Holidays in the hotel, restaurant and leisure sector

Check the collective agreement for the hotel, restaurant and leisure industry for all information on annual holidays. You can also ask your own shop steward at work.

How is the length of your holiday defined?

You are entitled to a certain number of holidays for every full holiday credit month as follows:

You earn holidays for every full holiday credit month. A full holiday credit month is a calendar month under which

A. an employee has worked at least 14 days
B. an employee has worked at least 35 hours.

An employee earns his/her holidays either according to option A or B. In addition, periods equivalent to time at work, as defined in the Annual Holidays Act, accumulate the holiday period (e.g. certain parts of sick leave).     

You earn holidays according to option A, if you, according to you work contract, work at least 14 days a month for each calendar month. You earn holidays according to option B, if you work less than 14 days a month according to the work contract.  In option B, you are entitled to annual holidays, if you work at least 35 hours per month.

For example:According to your work contract, you work 2 days a week, which equals to 15 hours a week and 60 hours a month. You earn your holidays according to option B. By the end of March, your period of employment has lasted for over a year.  Your holiday entitlement is in this case 2.5 days/month. This equals to 30 holidays days (12 x 2.5 = 30).

Granting a holiday

An employee is entitled to take 24 days of his/her holiday in the summer between May 2 and September 30. The part of the holiday that exceeds 24 days is given between October 1 and April 30 as winter holiday. 

The employer decides the date of the holidays. Before the holiday dates are set, you should have the possibility to present your views on the dates of the holidays. 

Annual holiday pay

The employer is obliged to pay holiday pay for the working days that entitle to annual holiday. If you work so seldom or for such a short time that the conditions for accumulation of holidays aren't met, you have the right to receive holiday compensation, which is equal to the holiday pay. 

At the end of an employment relationship, you are entitled to holiday compensation instead of annual holiday pay for any annual holiday earned but not yet received. Check you collective agreement for more information on holiday pay and holiday compensation.

Annual holiday pay is paid before the start of the holiday. Alternatively, annual holiday pay can also be paid on a normal pay day, if you do not request the holiday pay to be paid before the start of the holiday.

Employees with monthly pay

If you have a monthly pay, the daily pay for the annual holiday is received by dividing the monthly pay by 25. This calculation is done by using the size of the monthly pay in the month when your holiday starts. The daily pay is multiplied by the number of earned holiday days. The annual holiday pay that is calculated on the basis of a basic monthly pay is balanced on the following pay day. If you have a monthly pay, a certain percentage of the night compensation, overtime compensation and assistant duty manager compensation paid during the credit year are added to your holiday pay: 

For example: You earn 1450 euros per month and your hourly bonuses during the holiday credit year are 500 euros (11.5%) You have earned 24 days of summer holidays and 6 days of winter holidays.

When the 24-day summer holiday starts, you are paid:

• The basic salary 1 450€: 25 × 24 = 1392€
• Bonuses equal to 11.5% × 500€ = 57,5€
• Summer holiday pay 1 392€ + (24 × 57.5€ : 30) = 1 438€

When the 6-day winter holiday starts, you are paid:

• The basic salary 1450€ : 25 x 6 = 348€
• Bonuses equal to 57.5€
• Winter holiday pay 348€ + (6 x 57.5€ : 30) = 359.5€

Employees with hourly pay

The holiday pay is defined according to your earnings during a holiday credit year. The percentage of your earnings that defines your holiday pay during the holiday credit year (April 1 - March 31) is 

• 9%, if you have been employed for less than a year at the end of the holiday credit period 
• 11.5%, if you have been employed for more than a year at the end of the holiday credit period.

Your holiday pay is a percentage of your earnings during a holiday credit year. Your holiday pay consists of:

A) the salary for the period of employment (excluding bonus for overtime work or emergency work) and
B) the following remuneration that is calculated on the basis of the periods of absence that accumulate your annual holidays: 

• for the period of sickness allowance, altogether max 75 working days 
• for the period in medical rehabilitation prescribed by a doctor for treating an occupational disease or an accident and aimed at restoring or maintaining ability to work; altogether max 75 working days
• for a period when you are not allowed to work due to an order issued by the authorities aimed at preventing a disease from spreading   
• for the period of maternity, special maternity, paternity or parental leave, temporary child care leave or absence for compelling family reasons 
• for the period of lay-offs: altogether max 30 working days at a time and 
• for the period of temporary absence or medical examination in accordance with the collective agreement.

If you work under 14 days but at least 35 hours a month, you are, in addition to the pay already received for the sick leave and rehabilitation, entitled to the calculated pay for altogether max 105 calendar days per holiday credit year and for the period of lay-off, for max 42 calendar days per lay-off. The calculated salary is defined according to your hourly pay on the start date of your absence and the average number of hours in an agreed 3-week period or, when it does not exist, according to the working times during 3 full 3-week periods before the start date of absence.   

For example:

A part-time worker has an hourly pay of 9 euros and a minimum working time of 50 hours/3 weeks. The holiday entitlement is 2.5 days x 12 months. By March 31, the employee's period of employment has lasted for over a year.

During a holiday credit year, the salary for the done work is 7500 euros. The employee has received sick pay for 4 weeks altogether for 600 euros. In addition, the employee has 7 unpaid sick days. The earnings for the holiday credit year are:

7 500€ + 600€ + 210€ (calculated salary for 7 unpaid sick days) = 8 310€

Holiday pay 8 310€ x 11.5% = 955.65€

Holiday bonus

Holiday bonus is 50% of the salary for the holiday period and it is paid in connection with the payment of the salary following the holiday. Check your collective agreement for exact information on the conditions for receiving the holiday bonus.

Moving annual holidays in the event of illness

(As of 1 May 2014:) If you fall sick during your annual holiday, the Annual Holidays Act entitles you to move the days of annual holiday that coincide with your period of incapacity for work to a later date.

As of 1 April 2016, the Annual Holidays Act was amended such that employees may become subject to a 6-day waiting period as specified in the Act. This is still being negotiated by the parties to the collective agreement.

As the 24-day annual holiday entitlement is protected under the European Union’s Working Time Directive, the waiting period does not apply to any annual holidays lasting less than 24 days. (For example, if you have earned a 26-day annual holiday entitlement during the holiday credit year, i.e. the period from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, your waiting period may not last more than 2 days.)

You are required to make a request to move your holidays without undue delay and, if requested, to submit a medical certificate covering your incapacity for work. After the period of incapacity, your holidays will continue as usual and you can take the moved holidays at a later date.

The timing of any moved holidays will be decided by your employer. The employer is required to inform you of the dates of your moved holidays two weeks before the start of the holidays or, if this is not possible, no later than one week before the start of the holidays.

The moved holidays must be granted, as far as possible, by the end of the holiday period (30 September 2016), however, no later than by the end of the calendar year (31 December 2016).

Any moved winter holidays must be granted by 31 December 2017 at the latest.