Calculating vacation pay in Estonia, Sweden, Finland, UK, Latvia, Lithuania

Asking about paid vacation during negotiations

Once you’ve received a job offer, you can enter the negotiation phase. This is an appropriate time to ask about the employer’s paid vacation policies or negotiate for more vacation time than they are offering you. Here are a few tips to help guide you when asking about paid vacations:

Be open to their response

Keep in mind that hiring managers are not always able to negotiate for more benefits. It could be that all employees with your job title must earn the same amount or that additional time will not work with their schedule. Being understanding of their answer should show your prospective supervisor that you are flexible and dedicated to working with them.

Can my employer decide when and how i can take my vacation time?

Your employer can control when and how you take your vacation time. Employers with peak and slow business times might restrict you from taking time off during periods when business is heaviest. They can also require you to provide a certain amount of advance notice when requesting to use vacation time.

If many other employees request vacations at the same time, your organization may ask you to take time off at another date. Finally, your employer can require you to use accrued vacation time for any time you miss from work, such as for sick days or a personal matter.

Example 1

If you have four weeks of vacation at your current job and your job offer only includes two weeks of paid vacation, you can ask the employer to match what you already have: 

“I am excited about this job opportunity and look forward to joining your team. I have some concerns about your paid vacation policy. My current job gives me four weeks of vacation per year which has been extremely important since I’ve recently started a family. Can you match my current employer by offering four weeks of paid vacation?”

Example 2

If you have stated your salary expectations are higher than what the employer is offering you, you can use the reduced salary to negotiate additional vacation time:

“I appreciate your offer and I am excited about joining your team. I was hoping that the salary would be higher, but I am happy to accept it if you can add five days of paid vacation to the original offer.”

Examples of discussing vacation pay

Here are some examples of how to discuss vacation pay in the hiring process:

How does vacation pay work?

Employees typically acquire paid vacation time based on the amount of time they have worked. For example, if you are eligible for two weeks of paid vacation time each year and are on a bi-weekly pay schedule, you will accrue around 3.08 hours of vacation time for each pay period.

Some employers apply all 10 vacation days to your time-off bank at the same time, while others will only add vacation time into your time-off bank as you earn it. Your employer should have set guidelines that identify whether you must earn accrued vacation time before you can take time off.

Is paid vacation required by law?

Employers are not required to pay their employees paid vacation time. However, most companies offer vacation pay to be competitive in recruiting, increase employee morale and minimize turnover rates. Employees in larger-sized companies may be more likely to receive paid vacation time since there are more people available to take up any additional responsibilities during another’s absence. State requirements typically relate to how the employer distributes vacation pay, not whether they must offer it.

Related:

Let them know you want the position

This tells the employer you are open to their offer and willing to reach a compromise regarding compensation and benefits.

Lithuania

In Lithuania, the number of vacation days depends on the number of working days per week. Employees who work five days a week are granted at least 20 workdays of vacation per calendar year. If a person works six days a week, he/she is granted at least 24 workdays of annual leave per calendar year.

However, employment contracts, collective agreements, and labor law norms may provide a longer annual leave.

Long-term employment at one company will give the employees additional vacation days per calendar year. Working more than 10 years in one company will grant the employee three additional vacation days. Each subsequent five years will give another extra vacation day per calendar year.

The vacation pay is calculated based on the average salary of the last three months.

The annual leave must be used up over three years after the ending of the calendar year when the vacation days were acquired. Otherwise, the right to take out the vacation or receive cash compensation for it will be lost. The exception to this rule only applies if the employee was not able to take out the vacation days during the three years due to unexpected circumstances.

Replacement of annual leave with cash compensation is usually prohibited, except at the end of the employment relationship when the employee is compensated for all or part of the unused annual leave. The compensation is paid for a maximum of three calendar years when the annual leave was acquired.

Make your concerns about paid vacation known

This is a signal to the employer that they should negotiate for you to accept their offer. 

Make your reasons clear

Knowing why additional vacation time is important to you can help them consider your position and whether they can accommodate you. 

Vacation pay – русский перевод – словарь linguee

Vacation pay after termination

States also vary on whether or not an employer must pay out accrued, unused paid vacation days upon termination of employment. This is a requirement in the following states: 

Many states that do not require payout of this time require the employer to establish policies or contracts governing whether they will pay out vacation time upon separation. Some employers establish these policies even when state requirements do not cover such payout.

Related:

What does vacation pay consist of in sweden?

• Your vacation pay will usually consist of your ordinary monthly salary, bonuses, commission fees, and additional variable pays.
• Vacation pay is subject to standard income tax and employer social fee contribution rules.

What is vacation pay?

Vacation pay is the compensation you receive while taking time off work. It is important to understand the difference between vacation time and paid vacation because an employer may not always compensate you during your time off. In this case, the vacation time is part of your benefits package, but not part of your compensation package.

What states require employers to pay for unused vacation time?

The rules employers must follow regarding unused vacation time vary by state. Some states recognize vacation pay as wages and thus require payment of unused vacation time. Some states only recognize vacation pay as wages when the employer has established policies or precedents of paying their employees for this time. States that have requirements addressing vacation pay include:

Companies may have specific guidelines about how many days you can roll over from one year to the next.