Annual leave in Finland: why your holiday balance does not grow month by month

🇫🇮 FI · work · 2026-09-29

Translating to Spanish. Showing the English original for now.

In Finland you earn annual holiday in one period and take most of it in another. Accrual is counted over the holiday credit year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March, and the main part of the holiday is taken in the holiday season from 2 May to 30 September. So if you started a job in March, that single month belongs to the credit year that ended on 31 March and gives you your first 2 days. Everything you earn from April onward belongs to the new credit year, and it normally becomes holiday you take in the next holiday season. A balance that shows only 2 days after six months of work can be exactly what the Annual Holidays Act describes.

The holiday credit year, step by step

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (tyosuojelu.fi) states the rule directly: the accrual of holiday days is calculated on the basis of the holiday credit year, from 1 April to 31 March. Holiday is not added to a running monthly total that you can spend right away. It is counted for the whole credit year and then granted.

Here is how that plays out for someone who starts work in March 2026:

March 2026 is the last month of the credit year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. If it is a full holiday credit month, it gives 2 days.
April 2026 to March 2027 is the next credit year. Each full month in it adds days, but they are days for the holiday season that starts on 2 May 2027.
The summer after you start, you can take the days from step 1. The large block of holiday comes one summer later.

How many days you earn per month

The number depends on how long the employment has lasted on 31 March:

2 weekdays per full holiday credit month if the employment has lasted less than a year on 31 March.
2.5 weekdays per full holiday credit month if it has lasted at least a year on 31 March.
If the employment started on 1 April or the first working day in April, you earn 2.5 days per month already in the first year.
Half days are always rounded up.

A month counts as a full holiday credit month if you work at least 14 days in it. If your contract gives you fewer than 14 working days a month, the 35 hour rule applies instead: a month counts when you have at least 35 hours of work in it.

Some absences count as time at work for accrual, for example illness, an accident, medical rehabilitation, lay-offs and certain family leave. Several fixed-term contracts back to back, or separated only by short breaks, count as one continuous employment for holiday purposes. A collective agreement can give you a longer holiday than the Act requires.

Holiday days are counted in weekdays, and the Act defines weekdays as Monday to Saturday. Sundays, church holidays, Independence Day, Christmas Eve, Midsummer Eve, Easter Saturday and May Day are not counted. So a full credit year at 2 days a month gives 24 days, which is four weeks, and a full year at 2.5 days gives 30 days, which is five weeks. Some collective agreements count only Monday to Friday, so check yours. See how to find your collective agreement.

When you can take the holiday

Your employer decides the timing, but must first ask for your view and take it into account as far as possible. The timing must be announced at least one month before the holiday starts, or at least two weeks before if one month is not possible.

Summer holiday. 24 days must be granted in the holiday season, 2 May to 30 September, as one uninterrupted period. If splitting is essential for the work, at least 12 days must still be one uninterrupted period.
Winter holiday. The days above 24 are granted between 1 October and 30 April, before the next holiday season starts.
Earlier by agreement. You and your employer can agree in writing that the holiday is taken from the beginning of the calendar year that contains the holiday season.
Saving days. At least 18 days must be taken in the relevant holiday season. The days above that can be postponed or saved by agreement.

Holiday pay and the holiday bonus

During annual holiday you are paid at least your regular or average pay. This is holiday pay. It must be paid before the holiday starts, except that for a holiday of six days or less it can be paid on the normal payday.

If you are paid by the hour and fall under the 35 hour rule, holiday pay is calculated as a percentage of what you earned: 9 percent if the employment had lasted less than a year at the end of the previous credit year, 11.5 percent if it had lasted at least a year. A collective agreement can set a different percentage.

The holiday bonus, sometimes called end of holiday pay, is not based on the Annual Holidays Act. It comes from collective agreements, for example 50 percent of holiday pay, and is usually paid with the summer holiday.

Your employer must give you a holiday payslip that shows the amount and how it was calculated. Unpaid holiday pay or holiday compensation expires two years after the end of the calendar year in which it should have been paid.

When an employment relationship ends, you are entitled to holiday compensation for holiday days you have not taken and not been paid for. If you worked in Norway, see holiday pay when a Norwegian job ends.

Part-time work below 14 days or 35 hours

If you work less than 14 days or less than 35 hours in a calendar month, you do not earn annual holiday for that month. You earn free time instead: 2 weekdays for each calendar month the employment is in force. The free time is unpaid, but you receive holiday compensation, 9 percent of your pay, or 11.5 percent if the employment had lasted at least a year at the end of the credit year. The compensation is paid with the free time or at the latest when the holiday season ends on 30 September.

FAQ

Why does my holiday balance show only 2 days after six months?

Because days earned from April onward belong to the current credit year (1 April to 31 March) and are mainly taken in the next holiday season. A March start gives 2 days in the old credit year. Ask your employer whether days you are earning now appear as a separate figure.

Do I earn 2 or 2.5 days per month?

2 days if the employment has lasted less than a year on 31 March, otherwise 2.5 days. A start on 1 April earns 2.5 days from the first month.

Does Saturday count as a holiday day?

Under the Act, yes: weekdays are Monday to Saturday. Some collective agreements count Monday to Friday instead.

Can I take holiday before the summer?

The main 24 days are granted from 2 May to 30 September. You can agree in writing with your employer to take holiday from the beginning of that calendar year.

Is the holiday bonus guaranteed by law?

No. The holiday bonus is not based on the Annual Holidays Act. It comes from a collective agreement, so it depends on the agreement that covers your job.

What happens to unused holiday if I leave the job?

You receive holiday compensation for holiday days you have not taken or been paid for.

I work part time. Do I earn holiday?

Yes, for each month with at least 14 days or 35 hours of work. Below both limits you earn unpaid free time and holiday compensation.

How Jobsy fits

We build Jobsy, a job search service for Europe that searches for you: you say what work you want, and Jobsy finds employers and recruitment agencies, including in Finland, and prepares outreach in the language of the recipient. It does not calculate holiday. For your own balance, the Annual Holidays Act, your collective agreement and your holiday payslip are the documents to check.

Sources

Sources: Tyosuojelu.fi (Occupational Safety and Health Administration): Annual holidays · Tyosuojelu.fi: Number of holiday days · Tyosuojelu.fi: Timing of the holiday · Tyosuojelu.fi: Holiday pay and holiday compensation · Tyosuojelu.fi: Free time from part-time work · Finlex: Annual Holidays Act 162/2005, unofficial English translation