In shift work, leave accrues by different rules and is used on working days, not the shifts planned. Here's how leave accrues, is taken and is used, in plain language.
Annual leave in everyday shift work
Annual leave is surprisingly tricky in shift work: it accrues by different rules and is used on working days, not the shifts planned. The items below are explained at a general level. The exact limits come from the Annual Holidays Act and the collective agreement, which we link to.
Leave accrues from full qualifying months
Annual leave accrues from months with enough work. A full qualifying month is met by either the 14-day or the 35-hour rule, and in shift work it helps to know which one applies. Exact conditions: Annual Holidays Act.
Leave days are working days, Saturday included
Annual leave is used in working days, and Saturday counts as one. So a week of leave uses six days. Sundays and public holidays are not used. See the Annual Holidays Act.
Leave timing is agreed and announced
The employer sets the timing within the law and consults the employee. Summer leave falls in the holiday season, and the timing must be announced well in advance. Exact rules: Työsuojelu.fi.
Holiday pay and the holiday bonus differ
Holiday pay is paid for the leave period. The holiday bonus (lomaraha) is a collective-agreement benefit, not statutory. The two are easily confused.
Falling sick during leave
If an employee falls sick during annual leave, the sick days can under certain conditions be moved to be taken later. The move requires a request and may include waiting days. Exact conditions: Annual Holidays Act.
Using leave in irregular shift work
When workdays vary, counting leave days doesn't always match the shifts worked. Leave is used on working days regardless of whether a shift was planned for them.
Planning leave in shift work
Summer leave is taken during the holiday season, 2 May to 30 September. With the employee’s consent it can be split, but at least 12 working days must be taken in one go. Collect leave requests early and mark confirmed leave on the roster before it is published, so staffing holds up during the holiday season too. The timing of leave is announced a month in advance if possible, and at the latest two weeks before it starts. See the Annual Holidays Act.
Public holidays during leave and on the roster
A public holiday on a weekday, such as Epiphany or Ascension Day, does not use up a leave day even when it falls in the middle of the leave. That is why a week of leave over Easter or Christmas uses fewer leave days than an ordinary week. How a public holiday affects working time depends on the collective agreement: under the MaRa agreement, for example, public holidays do not shorten the period’s working time; instead, annual free time accrues from hours worked. See the Annual Holidays Act.
Annual leave in numbers
2.5 days / month
How leave accrues
In an employment relationship that has lasted over a year, leave accrues at 2.5 days per full accrual month, i.e. 30 days a year. Under one year, the rate is 2 days a month.
6 days / week
How leave is used
A week of leave from Monday to Sunday uses six leave days, because Saturday counts as a leave day but Sunday does not. A four-week summer holiday therefore uses 24 days.
30 days = 5 weeks
The whole year's leave
A full 30-day annual leave covers five weeks off: typically four weeks in summer and one week in winter.
The examples follow the general rules of the Annual Holidays Act. A collective agreement may provide different, more favourable terms.
This guide explains things in general and is not legal advice. The exact rules, deadlines and sector differences are in the Annual Holidays Act and your sector's collective agreement.
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