Holiday

Time off on public holidays

Get an overview of when you have a legal right to take time off.

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Christmas and New Year's Eve

You are not legally entitled to take a holiday on 24 December and 31 December, as these are not public holidays. Therefore, you may have to spend holiday days to take time off, unless you are covered by an agreement or contract that gives you the right to take time off.  

Such an agreement will often appear in a personnel handbook or similar, but if you are still in doubt, you must ask your union representative or employer. 

1st and 2nd Christmas Day

Both 1st and 2nd Christmas Day as well as New Year's Day are public holidays where you do not have to take a holiday to take time off. 

Forced holiday between Christmas and New Year

Your employer has the right to notify you of the holiday closure between Christmas and New Year with 1 month's notice. If this happens, you need to be aware of how much holiday you have earned.

If you have earned the right to 15 days' holiday or more, your employer must ensure that you withhold the number of holiday days that correspond to the holidays between Christmas and New Year.

  • If your employer forgets to withhold these holidays, so that you have already been allowed to take all your holidays, you must be paid for the days during the Christmas closing.
  • If you have earned the right to 15 days' paid holiday or less, your employer can still give notice of Christmas closure, and then you must pay for the holiday yourself. You may be entitled to holiday pay from your unemployment insurance fund in return. Contact your unemployment insurance fund for further instructions.

May Day

You are not entitled to paid leave on 1 May, as it is not a public holiday. However, some companies are completely or partially closed on this day, without deducting employees' salaries. 

Constitution Day

You are not automatically entitled to paid leave on Constitution Day on 5 June, regardless of whether you are a private or public employee. It depends on whether it is stated in your employment contract, collective agreement, the company's personnel handbook or whether it is customary at your workplace.