How You Earn Your Vacation

What the holiday act means for you

Under the new rules, you accrue holiday days continuously. That gives you more flexibility—but also a bit more to keep track of.

• You earn 2.08 paid holiday days each month
• That adds up to 5 weeks of holiday per holiday year
• The holiday year runs from 1 September to 31 August
• You have 16 months to take your holiday, until 31 December the following year

How to plan your holiday

Danish holiday law allows you to take paid time off in advance, but only if it's part of a clear agreement with your employer. This is called “advance holiday” and must be formally approved.

You can also use unused holiday carried over from previous years.

If you resign before earning the holiday you’ve already taken, your employer can deduct the value from your salary.

Transition to the new holiday law

When the new law took effect, all holiday earned from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020 was frozen and transferred to the fund Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler.

You can only access this frozen holiday money in specific cases:

• When you reach retirement age
• If you leave the labour market
• Or in special cases—like during COVID-19 political agreements

Check your frozen holiday funds at borger.dk.

Your employer had to report your frozen holiday days by 31 December 2020. If you resign, they can still settle these funds via FerieKonto.

Are you prevented from taking holiday?

Sometimes, you’re entitled to holiday—but can’t take it. This is known as a holiday barrier, and it means your employer cannot require you to take holiday during that time.

Need to know what applies to you? We're here to help.

What counts as a holiday barrier?

A holiday barrier is a situation that makes it impossible for you to take time off as planned. This could be due to:

• Illness

• Parental leave

• Military service

If a holiday barrier applies, you have the right to postpone your holiday.

Sick during your holiday? here’s what to know

You can choose to take holiday while you’re on sick leave—but only if you report fit for work to your municipality before the holiday starts.

If you fall ill while on holiday, the following rules apply:

• You must notify your employer immediately

• You cover the cost of the first five sick days yourself

• After that, you may be entitled to replacement holiday for the remaining sick days

• You are responsible for the cost of documentation, such as a doctor’s note from abroad

Questions about your situation? Contact us—we’ll guide you through it.

Special holiday rules for pharmacy employees

Are you working in a pharmacy? Then you're covered by Pharmadanmark’s collective agreement.

That means:

• You earn holiday and holiday bonus days under the same-accrual principle
• You get a total of 2.5 holiday days per month

If you switch jobs and leave the pharmacy sector, you'll get the value of your earned holiday paid out. However, you cannot carry over the actual days or hours from your sixth week of holiday to a new employer. This right is non-transferable.

Need help with your holiday rights?

Want to make sure you understand your holiday entitlements?
We’re ready to help you make sense of it all.