Holiday planning

At DTU, it is expected that all accrued holidays and special days of holiday will be taken and that holidays will only be transferred in exceptional cases. Holiday planning and prioritization of the taking of holidays are therefore important.

It is worth being familiar with the concepts used in the Danish Holiday Act (Ferieloven) when planning a holiday.

In accordance with the Danish Holiday Act, you are entitled to 25 days of holiday, regardless of whether you have accrued entitlements to holiday with pay. You are also entitled to up to 5 special days of holiday if your employment is covered by the State Holiday Agreement. The entitlement to special days of holiday must be accrued.

Ordinary days of holiday under the Danish Holiday Act

The entitlement to holiday with pay is accrued in accordance with a concurrent holiday principle over a holiday year.

The holiday year runs from 1 September to 31 August of the following year, during which you accrue an entitlement to 2.08 days of holiday per month. Holidays are taken as main holiday and remaining holiday, respectively.

The holiday entitlement period is a 16-month period in which holiday accrued during the holiday year can be taken (1 September to 31 December of the following year).

The main holiday period, in accordance with the Danish Holiday Act, is the period from 1 May to 30 September of the holiday year in which you are entitled to take three consecutive weeks of holiday. At DTU, the main holiday period is from mid-June to mid-August. This means that you will be given notice of your main holiday within this period, unless otherwise agreed.

Other holiday is two weeks (10 days of holiday) falling outside the main holiday period and which can be taken at any given time during the holiday year.

Accrued holiday means that you are paid your normal salary while taking the holiday.

Non-accrued holiday means that a deduction will be made from your salary when you take the holiday (holiday without pay).

Holiday in advance is an agreement between employee and manager that the employee will take holiday with pay before it has been accrued. The condition for holiday in advance is that it must be possible to accrue the holiday during the holiday year and that there is a written agreement with the manager. To make it easier to see how many days of holiday can be borrowed in advance during the holiday year, see the overview below:

• 1 September – 1 April: Up to 10 days of holiday can be borrowed
• 1 May: Up to 8.32 days of holiday can be borrowed
• 1 June: Up to 6.24 days of holiday can be borrowed
• 1 July: Up to 4.16 days of holiday can be borrowed
• 1 August: Up to 2.08 days of holiday can be borrowed

Special days of holiday under the State Holiday Agreement

The holiday accrual year is the calendar year (1 January to 31 December) during which the entitlement to special days of holiday with pay is accrued

The holiday period for special days of holiday is the period from 1 May to 30 April after the holiday accrual year during which the accrued special days of holidays can be taken.