Annual leave 

Terms and conditions of annual leave for central government employees are provided in a collective agreement. In addition, the Annual Holidays Act applies to the holidays of public officials and government employees. 

Annual leave entitlement is determined by the earnings principle 

A full holiday credit month refers to a calendar month of the holiday credit year during which a public official has been in office for at least 18 days or an employee has been employed for at least 14 days. In some cases, it is sufficient that the public official or employee has been working for a minimum of 35 hours in accordance with his or her employment relationship. 

If the employment relationship lasts for less than one year, the employee earns 2 days of leave per a month, i.e. up to 22 days during the holiday credit year. Those who have served for at least one year but for less than 15 years earn up to 30 days of leave. Those who have served for at least 15 years may earn up to 38 days of leave during the holiday credit year. 

Day of leave is always a weekday 

Days of leave may only include weekdays. Holidays are usually taken during the Finnish holiday period from 1 June to 30 September. However, holidays may also be taken during the rest of the holiday year or before the end of April of the following year. While government agencies may flexibly agree on the timing of their annual holidays, they have to comply with certain minimum conditions laid down in the collective agreement on annual holidays for government employees. Public officials and employees may also postpone a part of their annual leave to be taken later. Under certain conditions, annual leave may also be postponed due to incapacity for work. Annual holidays must be planned in advance and organised in such a way that they cause as little inconvenience as possible to the agency's normal functioning. 

Holiday pay and holiday bonus  

Public officials and employees are entitled to their normal pay during their annual leave, unless holiday pay is determined on a percentage basis. Persons whose working hours and pay have changed during the holiday credit year are paid percentage-based holiday pay. Depending on the length of employment, holiday pay is then either 9.0%, 11.5% or 14.5% of the person’s pay for the normal working hours during the holiday credit year. 

Under the collective agreement, public officials and employees are also paid holiday bonuses equal to 4%, 5% or 6% of their monthly pay for the month preceding the month in which the holiday bonus is paid, multiplied by the number of full holiday credit months. The percentage is calculated on the basis of the length of employment in the same way as the number of annual leave days mentioned above. 

Basic concepts 

The holiday credit year begins on 1 April and ends on 31 March. A day of leave is always a weekday. Weekdays do not include Saturdays, Sundays, Independence Day, Christmas Eve, Midsummer Eve, Easter Saturday or First of May. 

Carried-over holiday entitlement, or saved leave, means the days of leave to be taken later, during the next holiday year. 

Contact information

Risto Lerssi
Senior Ministerial Adviser 
Tel. +358 295 530 022
[email protected]