Annual holiday when your job is fixed-term

How are annual holiday days counted when the job is fixed-term?

The rules for counting annual holiday days are the same for a fixed-term worker as for other workers. Read more about counting annual holiday days. There is one exception.

If the fixed-term employment goes on for more than a year, and the holiday credit year (lomanmääräytymisvuosi) changes during the employment, the worker has the right to 2.5 annual holiday days starting from 1 April until the end of employment. The Finnish Supreme Court has given a decision on this.

Example: Employment had started on 1 July 1999 and ended on 7 August 2000. The Supreme Court ruled that the worker had the right to be compensated for 2.5 annual holiday days per each full working month during the second holiday credit year, which began on 1 April 2000. (KKO 2005:61. In Finnish)

Taking holiday during fixed-term employment

There is often no time to take annual holiday during short fixed-term employment, when the employment ends before the holiday credit year ends (on 31 March). If the employment ends before the holiday credit year ends, the company does not have to give the worker annual holiday, at least not in full. The company will pay the worker holiday compensation for the annual holiday days that the worker has not used.

An employer must treat all workers equally. You should not lose any rights just because you have a fixed-term job. Holiday times are given to all workers using the same system – for example, by rotating them or by giving everyone holiday at the time that they want. The same rules must be used for fixed-term workers.

The Annual Holidays Act allows people to agree to have their holiday early or outside the holiday season. If you have a fixed-term job, and you want to have a holiday, you can try to agree it with the company, even if you don’t have an absolute right to have the holiday.

Having several fixed-term contracts in a row

If you work for the same company and have several fixed-term contracts one after another, and the company pays you holiday compensation at the end of each contract, you still have the right to get free time that is like annual holiday, but you will not get paid during this free time.

Read more:

• You get annual holiday days for each month that you work
• Giving annual holiday, taking annual holiday, and deciding when the annual holiday is