Holiday compensation when a job ends
Leaving a Finnish job turns every unused leave day into money on your final payslip.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
Holiday compensation (lomakorvaus) is what your employer pays on your final payslip for every day of annual leave you earned but did not take. On a monthly salary, each day is worth your monthly pay divided by 25; on a weekly wage, weekly pay divided by 6. That makes a day worth €120.00 on €3,000 a month. The compensation covers both leftover days from the previous holiday credit year and days earned since 1 April of the current one, even though you could not have taken those yet. Someone resigning at the end of September with 12 days left from the summer and 15 new days since April receives 27 days, or €3,240 before tax. Workers whose hours were too short for any full month get a percentage instead: 9% of the year’s pay in a job of under a year, 11.5% after that. The claim expires after 2 years. For anyone moving on to unemployment benefit, holiday compensation is left out of the salary on which the earnings-related allowance is calculated.
Holiday compensation when a job ends
Holiday compensation
€1,440
| Day’s pay (÷ 25) | €120.00 |
| Percentage rule 11.5% of a year’s pay | €4,140 |
| Expires after | 2 years |
The rule in section 17
When employment ends, the Annual Holidays Act entitles you to compensation instead of leave for the period for which you have not received leave or compensation. A day of leave is priced with a divisor of 25 for monthly salaries and 6 for weekly ones. The sum is: monthly salary / 25 × unused days.
| Monthly salary | 5 days | 12 days | 27 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| €2,500 | €500 | €1,200 | €2,700 |
| €3,000 | €600 | €1,440 | €3,240 |
| €4,000 | €800 | €1,920 | €4,320 |
Worked example: leaving at the end of September
Mikko has been in the job for three years and leaves on 30 September 2026. Last credit year earned him 30 days, of which he took 18 in the summer, leaving 12. Since 1 April he has six full months, worth 15 days. That is 27 days in total.
At €3,000 a month each day is worth €120.00, and his compensation comes to €3,240. Had he used all 30 days in the summer, only this year’s 15 days would remain, worth €1,800. The mini calculator above does the same sum with your own pay and days.
A first-year job
In a job that lasts less than a year, compensation builds up at the lower rate. Sari started on 1 November 2025 and leaves on 31 August 2026 without having taken leave. By 31 March she had five full months in a job of under a year: 10 days. April to August adds five more months, still in a job of under a year, so another 10 days. On €2,600 a month, 20 days pay €2,080. Payroll mistakes are common here, in both directions, so check the multiplier and that the months after April are included.
Weekly pay and short-hours work
On a weekly wage, divide by 6. Weekly pay of €700 and 10 unused days give €1,167.
If you never had a full month, because you worked fewer than 14 days and fewer than 35 hours a month, compensation is a percentage of the wages paid for time at work in the credit year: 9% in a job of under a year, 11.5% once it has lasted a year. Gig work worth €8,000 a year gives €720 in the first year and €920 after.
Divisor or percentage: which one is yours
The mini calculator shows two figures. The divisor of 25 applies whenever you earned full holiday credit months, which covers almost everyone on a monthly salary. The percentage rule is only for people who never reached a full month. For a €3,000 monthly employee, the 11.5% figure of €4,140 is a reference point only; their compensation is counted in unused days.
What it does not do
It does not raise your unemployment allowance. The calculation rules published by TYJ leave holiday bonus and holiday compensation out of the pay base, so the allowance rests on the ordinary gross salary from the months that met the employment condition.
It does not automatically include a holiday bonus either. The bonus comes from collective agreements, and whether one is paid when employment ends depends on the agreement for your sector. The holiday bonus calculator estimates the amount if yours does.
Checking your final payslip
- Take last credit year’s days and subtract the days you used.
- Add 2.5 days for each full month since 1 April, or 2 in a first-year job.
- Multiply by monthly salary divided by 25.
- Compare with the holiday compensation line on the final payslip.
The accrual rules are explained under annual leave accrual. The claim lapses after 2 years, so raise any shortfall soon after you leave.
Sources: Annual Holidays Act 162/2005, sections 16 and 17 and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, holiday pay and compensation.