Holidays and holiday allowance
Wage earners are entitled to holidays and holiday allowance. Holidays and holiday allowance is, on the one hand, the right to have holidays/a summer holiday, and, on the other, the right to wages during the holiday, holiday allowance.
Number of holidays
Employees earn at least two days of holiday for each month of employment during the holiday year, which runs from 1 May to 30 April. The minimum holiday entitlement is therefore 24 days a year, based on full-time job ratio.
The number of holidays increases with age for public sector employees, while the increase is based on length of service in the labour market. Arrangements differ between collective wage agreements.
Employees are entitled to take their entire holiday allowance in one go during the period between 2 May-15 September, unless otherwise provided for in collective wage agreements. Decisions concerning holidays, however, must always be made in consultation with the employer and take the nature of the operation into account
The employer may negotiate with the employee for the employee to use his/her holidays outside this period.
Employees may be entitled to the full number of holidays, even if they have not earned the corresponding right to receive wages while on holiday. This can, for example, apply to those who have taken parental leave during the holiday year and those who have changed employer.
Holiday allowance
Holiday allowance is intended to ensure that wage earners are not without income during the summer holidays. They are an addition to monthly wage payments, and taxes and fees are paid on them, as with other wages.
Holiday allowance is calculated at each payment of wages and is at least 10.17% of the total wages. This proportion may be higher according to some collective wage agreements.
Holiday allowance can be paid either at the beginning of the holiday period or during the holiday taking, in which case it is paid at the same time as wages are usually paid. The latter is a common arrangement for people who are paid on a monthly basis.
When an employee leaves employment, the employer shall calculate earned holiday allowance and pay this amount.