Swedish vacation pay calculator

Calculate Swedish vacation pay and compensation

Swedish vacation pay is mainly calculated under the same-pay rule or the percentage rule. The appropriate rule depends on how pay is set, the size of variable earnings, changes in working percentage, and absence. A collective agreement can replace the statutory calculation with different or better terms.

Same-pay rule for fixed monthly salary

An employee on fixed monthly pay normally keeps the current salary during paid leave. A vacation supplement is paid on top. The statutory monthly-pay supplement is 0.43% of current monthly salary, including fixed salary supplements, for every paid leave day.

With SEK 35,000 per month and 25 paid days, the supplement is 35,000 × 0.0043 × 25 = SEK 3,762.50. The calculator displays that supplement only. It does not add the ordinary salary that already continues during leave.

Variable earnings such as commission, unsocial-hours pay, and overtime may generate extra vacation pay. For 25 leave days, that part is normally 12% of qualifying variable earnings.

Percentage rule for hourly and varying pay

The percentage rule is used when pay is not fixed by week or month, such as hourly pay. It is also normally required when variable pay regularly reaches at least 10% of total earnings, when the working percentage has varied or changed, or after certain non-qualifying absence.

For 25 days, vacation pay is 12% of qualifying earnings during the earning year. A basis of SEK 300,000 therefore gives SEK 36,000, equal to SEK 1,440 per paid day.

More than 25 leave days

The statutory 12% corresponds to 25 days. Each additional day raises the rate by 0.48 percentage points. Five extra days give 12 + 5 × 0.48 = 14.4%. The calculator applies that adjustment to percentage-rule earnings and to qualifying variable earnings in same-pay mode.

Extra days often come from a collective agreement, which may also specify a different supplement. Check the agreement before treating the statutory result as the final payroll figure.

Vacation pay versus vacation compensation

Vacation pay accompanies leave that is actually taken. Vacation compensation normally pays for earned leave that is not taken, for example when employment ends. The calculation basis is related, but timing and presentation on the payslip may differ.

For a short contract, first check whether an advertised hourly rate already includes vacation compensation. Adding 12% again would count the same entitlement twice.

Build the right qualifying basis

The percentage rule does not always use total gross pay unchanged. Previous vacation pay and some other payments are excluded. Qualifying absence may instead require the normal daily income to be added to the basis.

Use the calculator after establishing a reasonable qualifying amount from payroll records. For long absence, changed working percentage, or complicated variable earnings, compare the result with the employer, collective agreement, and Swedish Annual Leave Act.