law is dispositive, some rules can be agreed away. It is also possible for an employer to offer an employee different terms than those set out in the Vacation Act. However, the employer may never give worse terms than required by the Vacation Act.
For example, there may be a collective agreement in the workplace that differs slightly from the rules of the law. Then it is called that the employee gets contractual holiday, instead of statutory vacation. For example, in the care sector and county councils, it is common for there to be negotiations and agreed terms.
Other exemptions include that an employee may voluntarily forgo having a continuous vacation during the summer or be offered advance leave, meaning that employers and workers agree that paid vacation can be picked out before it has been earned.
This is how the reception of holidays works according to the Holiday Act
Every year the employee has the right to four consecutive weeks of holidays in the period June-August. As mentioned above, an employee may agree to place the weeks in a different period. However, an employer is always obliged to offer its employees four weeks of continuous vacation during the summer months.
A worker can also agree with their employer to take out individual vacation days at any time during the year.
What to do in case of illness during the holidays
Vacation leave is for an employee to have time to relax and rest. If, instead, the employee falls ill during the holidays, the leave can be canceled. An employee who reports illness during the holidays will instead be on sick leave and may take the vacation days off at another time during the year.
If an employer refuses vacation
As an employee, you cannot be sure that you will be allowed to take your vacation exactly when you wish. Since all employees are to be offered the opportunity to take holidays during the summer, it can often require some puzzling, unless the company closes during this period. This may mean, for example, that the employer has the right to deny you vacation for a specific week or period.
In contrast, an employer is never entitled to deny an employee the 25 statutory vacation days per year and the four consecutive vacation weeks during the summer.
Consequences if the employer does not comply with the Holiday Act
It is illegal for an employer to fail to comply with the Holiday Act. It is always the employer's responsibility to ensure that all employees receive the vacation days, continuous leave and financial compensation to which they are entitled.
An employer who does not comply with the Vacation Act may become liable for damages, as well as obliged to pay the holiday pay or holiday compensation that the employee would have received.
If employees get in trouble with an employer who does not comply with the rules of the Holiday Act, they can turn to their union or a union representative in the workplace for help.
Difference between vacation pay and vacation pay
An employee can either earn paid vacation days or vacation compensation. You are always entitled to holiday pay, no matter how short a period of employment is or if you only work part-time.
An employee can sometimes have vacation pay paid along with their salary each month. This is something that the employee and employer must agree on in that case. According to the Holiday Act, holiday compensation must be paid in connection with termination of employment or in connection with leave.
Holiday pay is paid to a worker who has earned paid vacation days. In the case of holiday pay, the employee also receives the compensation earned paid as a lump sum during the holiday leave.
Holiday days for part-time or fixed-term employment
Even if you do not have a permanent job, work part-time or have a fixed-term contract, you are protected by the Holiday Act. However, how many vacation days you are entitled to can be affected by how much you work.
Rules for part-time employment
In the case of employment of at least 80 percent spread over 5 days per week, the number of statutory vacation days is not affected. Employees who work less than 5 days a week can figure out for themselves how many vacation days they are entitled to.
The calculation takes place as follows:
The number working days per week multiplied by 25 which is then divided by 5.
This means that someone who works 3 days a week is entitled to 15 vacation days per year. Thus, the number of vacation days that you are entitled to is only affected by how many days a week you work and not the number of hours per working day.
Fixed-term employment rules
In the case of a fixed-term or fixed-term employment, you are entitled to both holiday compensation and holiday leave. If the employment lasts less than three months, it is possible to cancel the holiday leave. However, if the employment lasts longer than three months, the right to holiday leave and holiday pay cannot be agreed upon.
A worker with a fixed-term contract is entitled to take out 25 vacation days per year.
Holiday Act and Holiday Notice
The Holiday Act states that an employer must give notice of summer holidays at least two months before the employee's holiday period begins. However, there are no rules on when an employee must give notice of the desired vacation period.
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