Vacation pay for employees on a fixed salary – same-pay rule
If the employee has a fixed salary calculated per month or week, you may use the same-pay rule to calculate vacation pay.
According to the same-pay rule, vacation pay consists of the current weekly or monthly pay, any fixed pay supplements (shift allowance, on-call allowance, etc.) and a vacation supplement.
Vacation supplement
The vacation supplement per day is 0.43 percent of the monthly salary for employees with a monthly salary.
For those paid weekly, the supplement 1.82 percent of the weekly salary per day.
The vacation supplement is calculated using different percentages to ensure the holiday supplement is as equal as possible, regardless of whether you pay your employee weekly or monthly.
Example calculation using the same-pay rule
Monthly salary SEK 20,000
Vacation supplement 20,000 x 0.0043 (0.43%) = SEK 86/annual leave day in addition to the regular salary.
Weekly salary SEK 4,725
Vacation supplement 4,725 x 0.0182 (1.82%) = SEK 86/annual leave day in addition to the regular salary.
Exceptions to the same-pay rule
In some cases, the same-pay rule may not be applied and the percentage rule must instead be used.
This applies if the employee
- does not have a weekly or monthly salary (e.g. hourly wages or biweekly salary)
- have a salary which regularly consists of a fixed and a variable component and the variable component can be estimated as at least 10 percent of the total salary during the annual leave year
- has worked a varying employment rate (compared to full-time) during the qualifying year
- has an employment rate (compared to full-time) that changed between the qualifying year and the annual leave year
- has absence that is not credited for the purposes of vacation pay.
How to calculate vacation pay using the percentage rule
Commission and overtime pay
If the employee has variable pay components, such as commission or overtime pay, these components should be calculated at 12 percent (for 25 days of annual leave).
The calculation is made on the total variable pay components paid during the annual leave year. Payment of the variable holiday pay must be made no later than one month after the end of the annual leave year.
This means that, in the vast majority of cases, vacation pay for variable pay components is not paid in conjunction with the main annual leave, unlike normal vacation pay, which is paid when the annual leave days are taken.
Example of pay
With commission and compensation for unsocial working hours
Sixten has a monthly salary of SEK 25,000. In addition to his monthly salary, he receives commission and compensation for unsocial working hours. The variable compensation amounted to SEK 10,000 during the annual leave year.
During his annual leave, Sixten keeps his regular monthly salary. For each paid annual leave day, he receives a vacation supplement of SEK 107.50 (0.43% of SEK 25,000).
The holiday pay for the variable compensation amounts to SEK 1,200 (12% of SEK 10,000). The vacation pay for the variable compensation is paid within one month of the end of the annual leave year.
The variable pay components may not exceed 10 percent of the total salary. If they make up a larger component of the salary, you must use the percentage rule. This is because the employee would otherwise risk receiving a much lower salary during the holiday than when they are working.
With commission component over 10%
Ahmed has a monthly salary of SEK 10,000 and a variable commission pay that is normally between SEK 15,000 and 20,000 per month.
As the commission pay regularly consists of variable pay that amounts to more than 10% of the total pay during the annual leave year, Ahmed's vacation pay must be calculated according to the percentage rule.