Holiday Planning: How to prepare for your employee’s annual leave

Efficient holiday planning is a crucial responsibility for employers in Denmark. You must strike a balance between ensuring smooth business operations and complying with the rules of the Danish Holiday Act (Ferieloven) regarding how holidays are granted and how notice must be given. This blog post outlines the key elements of the Danish Holiday Act to give you the best possible foundation for planning your employees’ annual leave.

What is holiday planning? 

The Danish Holiday Act sets specific requirements for how and when you, as an employer in Denmark, must inform your employees about their holidays. Your role includes ensuring a fair distribution of holiday periods among staff, while maintaining operational efficiency. 

Ideally, you and your employees will agree on when holidays are taken. However, if agreement can't be reached—for instance, if multiple employees request the same period—it is ultimately your decision as the employer to allocate holiday periods. Nevertheless, you must follow the statutory notice periods set out in Danish law.

The Danish Holiday Act – key points 

Below is a summary of the most important rules from the Danish Holiday Act that you should be aware of when planning employee holidays: 

• The holiday period runs over 16 months—from 1 September to 31 December the following year. 
• Employees are entitled to five weeks of holiday, of which four weeks must be taken within the current holiday year (1 September to 31 August). 
• Employers may implement collective holiday closures. 
• If an employee has worked throughout the previous holiday year leading up to a closure, you must ensure they have sufficient accrued leave. If not, you must offer advance holiday. 
• Employees may take holiday in advance, which is then offset during the next accrual period. 
• As a general rule, agreed holidays cannot be changed, unless exceptional business circumstances make it necessary. 
• You must comply with the notice periods mandated by Danish legislation (see below).

Notifying employees of their holiday 

As an employer in Denmark, you determine when and how holidays are scheduled. Your first priority is your company’s operational needs, but you are also expected to consider employees’ preferences—for example, requests from parents with school-aged children during the summer break. 

Notice requirements in Denmark 

• Main holiday (3 weeks) must be notified at least 3 months in advance and must be taken between 1 May and 30 September. 
• Remaining holiday (2 weeks) must be notified at least 1 month in advance and taken before the end of the holiday period. 
• Employees are entitled to three consecutive weeks of main holiday, though they may agree to deviate from this. However, they must always receive at least 10 consecutive holiday days. 

Changing already agreed upon holiday 

Only in exceptional cases can agreed holiday be changed—and only if an extraordinary situation arises that would cause significant disruption to the company’s operations. 

Under Section 15 of the Danish Holiday Act, the notice periods may be waived in cases of force majeure. A legal assessment is usually required to determine if this applies. In such instances, an employer may reschedule an employee’s planned leave. 

Importantly, employers must cover any financial losses incurred by employees if agreed holiday is altered or postponed. Once a holiday has started, it cannot be interrupted. 

Collective holiday shutdowns in Denmark 

If your company enforces a collective holiday closure, you are still required to adhere to the proper notice rules. Failure to do so means employees are entitled to paid leave during the closure—without it being deducted from their holiday allowance. 

Be sure to incorporate the closure into your overall planning.

Employees’ right to holiday in Denmark 

All employees in Denmark are entitled to five weeks of annual leave, regardless of whether they have earned paid leave. This includes employees new to the workforce or those who have changed jobs with a significant change in salary. 

If paid holiday has not been accrued, employees are generally not required to take leave—unless your company is shut. In that case, you may require them to use their holiday entitlement. 

You should also verify whether employees are subject to a collective agreement or local employment contract that may include additional holiday entitlements beyond the statutory minimum. 

Prepare yourself – understand the rules for changing agreed holiday 

Even with early planning, unforeseen circumstances may require changes to planned leave - due to illness or urgent business needs. 

The general rule in Denmark is that agreed leave cannot be changed, even if done within the notice period, unless exceptional circumstances are involved that were impossible to predict. 

A more common reason for changing leave is when an employee becomes ill before or during their holiday, potentially entitling them to replacement leave. 

Stay compliant with Danish law 

Your employees may be subject to different terms based on contracts or collective agreements. While the Danish Holiday Act sets the national standard, some employees may be entitled to more favourable holiday conditions, which must also be observed. 

Need advice? 

Do you need assistance with holiday planning or have questions about Danish employment law? We’re here to help—whether it’s daily HR challenges or complex legal matters. 

Read more here about how we can support you