Holiday

Holidays: Payment of frozen holiday pay

Do you have questions about the new Holiday Act and frozen holiday money? Here you can find the answers to a number of questions about the payout.

Why do I have frozen holiday pay?

If you were in employment in Denmark between 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020, you have earned holiday pay which is frozen in a special fund, Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler.

The reason is that in the period 1 January 2019 - 31 August 2020, we have had a transitional arrangement in connection with a new Holiday Act coming into force on 1 September 2020.

When can I apply for payout of the frozen holiday pay?

Due to the corona crisis, you were able to apply to have your frozen holiday pay paid out two times before 31 May 2021.
If you have not applied for a payout, you will receive the frozen holiday funds when you retire or leave the job market. 
The frozen holiday pay is paid out when you:
  • transfer to a national pension (folkepension)
  • leave the labour market to receive payment from a pension scheme financed by your employer
  • are granted early retirement pension (førtidspension) or senior pension 
  • are transferred to early retirement pay (efterløn)
  • are granted flexi-benefits (fleksydelse)
 

In other words, the condition is that you must have left the labour market permanently.  

Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler (the Employees' Holiday Fund) will automatically pay out your frozen holiday funds when you retire. You can, however, make a special agreement to postpone the payment until a later time. You will receive a letter from Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler 3 months prior to your retirement in which you will be informed of the opportunity to postpone the payout. 

If you leave the job market without getting retirement pension (folkepension), you must contact Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler to receive the payout of your frozen holiday funds.

 

 

Will my pension/public benefits be affected when I receive my frozen holiday pay when I leave the labour market?

Your savings with Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler do not affect the amount of your retirement pension (folkepension), early retirement (førtidspension) or seniority pension (seniorpension) you will receive.
 
There may be special rules in relation to other benefits and if you are in any doubt, you should contact the scheme that pays the benefit.

 

How is your frozen holiday pay calculated?

Your holiday pay is calculated from your salary incl. your possible pension contribution (employer's contribution must not be included), any benefits such as free telephone, free car, fixed allowances, bonus / commission, one-time allowance, overtime pay and similar salary shares that you receive in return for work performed.

Please note that the bonus is included based on when you earned the bonus and not based on when the amount was paid out.

If you have earned a bonus in the period 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020, which was not paid out until after the end of the period, the amount must be included in the basis for calculating your holiday pay. If you have received a bonus payment in the period earned before 1 September 2019, this amount must not be included.

Holiday supplements that you have received in the period 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020 must not be included.

Holidays taken during the period must also not be included in the calculation basis. The reason is that you are not entitled to holiday pay from paid holiday or holiday pay.

This means that the holiday you have taken must be deducted with a value of 4.8% of your monthly salary per. held holiday. 
 

Example:

Your monthly salary is DKK 40,000.00, and in October 2019 you took a 1-week autumn holiday.
This entails the following deductions:
  • 40,000.00 x 4.8% = DKK 1,920.00 x 5 days = DKK 9,600.00 
  • Salary for October, of which holiday pay must be calculated, amounts to: 40,000.00 - 9,600.00 = DKK 30,400.00.

 

How do I pay interest on frozen holiday pay?

If you have chosen not to have your frozen holiday pay paid out, you will receive an annual statement from Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler about your frozen holiday pay.
Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler is a fund, and the fund's investment returns or losses are distributed equally among all employees on 30 June.

Were you unemployed in the accumulation period?

If you have been without job in the period 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020, you do not have frozen holiday pay as holiday pay is only accrued when you are in employment.
 

Have you been on maternity leave?

If you have applied for payment of frozen holiday funds earned in the period 1 September 2019 - 31 March 2020, where you have also been on maternity leave during this period, the employer may have calculated holiday pay incorrectly.

Frozen holiday pay must be calculated from the full usual salary, even if you received partial pay during maternity leave or only the employer's pension contribution.

The reason is that you would have been entitled to full-paid holiday at the time you wanted to take the holiday, even though at the time of earning the holiday you only received partial pay.

The holiday pay must be calculated on the basis of the usual salary for the last 4 weeks before the commencement of leave with partial pay.

During the period of your leave where you only received maternity benefit, you have not earned holiday pay.

You have received a statement of your accrued holiday pay at the beginning of 2021, and if you can see from the statement that your employer has not calculated holiday pay from your usual full salary during your leave, you should bring the error to the attention of the Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler (borger.dk)

It is your employer who must correct the amount, and you must therefore contact your employer.

My employer has not reported my frozen holiday pay. What should I do?

If your employer has reported the wrong amount or has not reported your frozen holiday pay at all, you can file a complaint until 30 June 2025.
 
IDA can help you take legal action against your employer if you do not receive the holiday pay you are entitled to.
 
 

What happens to my frozen holiday pay if the company goes bankrupt?

Your employer could choose to pay your frozen holiday pay into the Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler or to administer the money themself.
 
If the employer manages the holiday money themself, it was also reported to the Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler by 31 December 2020.
 
Your frozen holiday pay is protected against the employer's bankruptcy, regardless of whether the employer has paid the amount into Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler or is managing your frozen holiday pay themself.
 
If the employer goes bankrupt, you can still get your money from Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler.

Read more

Visit borger.dk to read more about holiday pay.