The Danish Vacation Year

What’s special about the Danish vacation year

The Danish vacation earning year runs for 12 months. From September 1st to August 31st.

The Danish vacation planning year runs for 16 months. From September 1st to December 31st (the following year).

Because the planning year runs for 16 months, the planning period consists of 2 overlapping periods from 1/9 to 31/12:

The start of the vacation year overlaps with the old vacation year.
The end of the vacation year overlaps with the new vacation year.

Set up Danish vacation rules

How to create a vacation policy with monthly earning:

Go to Setup Admin
Select Modules
Click Create new policy
Open the Vacation tab
Select the period "Denmark 1/9 - 31/12"

When "Denmark 1/9 - 31/12" is selected, the Danish vacation law is applied to the policy.

When the Danish vacation year is activated, the standard setup for creating a vacation policy with monthly earning is followed. Follow this guide.

There are the following deviations from the standard setup that can be activated when choosing the Danish vacation law:

1. Minimum vacation balance rule

Tab: Rules

Select: Minimum vacation balance rule

Choose a minimum number of vacation days that must be planned before employees can plan days from a supplementary balance (e.g. other vacation, FF days, OK days).

Example of use: The rule can be used to ensure that employees have a maximum of 5 vacation days left before the supplementary balance is used. The Danish vacation law allows a maximum transfer of 5 vacation days left.

2. Advance vacation

Tab: Rules

Select: planning rule "Advance vacation"

If advance vacation is enabled, employees can plan vacation a month even if the vacation days have not yet been earned. The default setting is that an employee can never plan more days than are earned annually.

It is possible to allow planning more days in advance than are earned in a vacation year. This means a negative balance is carried into the next vacation year. Enable the rule to allow planning more days in a vacation year than are earned.

⚠️ We do not recommend enabling this rule. Allowing a negative balance to be carried over to the next vacation year is not in accordance with the vacation law.

3. Start-of-period or end-of-period earning

Tab: Earning

Select: Start-of-period or End-of-period

Start-of-period earning
Vacation days become available from the start of the month in which they are earned.
End-of-period earning
Vacation days only become available at the end of the month. Therefore, they can only be planned from the next month.

Understanding the Danish vacation law

Planning vacation left

If the vacation policy follows the Danish vacation year, unused vacation days expire on 12/31 even though the vacation year ends 8/31.

During the transition period September 1st – December 31st, old vacation days are automatically used before new vacation days.

In both of the 2 overlapping periods, there can be a combination of new and old days. The rule is that old days are always planned before new days during the transition period.

BitaBIZ automatically keeps track of which days are old and new during the transition period:

In the "Year calendar" old days are visually shown as "Vacation left":
The "Balance per month" statistics in the year calendar show:
- Earning per month.
- Planned per month
- Vacation left per month
- If planned days include a combination of new and old days in the transition period, this is shown in the statistics:
  e.g.: 2+1 means 2 old days + 1 new day

Year calendar statistics view

There are 2 numbers per month in the year calendar:

Earned. Each month, the earning increases by 2.08
(if 25 days are earned per year)
Available. Number of days that can be planned in a month.

The 2 numbers do not have to be the same:

An employee has earned 8.32 days in December (with start-of-period earning 4*2.08)
If the employee has planned 2 vacation days in October, Available in December is 8.32 - 2 = 6.32

Vacation left as of 12/31

Vacation days earned in the old vacation year ending 8/31 can be planned in the next vacation year up to 12/31. Old days cannot be planned after 12/31, unless they are transferred to the new period. Therefore, an employee may have more days available in December than in January, because December includes both old and new vacation days in Available. January does not. Read more about handling vacation left as of 12/31 here.

Decimal vacation

With the Danish vacation law, it’s almost normal for an employee to have decimals left in vacation left. The reason is typically that when an employee is hired, the earning in the first year of employment will be uneven compared to the date of employment.

Example: Hired on June 1st.

The employee earns in the first vacation year 3 months * 2.08 = 6.24 vacation days.

The employee cannot plan the last 0.24 days. These are carried into the next vacation year. If the employee plans one vacation day in October, that vacation day will consist of:

0.24 old vacation days
0.76 new vacation days.

And in this way, the decimal vacation left is carried into the new vacation year.

How to understand the vacation balance in the Danish vacation year

This section explains the Danish vacation year rules that can affect the vacation balance. If you as Payroll Admin need to check a specific employee’s balance, use the article “Payroll Admin: Understand and troubleshoot balances in BitaBIZ”.

What you experience	Typical cause	What to check	Where in the system	What you expect to see
Number of “used vacation days” doesn’t match	Days come from both old and new vacation years	Whether the period is in 1/9–12/31	Calendar access → Year calendar	Combination of old (vacation left) and new days (e.g. 2+1)
You can’t add up to the total	Vacation is registered across months	Review all registrations in the vacation year	Calendar access → Year calendar	All vacation registrations in the period
Balance changes from month to month	Monthly earning minus planned vacation	Earned vs. available	Calendar → Statistics per month	Earned increases (e.g. 2.08), available decreases when planning
December and January don’t match	December can include both old and new days	Whether there is vacation left from previous vacation year	Calendar → Statistics	More days available in December than in January
You have more days in December than January	Vacation left can be used until 12/31	Whether old days are still plannable	Calendar → Vacation left view	Vacation left is included in December, but not in January
You can’t use “old” vacation days	Date is after 12/31	Whether the days have expired	Calendar / History	Old days are no longer available
Decimals make the balance hard to understand	Earning happens with decimals (e.g. 2.08/mo)	Whether there are decimal leftovers	Calendar → Balance / History	Decimals are included in planning (e.g. 0.24)
History doesn’t match the balance	Balance consists of several components	Review the balance breakdown	“See history”	Transferred + earned – used – paid out

How to use the matrix

Always start by clarifying:

ℹ️ Which period does the vacation fall in?

1/9–12/31 (transition period)
→ Old and new vacation days can be mixed
(one vacation day can include decimals from new and old vacation years)
1/1–8/31
→ Only days from the current vacation year
After 12/31
→ Old vacation days are no longer available

Can't get the balance to match?
→ First, check if there is vacation in the period 1/9–31/12

Here you'll find the tools for following up on the vacation balance:

Balance per month -> shows if a vacation day is a combination of old and new days.
View history -> shows all balance variables. Earning, used, manual adjustments, transfers.
Year calendar -> Shows all vacation registrations and earning + available per month.

FAQ

How do we best manage vacation balances that follow the Danish Holiday Act?

Best practice for vacation balances regardless of country or holiday law:

An employee is connected to a fixed earning that follows the holiday law in a country.
BitaBIZ automatically credits earning per month according to the policy's earning settings. Historical earning is locked. Read more here about how to set up a monthly earning vacation policy that follows the Danish Holiday Act.

The earning is "reduced" by the employee via vacation request.

When the vacation year ends, BitaBIZ automatically calculates if there is a remaining balance.
Remaining days are sent for processing. Payroll Admin can either transfer, pay out, or delete remaining days. Read more about handling vacation left here!
Manual increase or reduction of a balance should only be used in special cases.

Read more in the article about Payroll Admin calendar access regarding follow-up on an employee's vacation balance. Click here!

Can we plan future earning when the Danish Holiday Act is enabled?

Yes. The selected vacation planning rule on a monthly vacation policy determines how your employees can plan future earning. Follow the guide to set up a vacation policy with monthly earning.

The guide describes the 3 planning rules: Max, Salary deduction, and Advance.

How much vacation is earned per month with start-of-period and end-of-period earning?

If the vacation policy earns 25 vacation days per vacation year, you generally earn 2.08 vacation days per month from September to July.

In August, 2.12 days are earned if the employee has been employed the entire vacation year. This ensures the total annual earning is 25.00 vacation days.

Month	Start-of-period earning: total earned	End-of-period earning: total earned
September	2.08	0.00
October	4.16	2.08
November	6.24	4.16
December	8.32	6.24
January	10.40	8.32
February	12.48	10.40
March	14.56	12.48
April	16.64	14.56
May	18.72	16.64
June	20.80	18.72
July	22.88	20.80
August	25.00	22.88
September in new vacation year	New vacation year starts	25.00 from previous vacation year

How to read the matrix

With start-of-period earning, the month's earning is available at the start of the month. That's why September's earning is already shown in September.

With end-of-period earning, the month's earning is only available the following month. That's why September's earning is first shown in October.

The last earning for August is shown with end-of-period earning first in September of the new vacation year. Even though it appears in September, it belongs to the old vacation year and is treated as old vacation days.

Example: June

If an employee asks what has been earned in June:

With start-of-period earning, 20.80 days have been earned in June.
With end-of-period earning, 18.72 days have been earned in June, because June's earning only becomes available in July.

Important to know

The balance can be higher than the matrix if vacation left has been transferred as of 31/12. Transferred vacation left is added to the earned vacation and can therefore give more days available.

The balance can be lower than the matrix if the employee started during the vacation year. A new employee only earns vacation from the date of employment.

“Earned” is not always the same as “Available”. “Available” can also be affected by planned vacation, used vacation, vacation left, salary deduction, or advance vacation.

Transition period 1/9-31/12

In the transition period from September 1 to December 31, a vacation day can be a combination of old and new vacation days.

This happens because vacation left from the old vacation year can be used at the same time as new vacation days are earned in the new vacation year. BitaBIZ will by default use old vacation days before new vacation days.

If you're unsure whether a vacation day consists of a combination of old and new days, you can click on “Balance per month” in the calendar. Here you can see if a vacation day contains a decimal combination between old and new days in the transition period.

Example:
If a vacation day is shown as 0.24 + 0.76, it means the vacation day consists of 0.24 old vacation days and 0.76 new vacation days.

I've planned 0.3 vacation days. Isn't that a mistake?

No, this situation often occurs when vacation is planned during the transition period from 1/9-31/12. If you have earned an uneven number of vacation days and have 0.3 vacation left. When you book days in the transition period, the system will first book the old 0.3 days and then supplement with 0.7 new days. This way, you don't lose the 0.3 vacation days you have left.

I need to set up a vacation policy for both trainees and part time employees. How do I do that?

If your company has employees with special conditions, there may be a need for a customized vacation policy for these staff groups.

This typically applies to:

Part time employees, where earning depends on the number of fixed working days
Trainees and apprentices, who may have special rules for e.g. advance vacation

In these cases, it is recommended to follow the relevant articles for correct setup:

Read more about vacation policy for part time employees
Read more about vacation policy for trainees and apprentices

Why does "Available" show the same number for 2 or more months in the calendar statistics, but "Earned" increases each month?

“Available” shows how many vacation days the employee can register in a given month, without exceeding the total number of vacation days earned during the entire vacation year.

This means that planned future vacation is included in the calculation.

Therefore, “Available” is not the same as remaining balance per month.

Example:

Employee earns 25 vacation days annually (2.08 per month)
Up to and including July, 22.88 days have been earned
The employee has planned and registered 20 vacation days in July

Available in July = 22.88 – 20 = 2.88 days

Consequence:

The 2.88 days is the maximum the employee can register in July – also in previous months, as long as the days are earned in the given month

If, for example, the employee registers an additional 3 vacation days in June, then by the end of July, the following will have been registered in total:

3 days in June
20 days in July

= 23 days

But since only 22.88 days have been earned, the employee will have registered 0.12 days more than earned in July.

In short:

“Available” takes into account both earning and future planned vacation – that's why the number can be the same across months.

How does the vacation setting “Available” work when I plan more days than I have earned?

“Available” can behave differently depending on which vacation registration rule the company has chosen for the vacation policy.

Example:
An employee has earned 2.08 vacation days in September and tries to plan 3 vacation days in September. The employee is therefore trying to plan 0.92 days more than earned.

1. If the employee can only take earned days
The request cannot be created because the employee is trying to plan more days than earned.

In this example, the request is rejected with a message that the employee is trying to plan 0.92 days more than earned.

2. If the employee can take vacation with salary deduction
The request can be created even if the employee hasn't earned all the days yet. The extra days are handled as vacation without pay/salary deduction.

In this example, the balance in September goes 0.92 days negative. When October starts, “Available” starts over with the new earning of 2.08 days, because the 0.92 days are settled via salary deduction.

3. If the employee can request advance vacation
The request can be created if the policy allows advance vacation. The extra days are borrowed and offset against future earning.

In this example, the balance in September goes 0.92 days negative. In October, the employee earns 2.08 new days, but the 0.92 advance days are offset first. Therefore, “Available” in October is 1.16 days.

Calculation: 2.08 - 0.92 = 1.16 days available.

In short:
With “only earned days”, the request is blocked. With salary deduction, the extra days are settled as vacation without pay, and next month's earning starts over. With advance vacation, the borrowed days are deducted from future earning.

What does “Vacation days used in the vacation year are not limited to the days earned in the same year” mean?

This setting is relevant if employees should be able to take vacation from the next vacation year (i.e., use more days than they will earn in the current vacation year).

If this setting is not enabled, employees cannot register vacation that actually uses days from the next vacation year—even if advance vacation is activated.

When this setting is enabled, it is possible to use more vacation days in the vacation year than are earned in the same vacation year.

This means that the vacation year can end with a negative vacation balance, which is carried over to the next vacation year.

The negative balance is then offset against the earning in the new vacation year.

Please note that carrying over a negative vacation balance to a new vacation year is not in accordance with the Danish Holiday Act.

If the vacation registration rule for advance vacation is enabled, but the setting "Vacation days used in the vacation year are not limited to the days earned in the same year" is not, employees can only use the vacation days earned in the same vacation year, and it is therefore not possible to end the vacation year with a negative balance.

I have a new employee who starts in the middle of the vacation year. Do I need to adjust the vacation balance?

A new employee only earns vacation from their date of employment.

2.08 days are earned for each full month the employee has been employed.

If the new employee was hired, for example, on 15/8, he/she would earn 0.07 days from this date per day of employment in the first month.

👉 To calculate the correct balance, you can multiply the number of full months from the date of employment to the end of the vacation year by 2.08. And if the employee has been employed for 15 days in the first month, multiply 0.07 by 15 to get the first month's earning.

Example: If an employee starts on 01.09.2025, 4 months × 2.08 = 8.32 days are earned up to December.

Earning 2.08 days per month gives 24.96 days per year. Not 25 days

The rule according to the Holiday Act is:

An employee who has been employed the entire vacation year, i.e., has earned 2.08 days for 12 months. In the last month, August, they earn 2.12 days. This way, they earn 25 days over a full vacation year.

A newly hired employee who is employed during the vacation year and therefore has not earned 2.08 days every month throughout the vacation year does not get the extra earning of 0.04 days in August.

Do I need to do anything when the Danish vacation year changes on 1/9?

No. On 1/9, a new vacation year correctly begins. But the old vacation year continues until 31/12. This means that if your employees have vacation left from the old vacation year, they can plan this vacation up until 31/12. From 1/1, any vacation left is sent for vacation left processing. So you only need to do something from that date :)

BitaBIZ ensures that old vacation days are planned and used before new days.

👉 Here you can read how to handle vacation left from 1/1.

I get the message "You must plan X vacation days before you can plan other vacation". Can we remove or override this rule?

This is a setting that can be selected for the Danish Holiday Act. We call the rule the "Minimum vacation balance rule." When it is enabled, the employee must plan X number of vacation days before they can plan supplementary balance (e.g., other vacation, FF days).

When the rule is activated, it cannot be overridden. But in the policy, the rule can be disabled if it is not used in your company. The rule can be disabled here: Click edit on the policy where the rule should not apply -> Open the vacation tab -> Click on the Rules tab -> remove the checkmark next to the "Minimum vacation balance rule." Now your employees can plan supplementary balance (other vacation, etc.) before vacation is planned.

Setup: Vacation Policy – The Danish Vacation Year