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Accruing holiday
How much holiday is accrued?
All salaried staff members at Aalborg University accrue paid holiday regardless of their level of employment. For each month's employment during the holiday year (1 September to 31 August = 12 months), 2.08 days of holiday are continuously accrued, which equates to 25 days of holiday per holiday year. For employment in parts of a month, 0.07 days of holiday are accrued per calendar day, but not more than 2.08 days per month. The holidays are credited at the end of the month and may be taken in the following month. Staff members also have the option to take holiday in advance; read more under the section "Holiday in Advance".
At Statens HR you can see your current holiday balances, and the holiday calculator gives you an overview of how much holiday you will have accrued during the holiday year.
When is holiday accrued?
As a general rule, paid holiday is accrued when the staff member is employed. However, holiday is also accrued in certain cases of absence where full or partial salary is paid from AAU due to factors such as: sickness, maternity, taking holiday, child care days, child’s first and second sick days, etc. During unpaid leave, holiday is accrued during the first six months of the period of absence. However, it is a prerequisite that the staff member returns to work and takes the holiday before the end of the holiday period. No holiday is accrued during periods where staff members participate in strikes or lockouts.
Please note that special rules apply for hourly paid staff members.
Taking holiday
Holiday accrued may be taken during the holiday period from 1 September to 31 December of the following year (16 months). This means that the holiday period coincides with the holiday year (1 September to 31 August) plus an additional four months.
Staff members are always entitled to take five weeks of holiday during the holiday period, even if they are not entitled to paid holiday. Thus, staff members who have not accrued paid holiday may take holiday without pay, which means that the days of holiday taken will be deducted from their pay.
Rules for scheduling holiday:
The AAU management encourages all staff members to take their accrued holiday during the holiday year. Holiday planning is therefore based on advance scheduling, see Rules on Taking Holiday at Aalborg University. Holiday must be scheduled as early as possible; the management therefore sends a letter and a holiday request form to all staff members at the beginning of September. Staff members may request the time period for taking holiday.
Staff members should always remember to reserve three weeks of holiday for the summer holidays. The staff member should be aware that the last 2 x 2.08 holiday days will not be earned and ready to be taken until from 1 August and 1 September, respectively. When the days are reserved, the staff members can use the rest of your holidays and special holidays on your other holiday wishes.
If staff members do not submit their holiday request form, the management must notify the staff member about the holiday time period at least three months before the main holiday period begins. For other holiday, the notification is one-month. Holiday must be accrued at the time it is taken, but notification of holiday may take place before it is accrued. However, if a staff member is not entitled to paid holiday, the management may not notify the staff member to take holiday.
Changes to scheduled holiday can subsequently be agreed if the staff member so desires and the work allows it.
Holiday accrued is taken before holiday that is not accrued, and as a rule, holiday is taken in the order it is accrued. However, staff members have the option to take holiday accrued with the current employer before holiday accrued with a former employer. Holiday must be taken as full days. Therefore, holiday cannot be placed on days where the staff member is partially on sick leave, unless the staff member desires this.
Planning holiday:
The staff member is entitled to take at least three consecutive weeks of holiday in the main holiday period (1 May to 30 September). However, the management and the staff member may agree that the main holiday be split, but at least 10 days must be taken consecutively. The remaining 2 weeks of holiday (other holiday) may be taken at any time during the holiday period.
Staff members are required to take four weeks of holiday within the holiday year. The remaining week may be taken during the holiday period. However, the staff member and manager may agree on organising the holiday in another way.
Holiday in advance:
The Executive Management decided that AAU allows staff members and management to agree on up to 2.08 days in advance. This means that holiday accrued in the current month may be taken immediately, rather than waiting until the following month. If a staff member resigns before holiday is accrued, AAU is entitled to offset the holiday taken against the staff member's requirement of salary and holiday payment.
Carrying holiday forward
If a staff member has not had the opportunity to take all their holiday, it is possible to carry forward five days of holiday and special holidays together. Days of holiday must be taken in the holiday year to which they have been carried forward.
Requirements for carrying holiday forward:
- The staff member has accrued at least 20 days of paid holiday and/or holiday pay on a holiday certificate
- The holiday carried forward is holiday in excess of 20 days
- The agreement on carrying forward holiday must be made with the immediate superior before the end of the holiday period on 31 December
- The agreement on carrying forward holiday is made in writing on the HR Department form
- The agreement indicates specifically when the holiday carried forward is to be taken
Up to four weeks of accrued holiday that is not taken during the holiday period is forfeited, unless the staff member was prevented from taking holiday.
Example 1: A staff member has earned 22 days of holiday and has taken 17 days of holiday. Unused holidays under 20 days are lost, which equates to 3 days. However, it is possible to carry forward days beyond 20 days by agreement with your own manager, which equates to 2 days.
Example 2: A staff member has earned 10 days of holiday with a previous employer and 14 days of holiday at AAU. The staff member has taken 20 days of holiday. It is possible to carry forward days beyond 20 days by agreement with your own manager, which equates to 4 days.
Prevented from taking holiday
Several factors may prevent you from taking holiday. Typical examples of factors that prevent you from taking holiday are your own sickness and maternity leave, and leave for adoption. Thus, factors that prevent the taking of holiday are those that apply directly to the staff member. Factors that are not considered as prevent the taking of holiday are if a staff member has not taken holiday due to busyness, or if a staff member has been abroad for a period of time connected to employment at AAU.
Illness before the start of holiday:
If a staff member is sick at the beginning of the holiday, they are not obligated to start the holiday. Staff members must report sick in accordance with the general rules, and this must be done no later than when working hours begin on the first day of holiday.
Illness during holiday:
Staff members who fall ill after the start of their holiday are entitled to replacement holiday. It is the staff member’s own responsibility to apply for replacement holiday. In order to obtain replacement holiday, the following conditions must be met:
- On the first day of illness, the staff member must inform their employer of their illness. The staff member does so by informing the person who registers sickness at their department/unit as has been agreed at the place of employment. In case of doubt, staff members may contact their local HR service centre.
- Staff members must obtain medical documentation where the period indicated includes the first day of illness (and indication of the last day of illness if the staff member reports fit for work during the holiday). Staff members must bear the costs of the medical documentation, whether it is obtained in Denmark or from a doctor abroad. Such expenses are not refunded by AAU.
As a rule, staff members who are employed for the entire holiday year (1 September to 31 August) are entitled to replacement holiday after a total of five sick days (waiting days), i.e. a right to a maximum of four weeks' replacement holiday. If a staff member has not been employed for the entire holiday year, the number of waiting days will be reduced proportionately. This means that if a staff member joins or resigns during the holiday year, the management will have to adjust the number of replacement days the staff member is entitled to.
Reporting fit for work during holiday:
If a staff members recovers from an illness before the end of the planned holiday, they must, when reporting fit for work, inform their manager whether the remaining holiday will be taken or whether they intend to return to work. However, staff members are only entitled to take the remaining days of holiday already planned and not the replacement holiday. Thus, staff members are not entitled to take their postponed holiday as an extension of their recovery from illness.
Maternity:
Maternity and adoption leave are factors that prevent the taking of holiday. This applies to all maternity and adoption leave, whether covered by salary or maternity/paternity benefits. However, staff members are not prevented from taking holiday if the work has been partially resumed, since in these cases a staff member still has the option to their holiday.
Prevented from taking holiday at the end of the holiday period:
If, at the end of the holiday period, the staff member has been prevented from taking all or part of their holiday, up to 4 weeks of annually paid holiday is automatically carried forward to the subsequent holiday period. If the factor preventing holiday continues at the end of the subsequent holiday period (12 months later), the staff member and manager may agree on payment.
If, due to a factor preventing holiday, a staff member has not taken holiday beyond four weeks, the management must automatically pay this holiday after the end of the holiday period, unless the management and staff member agree that holiday is carried forward.
As a rule, the existence of a factor preventing holiday cannot be established until the end of the holiday period. If a staff member is prevented from taking holiday at the end of the main holiday period, the holiday must be taken in the remainder of the holiday period.
Payment for holiday
Staff members who have accrued paid holiday from AAU receive their salary plus special holiday pay of 1.5 per cent when they take holiday. The special holiday allowance is paid twice a year. Payment for the period 1 September to 31 May is due at the end of May, while special holiday payment for the period 1 June to 31 August is due at the end of August.
Staff members who have accrued holiday with a previous employer take unpaid leave, but are paid for holiday on a holiday card from the previous employment. Staff members who take days of holiday accrued on a holiday card or non-accrued days of holiday without pay will have these days deducted from their next salary payment.
If a staff member has a different employment rate at the time of the holiday than at the date of accrual, the salary during the holiday will be calculated based on the working hours/extent at the accrual date.
Payment of untaken holiday:
If a staff member has not taken all of their holiday by the end of the holiday period, holiday beyond four weeks is automatically paid to the staff member. If a staff member has carried forward holiday from a previous holiday year, this holiday will be included in the four weeks. Holiday carried forward due to having been prevented from taking holiday is not included in the calculation. Payment of holiday should only take place in cases where it will not be possible to take the holiday (e.g. maternity and sickness) or where there is an agreement with the manager.
Holiday in connection with resignation
If a staff member resigns, the general rules on early notification, scheduling and taking holiday apply. Holiday already scheduled for before the date of resignation is taken as planned. Holiday not taken by the staff member at the time of resignation will be settled and paid on a holiday card to FerieKonto. Holiday carried forward that was not agreed to be taken before the date of resignation will be paid upon resignation.
When a staff member leaves the labour market due to illness, age or because the employee leaves the country, the holiday is paid directly to the staff member. The staff member need only submit documentation to the HR department in a timely manner. However, the transition to early retirement does not mean that the staff member is considered to have left the labour market. Read more about the rules for transition to retirement and early retirement at borger.dk.
When staff members switch from one salaried position to another salaried position at AAU, the holiday entitlement follows the staff member to the new place of employment. Please note that the right to carry forward holiday, i.e. to take more than 25 days of holiday in a holiday year, lapses if the head of the new place of employment does not wish to uphold the former agreement concerning the carrying forward of holiday to the new place of employment. These days of holiday will instead be paid directly to the staff member.
Contact and responsibility
Do you have any questions please contract your local HR-servicecenter:
SUND og TECH: EST-ST-HR@adm.aau.dk
ENG: EST-EF-HR@adm.aau.dk
HUM og SAMF: HS-HR@adm.aau.dk
Fælles Service: FS-HR@adm.aau.dk
Owner of the document: Stine V. Holmstrøm HR-specialistcenter.