Vacation Policy for Trainees and Apprentices (Denmark)
This article explains how to set up a vacation policy for trainees and apprentices in BitaBIZ when your company follows Danish vacation law.
There are usually some special circumstances that make it necessary to create a separate vacation policy for trainees:
Trainees often have the option to take advance vacation
Newly hired trainees may be entitled to extra vacation days in their first year of employment
This article describes how the vacation policy is typically set up in BitaBIZ for trainees and apprentices. The general setup for monthly earning, which follows Danish vacation law, can be found here.
Other leave, which is settled via a supplementary balance (e.g. 6th vacation week, other vacation, and care days) is set up separately. Read more about supplementary balances here.
Dividing Trainees into Vacation Policies
Many companies divide trainees into two groups depending on their length of employment.
1st & 2nd year trainees
These trainees typically have a separate vacation policy where advance vacation is allowed.
3rd & 4th year trainees
For these trainees, some companies choose to:move them to the same vacation policy as fixed paid employees, or
keep them in a separate trainee policy
It depends on whether they should still have access to advance vacation to a greater extent than fixed paid employees.
The vacation policy for trainees is created like for fixed paid employees, with monthly earning that follows Danish vacation law.
The difference is that trainee policies allow advance vacation, and newly hired trainees may need to be granted extra days.
How to Set Up the Vacation Policy for Trainees and Apprentices
The vacation policy is created in the same way as for other employees.
Go to Setup Admin → Modules
Select the desired vacation policy
Click Edit
Open the Vacation tab
Then adjust the settings according to the rules for trainees.
Setup for 1st and 2nd Year Trainees
A typical setup is:
Select The Danish vacation year with monthly earning
Select End-of-period earning
Enable advance vacation
Allow up to 15 days in advance
Allow the employee to take earned days + any granted days
This setup allows trainees to take vacation earlier in their employment.
Setup for 3rd and 4th Year Trainees
The setup is similar to the standard vacation policy:
Select The Danish vacation year with monthly earning
Select End-of-period earning
Choose whether advance vacation should be allowed
If "Max" is selected, advance vacation is not possible
If "Advance" is selected, enter the maximum number of days that can be taken in advance
Special Rules in the First Year of Employment
Trainees generally earn 2.08 vacation days per month of employment.
Earning is calculated from the date of employment up to the end of the vacation year’s earning period (August 31).
This means that only the months the employee is employed during the period up to 8/31 in the same vacation year are counted.
Depending on the employment start date, the trainee is entitled to be granted extra days in the first year of employment so they earn the amount of vacation up to 8/31 that they are entitled to.
Rules for Granting Extra Vacation Days in the First Year of Employment
Trainee Start Date | Vacation Entitlement | Example |
From September 1 | 5 weeks paid vacation | Trainee starts October 1.
Earning in the vacation year: 22.88.
The company grants 2.12 days so the trainee can take 25 days in total. |
From November 1 | 3 weeks paid vacation | Trainee starts December 1.
Earns 18.72 in the vacation year.
No extra days are granted as the 3-week requirement is met. |
From July 1 | Days earned per month | Trainee starts August 1.
Earning in the vacation year: 2.08 days. Can be taken from September 1.
No extra days are granted. |
Rule for Granting Vacation Days to Trainees
Only grant extra vacation days if the employee does not earn enough days to meet the vacation requirement for their employment period.
Requirement: 5 weeks if employed between 9/1 – 10/31
Requirement: 3 weeks if employed between 11/1 – 6/30
If the earning already meets the requirement, no extra days should be granted
Granting Extra Vacation Days
When a new trainee or apprentice is hired, they are linked to your 1st & 2nd year trainee policy.
Depending on the month of employment, it may be necessary to manually grant days at the time of hiring to meet the vacation law requirement for newly hired trainees.
Employees must not be limited to only being able to take vacation days once they are earned, so advance vacation is allowed.
The figure below shows the number of days that must be granted manually depending on the month of employment:
*According to the vacation law, the company must grant days in the month of employment so that the employee can take either 5 weeks or 3 weeks in the vacation year in which they are hired. Months marked in green require no manual granting
** Can be taken from September 1.
Important
If the trainee is entitled to extra vacation days:
The granting must take place in the month of employment
The days must be granted manually by increasing the vacation balance
Follow the guide for manually increasing a balance.
Transition from Trainee to Fixed Paid Employee
When the trainee transitions to a fixed paid employee, the policy is changed from trainee to fixed paid employee.
The only difference will typically be that there may now be a restriction on the allowed use of advance vacation.
FAQ
Do trainees always need their own policy?
Do trainees always need their own policy?
Trainees do not necessarily need their own policy. However, many companies choose to create a separate policy because trainees often need more advance vacation than fixed paid employees, so it is necessary for them to have their own policy.
When should extra vacation days be granted to trainees?
When should extra vacation days be granted to trainees?
Extra vacation days should be granted to trainees if, from the start of employment, they cannot earn the amount of vacation they are entitled to.
If a trainee is hired between September 1 and October 31, it is necessary to calculate how many vacation days the employee will earn in the vacation year.
The trainee is entitled to at least 5 weeks of vacation (25 days).
If the employee earns less than 25 days, the company must manually increase the vacation balance.
If the employee earns 25 days or more, no extra vacation days need to be granted
If a trainee is hired between November 1 and June 30, it is necessary to calculate how many vacation days the employee will earn in the vacation year.
The trainee is entitled to at least 3 weeks of vacation (15 days).
If the employee earns less than 15 days, the company must manually increase the vacation balance.
If the employee earns 15 days or more, no extra vacation days need to be granted
The vacation balance does not require manual increase if the trainee’s date of employment means they will earn the amount of vacation they are entitled to.
What happens when a trainee becomes a fixed paid employee?
What happens when a trainee becomes a fixed paid employee?
When the trainee transitions to a fixed paid employee, the employee is usually moved to the company’s standard vacation policy unless there are special circumstances. See more about changing policy here.