Annual Leave Act (Sweden)

Semesterlagen (Annual Leave Act)

Vacation entitlement is regulated by the Annual Leave Act, which distinguishes between unpaid and paid vacation, and between a “vacation year” (1 April to 31 March) and a “qualifying year” (the 12-month period prior to the vacation year). An employee earns his or her entitlement to paid vacation during the qualifying year and is entitled to use his or her paid vacation during the vacation year.

The basic vacation entitlement is 25 paid days per year. Collective bargaining agreements or employment agreements normally contain rules entitling employees to a longer period of annual leave, in particular for white-collar employees not entitled to overtime pay.

Employees are entitled to take a continuous four-week vacation during the period June to August, unless there are circumstances justifying other arrangements. Employees who have been given a notice of termination of less than six months cannot be required to take their vacation entitlement during the notice period, unless they agree to do so. Furthermore, it is possible for employees to carry over their entitlement to paid, but not unpaid, vacation days to the next vacation year, but only if the employee has earned more than 20 days of paid vacation, and only for those days that exceed 20 days. Deviations from certain regulations in the Annual Leave Act can be made by collective bargaining agreement.