Annual leave

Content on this page:

• The aim of annual leave
• Number of days of annual leave
• Apply for leave
• Annual leave for teaching staff
• Annual leave for doctoral students

The aim of annual leave

The aim of annual leave is for employees to have leisure time for rest and recreation. The Annual Leave Act states three benefits: annual leave, holiday pay and compensation in lieu of annual leave.

Number of days of annual leave

Pursuant to the Annual Leave Act, employees are entitled to at least 25 days of annual leave per year, but as a public sector employee, through collective agreements, you have more than 25 days of annual leave as well as being entitled to paid annual leave as of your first year of employment, as the annual leave year coincides with the calendar year. In order to take out full paid annual leave, you must have been employed for the whole year. Remember that you can only take leave for whole days.

The number of days of annual leave you have is determined by your age:

• 28 days up to and including the year you turn 29.
• 31 days from the year you turn 30.
• 35 days from the year you turn 40.

Your manager will, as far as possible, plan so you can take your leave in a single block between June and August. This is often referred to as your main annual leave.

The year’s entire annual leave is primarily to be used during the year in question, but if you are entitled to more than 20 days of paid leave, you may choose to save one or several of the additional days for a subsequent calendar year. You must always use at least 20 days out of the year’s quota of leave during the year in question. 

The aim of allowing employees to save days of annual leave is to enable them to take a longer period of leave in a subsequent year. At most, you can save 30 days of leave. If you wish to take saved days of annual leave in connection with your main holiday, you are to apply for this when planning annual leave for the year. If you have more than 30 saved days of annual leave on 31 December, the excess days will be paid with the April salary of the following year.

During your annual leave you will receive a leave allowance in addition to your ordinary salary. If you take out a whole month of annual leave you will receive an annual leave allowance of approximately 10 per cent of your monthly salary.

Bear in mind that if you leave your employment (before the end of the year) you will not have accrued the total number of days of annual leave for that year. Therefore, if you have taken more paid leave than what you have accrued, there will be a commensurate salary deduction. In order to calculate how many days you will have accrued, divide the number of days of employment by 365 (366 in a leap year) and multiply the result by the number of days of annual leave you would be entitled to for a full calendar year’s work. Also remember that absence may limit the number of paid days of annual leave to which you are entitled.

Apply for leave

The basis of the Holiday Act is that holiday leave (main holiday) must, unless there are special reasons, be arranged so that the employee has a leave period of at least four weeks from June to August.

Apply for annual leave in good time, following the procedures in place at your workplace. Also, remember to apply for any parental leave well in advance of main annual leave.  

Even when you wish to take saved days of annual leave in connection with your main holiday, it is important to discuss this with your manager and apply for the leave well in advance. An extended period of leave may need to be planned differently to only a few days and the earlier you talk to your manager the greater the chance of having your request approved.

Your annual leave for the year must be taken before you can request to use your saved days.

Apply for annual leave in Primula

Annual leave for teaching staff

Annual leave for teaching staff is ordinarily scheduled during student holidays or other non-teaching periods. At Lund University, the scheduling of annual leave is regulated by a local agreement on working hours for teaching staff (available to download in the right-hand column). The main rule in the agreement is that all annual leave is to be scheduled automatically from the Monday after Midsummer unless the head of department and the individual member of teaching staff have agreed on a special arrangement for all or part of the annual leave, which you can read more about below. 

You can find the definition of teaching staff in the Lund University Appointment Rules (soon available to download in the right-hand column).

Annual leave in accordance with the main rule in the agreement on working hours for teaching staff

According to the main rule, all annual leave is scheduled automatically from the Monday after Midsummer. As a member of teaching staff, this means you take all your annual leave at once and you do not need to apply for annual leave. Your leave is registered in Primula by the National Government Service Centre (SSC).

Annual leave according to an agreement with the head of department/equivalent

If you wish to take annual leave at another time, you must inform your head of department/equivalent no later than ten working days before your intended annual leave period, and by 30 April at the latest. At this time, you and your head of department/equivalent must plan your annual leave for the whole year.  

A written agreement is then created in the form of your application for annual leave for the whole year in Primula and your head of department’s/equivalent’s approval of your application for leave. Applications must include all your accumulated annual leave for the year and must be approved in Primula by 31 May at the latest.  

Apply for annual leave in Primula 

Special agreements on annual leave before Midsummer 

If you have reached an agreement with your head of department/equivalent and applied for annual leave according to the above, and the agreement only concerns days of annual leave to be taken before Midsummer, the remaining annual leave will automatically be scheduled in accordance with the main rule in the agreement on working hours, i.e., any remaining annual leave will automatically be scheduled from the Monday after Midsummer.

You do not have to apply for annual leave for the remaining days, as this will be registered by SSC in Primula.

Saving annual leave

If you would like to save annual leave, the same procedure applies as for annual leave in accordance with an agreement with the head of department/equivalent as above, i.e., you must inform the head of department/equivalent at least ten working days before your intended annual leave period, and by 30 April at the latest. Planning of annual leave for the whole year is to be carried out at this time and a written agreement is created in the form of an approved annual leave application.

You apply for this annual leave yourself in Primula. Your application is to specify the days you would like to take as annual leave in the current year and must be approved in Primula by 31 May at the latest.

You must meet the following criteria to be able to save annual leave:

• there is an approved annual leave application for a minimum of 20 days of annual leave in Primula by 31 May at the latest. Only days in addition to these may be saved.
• the total number of saved days after the annual leave application for the year does not exceed 30 days. In total, a maximum of 30 annual leave days may be saved.
• the annual working hours in your duties plan for the current year increase by the number of hours corresponding to the saved days. For each day of annual leave not taken, the annual working hours increase by eight hours and, correspondingly, the annual working hours decrease in the year the saved annual leave is taken.

To document that the criteria for saved annual leave have been met and how many days you intend to save for a subsequent year, you and your head of department/equivalent must complete and sign the form below.

Template for documenting saved annual leave (fillable PDF 206 kB, new tab) 

Annual leave for doctoral students

As for other employees, the basic principle is that the entire annual leave must be taken unless there are special reasons not to do so, or you choose to save part of it. You must take out at least 20 days of annual leave during the year. Both from a work environment perspective and from an operational perspective, doctoral students should take their annual leave preferably after Midsummer, when annual leave is ordinarily scheduled for teaching staff.

As a doctoral student, you apply for annual leave in accordance with the procedures in place at your workplace.

Remember to talk to your manager before applying for leave.

Apply for annual leave in Primula