Introduction to other vacation
An other vacation is an extra leave scheme defined by the company.
This balance is used for days off that are in addition to regular vacation.
What the balance is called and how it is used is determined by the company.
An other vacation is an extra leave scheme defined by the company.
It can, for example, be used for arrangements such as additional vacation days, the 6th week of vacation, care days, O-days, or other extra days off.
The name depends on the company’s internal terminology, but in BitaBIZ these schemes are managed collectively as an other vacation and are, by default, set up as additional vacation days.
The other leave is administered separately from vacation and has its own accrual, balance, and rules.
An other vacation is therefore not the same as regular vacation and is handled as two separate absence types in the system.
Setting up an other vacation
Go to:
Setup Admin → Modules → Edit policy
Here you can create or edit the company’s other vacation.
Name of the balance
The default name can be changed to match the terminology used by the company.
Examples:
Additional vacation days
6th week of vacation
Care days
Flexible benefits account
Extra days off
The name is changed directly in the policy.
Accrual method
The other vacation can be accrued in several ways.
Annual accrual
The employee is allocated a fixed number of days or hours once per year.
The balance is granted on the first day of the selected usage period.
Periodic accrual
The balance can be accrued continuously:
semi-annually
quarterly
monthly
The balance is granted continuously on the 1st of the selected period.
How the other vacation is calculated based on the accrual method
The other vacation is always defined in days in the policy – regardless of whether it is accrued annually or periodically, and whether the employee uses it in days or hours.
The system automatically converts the balance based on the selected accrual method.
Example – monthly accrual in days
5 days per year → 0.42 days accrued per month (5 ÷ 12).
Example – annual accrual in hours
5 days per year and 7.4 hours per working day → 37 hours allocated once per year.
Usage period
The usage period defines how long accrued days can be used.
BitaBIZ supports two lengths of usage periods:
12 months
For example: 1/1–31/12, 1/9–31/8, etc.16 months
Available for the period 1/9–31/12.
If the company uses a 16-month usage period, special rules may apply to accrual, remaining balance, and planning.
Read more in the article about special rules for other vacation in Denmark.
Accrual for new employees
When a new employee is assigned to a policy with an other vacation, the accrual depends on the selected accrual method.
Annual accrual
If the balance is accrued once per year, the policy can be configured to handle new employees in three different ways:
Full accrual from the start of employment
Accrual after X months of employment
No accrual in the first year of employment – the hire date determines the accrual in the following usage period
Periodic accrual
If the balance is accrued continuously, it is earned within the selected period, which can be monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually.
New employees begin accruing the balance from the 1st of the next upcoming period, from the date they were added to the policy
Handling of remaining balance
When an accrual period ends, there may be unused other vacation remaining in the employee’s account.
Depending on whether a 12- or 16-month usage period is configured, the handling of the remaining balance differs.
12-month usage period
When the usage period ends, the remaining balance must either:
Be carried over to a new period
Remaining days/hours are automatically transferred to the next usage period.Be reset
Remaining days/hours are deleted at the end of the usage period.
The method is selected under the “Transfer” tab:
History is always transferred to the log, regardless of whether the balance is reset or carried over to a new period.
16-month usage period
When an accrual period ends, there may be unused other vacation remaining. The company chooses how the remaining balance is handled:
Carried over to a new period
Reset
For a 16-month usage period, special rules for balance transfer may apply. You can read more about these here.
Planning rules
In BitaBIZ, the other vacation (e.g. additional vacation days, the 6th week of vacation, care days, or other extra days off) can be configured to follow specific planning rules.
The purpose is to ensure that vacation and other vacation are used in an appropriate order, so that days or hours do not expire unused.
Below are the planning rules that the system can handle.
Rule | What does it mean? | Example |
Minimum rule for vacation | A specific number of vacation days must be planned before the other vacation (e.g. additional vacation days) becomes available. If the minimum requirement is not met, the system will block the planning of the additional leave balance. | If the minimum is set to 20 days, the other vacation can only be planned once at least 20 vacation days have been planned. |
Expiring other vacation | other vacation that expires on 31/12 must be used before new vacation can be planned. Only the expiring days are available. | If an employee has 5 days that expire on 31/12, these must be planned first. The system displays a yellow warning message if you try to plan vacation instead. |
Planning order when rules are activated | Days/hours are always planned in the following order:
1.Old vacation → 2.Expiring other vacation → 3.New vacation → 4.Non-expiring other vacation
If a registration includes multiple types of days, the system may require you to split the registration to ensure the order is followed. | If an employee has 2 days of old vacation and 3 days from theother vacation, the system may require you to register: 2 days of vacation → then 3 days from the other vacation. |
System guidance | If you try to plan in the wrong order, the system will block the action and display a guidance message. | "You must plan [x] days from the other vacation that expire on 31/12 first. After that, you can plan vacation." |
Planning of future accrual
Planning of future accrual means that employees can register time off from their other vacation before the days or hours are officially accrued.
Employees can only register additional leave balance (e.g. other vacation) in advance if the days have been accrued, or if the setup allows planning of future accrual. If the balance is accrued continuously (e.g. monthly), future accrual cannot be planned.
Whether this is possible depends on:
which accrual method is used
which usage period is selected in the policy
12-month usage period
For a 12-month usage period, the available options depend on the accrual method.
Annual accrual
Planning of future accrual is allowed by default. Planned future accrual is deducted from the statistics of the upcoming period. It is not possible to disable planning of future other vacation when the usage period is 12 months with annual accrual.Periodic accrual
If the other vacation is accrued continuously (e.g. monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually), future accrual cannot be planned.
In this case, employees can only register time off based on the balance that has already been accrued in the current period.
16-month usage period
With a 16-month usage period, the accrual period and the usage period will overlap.
In these cases, special rules apply to the transition period between accrual periods.
Read more about the rules here.
Select registration method
BitaBIZ supports two registration methods for other vacation:
Registration in days
Absence can be registered in full days.
The balance is calculated and managed in days.Registration in days and hours
Absence can be registered in both full days and hours.
The balance is calculated in hours.
The method is selected in the employee policy under the “Rules” section.
When should you choose which method?
Registration in days is typically used when:
days off are always registered as full days
the balance is managed in days
the company does not need hour-based registration
Example: Additional vacation days or care days that are always taken as full days.
Registration in days and hours is typically used when:
days off can also be taken as individual hours
employees may take part of a day off
the balance is managed in hours
Example: Additional vacation hours or flexible benefit hours.
Please note that with both registration methods, employees can select half day.
See the employee view for the two methods below:
Read more about the two registration methods for other vacation here
User guide for registration in days
User guide for registration in days & hours
When the unit Days & hours is selected, it is also necessary to set up Official working hours. Read more about official working hours in the guides below:Official working hours with start and end time
Official working hours with net hours only
FAQ
Basic concepts
Is additional vacation the same as vacation?
Is additional vacation the same as vacation?
No. Vacation is statutory under the Holiday Act. Additional vacation is an extra arrangement, which may also be referred to as, for example, the 6th week of vacation or care days.
Isother vacation the same as additional vacation days or care days?
Isother vacation the same as additional vacation days or care days?
Yes. In BitaBIZ, other vacation is used as a collective function for extra days off defined by the company.
This may include, for example:
additional vacation days
the 6th week of vacation
care days
O-dayscollective agreement days (OK days)
other company-defined days off
The name may vary between companies, but the function is managed through the additional leave balance.
The default name is additional leave balance, but this can be freely changed as needed.
Does other vacation have its own balance, or are the days added to the vacation balance?
Does other vacation have its own balance, or are the days added to the vacation balance?
Additional leave balance has its own separate balance. It is not linked to the vacation balance, which often follows a different set of rules.
That said, planning rules can be configured under the vacation settings that affect how additional leave balance is planned. For example, vacation may need to be planned before additional leave balance can be scheduled.
We don’t use the term “other vacation” – we use care days. Can the name be changed?
We don’t use the term “other vacation” – we use care days. Can the name be changed?
By default, the balance is called additional leave balance. However, the name can be changed at the policy level to match your company’s terminology, for example to additional vacation days, care days, or the 6th week of vacation.
Since the name is defined at the policy level, different employee groups, companies, or countries can use different names for the balance.
Accrual and rules
How do new employees accrue other vacation in their first year of employment?
How do new employees accrue other vacation in their first year of employment?
It depends on whether your additional leave balance policy uses monthly or annual accrual:
With annual accrual, you can choose between three standard options for new employees:
Full accrual from the start of employment
Accrual after X months of employment
No accrual in the first year of employment – the hire date determines accrual in the following usage period
With monthly accrual, a fixed number of days is accrued each month on the 1st.
Accrual in the first month of employment depends on whether the employee is created on the 1st of the month. If so, additional vacation days are accrued.
👉 For both accrual methods, the initial additional leave balance can be manually adjusted via Payroll Admin → Calendar access.
If annual accrual is selected with allocation only after X months of employment, the manual adjustment will only take effect after this period.
Why can’t a new employee see their additional vacation days yet?'
Why can’t a new employee see their additional vacation days yet?'
An employee is only allocated additional vacation days (other vacation) once their employment start date has been reached.
If the employee is created in the system with a future start date, the additional vacation days will therefore only be granted on the actual start date.
This means that if an employee starts on, for example, January 1st, the additional vacation days will only appear in the balance from that date.
However, how and when additional vacation days are granted depends on the company’s accrual setup in the policy, for example:
annual allocation at the start of the period
accrual after a certain number of months of employment
continuous accrual (e.g. monthly)
If the employee has a future start date, it is therefore expected that the additional vacation days are not yet visible in the balance.
How can we grant some employees other vacation immediately if the policy normally has an accrual period?
How can we grant some employees other vacation immediately if the policy normally has an accrual period?
If a policy is set up so that additional leave balance is only accrued after a certain number of months (e.g. a waiting period or after probation), this rule applies to all employees on that policy.
It is therefore not possible to bypass the accrual rule with a manual adjustment, as the balance only becomes active after the specified accrual period.
If certain employees need to receive additional leave balance immediately, they must instead be assigned to a separate policy with full accrual from the start of employment.
A solution is therefore to create a new policy where the additional leave balance is granted at the start of employment and assign the relevant employees to this policy.
This way, these employees can access the balance immediately, while other employees continue to follow the original accrual rule.
How do we change the accrual method for an existing other vacation?
How do we change the accrual method for an existing other vacation?
The accrual method cannot be changed on an existing policy once it has been saved.
When the accrual method is selected (e.g. annual or monthly accrual), this setting is locked, as changing it would affect already calculated balances and historical data.
If the company wants a different accrual method, you must instead:
Create a new policy with the desired accrual method
Assign employees to the new policy going forward
Can other vacation be registered in advance?
Can other vacation be registered in advance?
Whether additional leave balance can be registered in advance depends on how it is configured.
Additional leave balance can only be registered in advance if the days have been accrued – or if the setup allows planning of future accrual.
Additional vacation days cannot be registered in advance if:
the balance is accrued continuously (e.g. monthly) and not enough days have been accrued yet
the minimum vacation rule is active and not enough vacation days have been planned yet
Additional vacation days can be registered in advance if:
the balance is accrued annually and is allocated at the start of the period
or if planning of future accrual is allowed in the setup
If additional leave balance cannot be registered, it is typically due to the accrual method or an active planning rule.
Why don’t the working hours match when an employee has registered other vacation (e.g. a half day off)?
Why don’t the working hours match when an employee has registered other vacation (e.g. a half day off)?
If the employee uses the time registration method Adjust time without hour bank, the system does not automatically create working hours on a day where absence is registered.
This also applies to partial absence, such as a half day with other vacation, when the absence registration overlaps with the employee’s working hours. In this case, the system does not automatically generate working time.
As a result, the official working hours will not be created automatically for that day, which may make it appear as though working hours are missing.
In this case, you should manually register the working time for the part of the day that is not taken off in the employee’s calendar.
Can employees register half days when using “Days”?
Can employees register half days when using “Days”?
Yes. When using both Days and Hours, employees can register both full and half days.
This is a standard system feature and cannot be disabled.
Usage and administration
Can other vacation be paid out?
Can other vacation be paid out?
Yes, additional leave balance can be paid out via Payroll Admin → Calendar access. It is also possible to allow employees, at the policy level, to request payout of their additional leave balance.
Can other vacation be used as a flexible benefits account?
Can other vacation be used as a flexible benefits account?
Yes. An additional leave balance can also be used as a flexible benefits account, where the employee can choose to:
take time off from the balance
request a payout of the balance
When this feature is enabled, employees can request a payout instead of using the days for absence.
This is managed via the policy, where the company can grant employees access to request payout of the balance.
However, it is not possible to:
take more days or hours than have been accrued
receive a payout exceeding the current balance
Why can’t I plan other vacation (e.g. additional vacation days)?
Why can’t I plan other vacation (e.g. additional vacation days)?
If the minimum vacation rule is enabled, a certain number of vacation days must be planned before the additional leave balance becomes available.
Example:
If the minimum is set to 20 vacation days, the additional leave balance can only be planned once at least 20 vacation days have been planned.