Holiday Benefits

The holiday benefits you accrue are based on benefits paid during the holiday year. The holiday year runs from 1 September to 31 August the following year. 

You can take a holiday and receive the benefits accrued from 1 September to 31 December the following year. This period is called the holiday entitlement period (ferieafholdelsesperioden). You have an additional four months from the end of the holiday year to spend your accrued holiday benefits from the previous holiday year. 

Overlapping holiday entitlement periods 

If you have not spent all of your days of holiday with holiday benefits by the end of a holiday year because you planned to spend them during the last four months of the holiday entitlement period, be aware that any holiday pay you have accrued from an employer in the new holiday year must be spent before you can receive holiday benefits from the previous holiday year. 

You must apply for holiday benefits by submitting an application. You do this by filling out an application for holiday benefits.  

If we receive your holiday benefits application one month before you go on holiday, you will receive your holiday benefits no later than one week before your holiday begins.  

We must receive the holiday benefits application pertaining to a specific holiday year no later than 31 January in the subsequent holiday entitlement period. By the end of the holiday entitlement period (31 December), you have one month to submit your holiday benefits application (by 31 January).  

Fill out your holiday benefits application 

The holiday benefits you accrue are based on paid unemployment benefits and holiday benefits from the unemployment insurance fund, as well as maternity/paternity benefits (barselsdagpenge) from Udbetaling Danmark. 

You accrue holiday benefits on an ongoing basis. This means that you will also have accrued holiday benefits every time you receive one of the abovementioned benefits. 

If you receive unemployment benefits for 160.33 hours in one month, you will have accrued 2.08 days of holiday benefits. You will earn proportionally fewer holiday benefits if you receive unemployment benefits for fewer hours. 

You can continue to accrue up to 25 days of holiday benefits in one holiday year. 

If you have received maternity/paternity benefits from Udbetaling Danmark during the holiday year and are a member of an unemployment insurance fund, you have also accrued holiday benefits. 

The accrual of holiday benefits based on maternity/paternity benefits happens on an ongoing basis. This means that after each payment of maternity/paternity benefits, you will have accrued holiday benefits. 

Please note that if you have acquired eligibility for paid holiday (ferie med løn) from your employer during your entire maternity/paternity leave, you will not have accumulated holiday benefits from the unemployment benefit fund (feriedagpenge). 

Log in to Mit AKA and see how many days of holiday benefits you have accrued 

If you are an unemployed member and want to take a holiday but have not yet accrued any holiday benefits, you have the option to wait until you qualify for holiday benefits based on the unemployment benefits you have received. 

Remember, your holiday must be registered on jobnet.dk before the holiday begins. 

Example: 

You would like to go on a three-day holiday from 15 September to 17 September 2025. 

You have not yet accrued any holiday benefits at the time of your holiday. Thus, your holiday will not initially be financially covered. 

Subsequently, you’ll receive unemployment benefits for September, October and November 2025 and have thus accrued holiday benefits equivalent to five days of holiday. 

By then, you will have accrued enough holiday benefits to cover the period from 15 September to 17 September 2025. Then you can submit a holiday benefits application. Remember, we must receive the application by 31 January in the following holiday entitlement period. 

If you have registered your holiday on jobnet.dk and meet the requirements to qualify for holiday benefits, we will pay you three days of holiday benefits for that period. 

Even if you are employed, you can receive the holiday benefits you have accrued while receiving benefits from us or Udbetaling Danmark. 

You must have taken any holiday that you have accrued with your employer before you can receive holiday benefits from the unemployment benefit fund. If you are unsure whether you have accrued any days of holiday with an employer, you can always check by logging into Feriekonto via borger.dk. 

You can receive holiday benefits after taking the days of holiday you have accrued with your employer. A holiday can consist of some days with holiday pay followed by some days covered by holiday benefits from the unemployment benefit fund. 

Log in to Feriekonto via borger.dk 

The Danish Holiday Act allows you to spend your days of holiday in advance while receiving pay from your employer. This means you can spend your holiday from your job in andvance and apply for holiday benefits for the same days. 

However, you should be aware that the advance use of days of holiday from your job will be included in the calculation of your right to holiday benefits from the unemployment benefit fund at a later date. 

This means that if you apply for holiday benefits again later and have previously spent your days of holiday with pay from your job in advance, the advance holiday leave will be included in the calculation of your right to receive holiday benefits.  

Thus, you may risk taking days of holiday without financial coverage if you have previously received the financial coverage from your employer. 

If you have accrued more days of holiday because you have worked, received unemployment benefits, or maternity/paternity benefits than you are entitled to under the Holiday Act at the time of your holiday, you may, in some cases, apply for holiday benefits to be paid out to you alongside the holiday pay from your employer, provided you meet the necessary conditions. 

According to the Holiday Act, you accrue 2.08 days of paid holiday per month, with or without pay if you have been employed for more than one month. 

If you have been employed for less than one month, you accrue 0.07 days of paid holiday for each day of employment, up to a maximum of 2.08 days. 

Qualifying for the right to go on holiday leave, with or without pay, is outlined below: 

You often accrue more days of paid holiday than you are entitled to, such as if you have had two jobs or have worked part-time while receiving supplementary unemployment benefits (supplerende dagpenge). 

Example 

You apply for holiday benefits for one week (5 days) in February. 

On 1 February, you have accrued 10.4 days of paid or unpaid holiday under the Holiday Act. 

You have accrued 10.4 days of paid holiday based on part-time work from 1 September to 31 January, and you have accrued 6 days worth of holiday benefits in the same period.  

You have earned 10.4 + 6 = 16.4 days of paid holiday. 

When we decide if you are eligible for holiday benefits, we subtract the days of holiday benefits you have accrued from the total number of days you are entitled to from the first day of your holiday according to the Holiday Act.

This way, we calculate how many days of paid holiday you need to take before you can receive holiday benefits from the unemployment benefit fund. You may also receive holiday pay during the period you receive holiday benefits. 

In the example above, you would need to take 10.4 - 6 = 4 (4.4 rounded) days of paid holiday before we can pay you holiday benefits. This means we could pay you one day worth of holiday benefits. 

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. 

If you are self-employed as your primary occupation and you are not eligible for unemployment benefits, you do not qualify for holiday benefits either.  

If you previously received unemployment benefits with permission to run a partial self-employed business, you may still receive holiday benefits if you continue to be eligible for unemployment benefits and are available for work, even if you are now working full-time in your business. 

If you started a self-employed business while being eligible for unemployment benefits, you are also eligible for holiday benefits. 

You may be eligible for holiday or unemployment benefits if your workplace has a collective holiday closure. Please see the details below.  

1. If you have accrued holiday benefits 

A primary requirement for holiday benefits from the unemployment benefit fund is that you have already spent the days of holiday accrued through your employment. 

However, suppose you have accrued holiday benefits and started a job where the employer has announced a collective holiday closure. In that case, your employer is required under the Danish Holiday Act to ensure that you have enough holiday leave to cover the closure. This means you may be able to receive your holiday benefits without first using all your accrued holiday leave from your employer. 

Please contact us if you have accrued holiday benefits and your employer has announced a collective holiday closure. 

2. How to apply for unemployment benefits during a collective holiday closure without having accrued any holiday benefits 

Your employer must ensure, as far as possible, that you have accrued enough paid holiday leave to cover the entire collective holiday closure. If that is not the case, your employer must pay you a salary that covers the remaining days. Suppose you have been employed throughout the previous holiday year and until the collective holiday closure and have no remaining paid holiday leave. In that case, your employer must provide holiday pay in advance. 

You should contact your trade union if you are unsure whether you are entitled to paid holiday leave during the collective holiday closure. 

If you are newly employed, you may be eligible to apply for unemployment benefits during the collective holiday closure if you meet the following conditions:

• You are unable to work due to the holiday closure. 
• You have used all your accrued holiday leave, including both paid holiday leave and holiday benefits from your unemployment insurance fund. 
• You meet the general requirements for unemployment benefits, including being available for other work and staying in Denmark during the holiday closure. 
• You are registered on jobnet.dk as unemployed, receiving unemployment benefits and searching for a job. 

For a closure to be considered a collective holiday closure, the following conditions must be met: 

• The entire company – or a clearly defined part of it – must be completely closed. 
• A collective holiday closure may last a maximum of five weeks per holiday year. 
• The holiday must be announced in accordance with the Danish Holiday Act. 
• If the holiday closure occurs between 1 May and 30 September, your employer must give at least three months’ notice. At least one month's notice is required for closures at other times of the year. Alternatively, the holiday closure must be specified in your collective agreement or workplace agreement under which you are employed. 

If you want to apply for unemployment benefits during a collective holiday closure, you must fill out an application for unemployment benefits (ledighedserklæring). 

Fill out an application for unemployment benefits