Did you know? Holiday bonus

Employers started paying holiday bonuses in the 1970’s, when they wanted to ensure that employees would come back to work after their holidays. This is why employees are still required to return to work immediately after their holidays and not hand in their notice at that time. There are some exceptions to this requirement to return, such as through parental or sick leave. It is also possible to make an exception with the employer’s permission.

In many cases, a holiday bonus is paid before the holiday. If an employee does not come back to work straight after the holiday as agreed, they may have to give the money back. The holiday bonus is 50% of the amount of annual holiday pay.

Were you aware of this collective agreement clause, sales assistant Ina Lill-Smeds?
Not really. I heard about it by chance last winter from my workmate, who was on maternity leave at the same time as me.

I went on child-care leave in the spring. In the early summer, I found out that I had been admitted to a programme to study to become an interior designer. I wondered whether I should hand in my notice. It was one alternative, because three-shift work at an ABC service station already felt hard with a young child.

However, I remembered what my workmate had said about holiday bonuses. I received my holiday bonus for the period of maternity leave in June. That’s why I called the shop steward, who advised me to come back to work after my child-care leave, at least for a little while, so that I would not have to pay back my holiday bonus. As it turned out, I didn’t resign in the end and I still work one or two weekends a month at a Sale village store belonging to the same Cooperative Society.

What did you do with your holiday bonus?
We renovated our one-year-old Alina’s room, among other things.