Understand Your Extra Holiday Entitlement Days and Vacation Bonus

Vacation bonus – how and when you receive it

If you earn paid holiday, you’re also entitled to a vacation bonus of at least 1% of your holiday-qualifying salary. This is paid out twice a year:

• May salary: Bonus for the period from 1 September to 31 May
• August salary: Bonus for the period from 1 June to 31 August

Some employees may be entitled to a higher vacation bonus through a collective agreement or personal contract.
Check your employment terms to know exactly what you're entitled to.

Extra holiday entitlement days – what applies to you?

Extra holiday entitlement days, also known as the sixth week of vacation, are not part of the official Holiday Act.
Whether you’re entitled depends on your agreement with your employer—through a contract or a collective agreement.

If you work in the private sector

Your employer defines the framework for extra holiday entitlement days. Most use one of these two models:

Model 1:

• You receive 5 extra holiday entitlement days per calendar year, separate from the holiday year.
• The days typically follow company-specific rules and continue unchanged from year to year.

Model 2:

• You earn and use 5 extra holiday days in accordance with the same rules as the Holiday Act.
• This could mean they follow the same earning period and use rules as your other vacation days.

If you work in the public sector

Special rules apply to the sixth week of vacation (referred to as special vacation days):

• Days are earned during the calendar year before use.
• Must be used between 1 May and 30 April of the following year.

As a public sector employee, you need to keep track of two systems:

• The new Holiday Act for regular vacation
• Previous rules for special vacation days (extra holiday entitlement days)

Need help?

Do you want to be sure about how extra holiday entitlement days apply to your job?