Unclaimed holiday pay

Unclaimed holiday pay is holiday pay that has not been paid out during the relevant holiday period.

If the unclaimed holiday pay was earned through employment at SDU, you fall under the Holiday Fund at the University of Southern Denmark.

If your question concerns holiday pay not earned at SDU, you are not covered by SDU’s Holiday Fund. Instead, you must contact the Labour Market Holiday Fund (Arbejdsmarkedets Feriefond).

If your question concerns current holiday pay, please contact SDU HR – Payroll.

Which documentation is required?

The Holiday Fund must ensure that you meet the conditions laid down in the law for us to disburse your unclaimed holiday pay.

If you cannot document that you meet these conditions, the Holiday Fund has no legal basis for paying out the holiday pay.

Typically, we request an employer’s declaration or a declaration from a paying authority (e.g. Udbetaling Danmark or the SU Office) as well as your detailed tax records.

However, the Holiday Fund may need to obtain additional documentation and will contact you if this is necessary.

What are detailed tax records?

As part of the documentation, you must always submit detailed tax records together with the application form.

Your annual tax statement cannot be used, as it does not contain the information required for processing your case.

You can find the detailed tax records via skat.dk or borger.dk. See the guidance above the application form.

Please note that the Danish Tax Authority may delete your information after three years, so it is important that you download the correct version, as it may otherwise be difficult to document your entitlement to unclaimed holiday pay.

As a general rule, the Holiday Fund at the University of Southern Denmark will process your application within six weeks.

This processing time presumes that you have completed the application form correctly and submitted the required documentation.

Please read the instructions carefully before sending your application.

When an employee covered by an employer’s holiday card scheme (without a holiday fund) applies to a private holiday fund for payment of unclaimed holiday pay, and otherwise meets the conditions for payment, the Holiday Fund must pay out the gross amount, as this is what the employer has paid into the Holiday Fund.

The payment will be made as Danish B‑income, and the income will be reported by the Fund as a gross amount linked to your civil registration number to the Danish Tax Authorities.

In connection with the payment, the Holiday Fund must inform you that the payment has been made as a gross amount and reported to the Income Register under Sections 3 and 4 of the Income Register Act.

You are responsible for ensuring that tax is paid on your holiday pay, as it forms part of your taxable income.

According to Section 30(1), the Holiday Fund must pay out unclaimed holiday pay when:

• holiday pay, paid holiday, or holiday supplement has been transferred to the Holiday Fund AND
• the employee applies within 5 years after the end of the holiday period AND
• the holiday has been taken OR
• the holiday pay can be paid out without the holiday being taken.

The holiday period constitutes the the following:

1 September in year one up to and including 31 December year two.

For example:

• The 2022/2023 holiday period includes 1 September 2022 (year one) - 31 December 2023 (year two)
• The 2023/2024 holiday period includes 1 September 2023 (year one/three) - 31 December 2024 (year two/four)
• The 2024/2025 holiday period includes 1 September 2024 (year one/three) - 31 December 2025 (year two/four)
• The 2025/2026 holiday period includes 1 September 2025 (year one/three) - 31 December 2026 (year two/four)

etc.

Below are the conditions and documentation requirements for various situations.

For questions, please write to feriefonden@sdu.dk.

You may be entitled to have unclaimed holiday pay disbursed without taking holiday if you:

• Have accrued more than 4 weeks of holiday between 1 September year one - 31 August year two AND
• Have not previously had holiday in excess of 4 weeks (5th week) paid out AND
• Have not received unemployment benefits, temporary labour market benefits, cash benefits, early retirement, flexible benefits, sickness benefits, integration benefits, education assistance, or social assistance between 1 September year one and 31 December year two, unless you had a holiday obstacle up to 31 December year two (see point 5).

To process your application, you must submit:

1. Application form for payment of unclaimed holiday pay AND
2. Detailed tax records (annual statement is insufficient) AND
3. A declaration from the employer where you were employed during the holiday period in question regarding employment, holiday taken, and holiday obstacles.

See forms and the guide above.

If you cannot obtain an employer’s declaration (e.g. due to bankruptcy), you must write to feriefonden@sdu.dk explaining why and instead attach payslips for 1 September year one through 31 December year two.

The Holiday Fund reserves the right to request further documentation.

If you were prevented from taking your holiday during 1 September year one – 31 December year two, you may be entitled to up to 4 weeks of holiday pay.

Situation 1:

You may be eligible if:

• You were prevented from taking your holiday for one of the reasons listed in the Holiday Obsticle Order (only available in Danish) AND
• The holiday obstacle ended before 31 December year three AND
• You subsequently took holiday before 31 December year three 

Documentation required:

• Application form
• Detailed tax records
• Declaration from paying authority regarding holiday taken or holiday obstacle (if you received sickness or parental leave benefits, etc.)

See forms and the guide above.

The Holiday Fund may request further documentation.

Situation 2:

You may also be eligible if:

• You were prevented from taking holiday from the end of the holiday period 1 September year one - 31 December year two through the end of the holiday period 1 September year three - 31. december year four AND
• The obstacle was your own illness or parental leave.

Documentation required:

• Application form
• Detailed tax records
• Declaration from paying authority regarding holiday taken or holiday obstacle (if you received sickness or parental leave benefits, etc.)

See forms and the guide above.

The Holiday Fund may request further documentation.

You may be entitled to unclaimed holiday pay if:

• Your employment ended no later than 31. December year two AND
• Have not received unemployment benefits, temporary labour market benefits, cash benefits, early retirement, flexible benefits, sickness benefits, integration benefits, education assistance, or social assistance between 1 September year one and 31 December year two, unless you had a holiday obstacle up to 31 December year two (see the item I was prevented from taking holiday).

You must submit:

• Application form AND
• Detailed tax records
• or, if you have moved abroad: resignation letter or proof of termination and documentation of relocation.

See the guide above.

The Holiday Fund may request additional documentation. 

When you leave the Danish labour market, you may have all the holiday pay owed to you for the current holiday period disbursed at once without taking the holiday.

This applies if you receive state pension, early retirement pension, senior pension, or employer-funded pension. It does not apply if you receive unemployment-related early retirement benefits.

Be aware that your holiday pay may be offset against your early retirement benefits if you receive the holiday pay before retiring.

If you have been employed with the right to paid holiday, your employer may pay your holiday pay directly to you when you retire. Please contact SDU HR Payroll regarding this

If you work while receiving your pension, you must take holiday in order to have holiday pay paid out.

Request deadline

If you wish to have all your holiday pay paid out at once without taking holiday, you must request payment no later than six months after your last day on the labour market.

If more than six months have passed since you left the labour market, you must take holiday in order to have the holiday pay disbursed.

As a pensioner, you may decide for yourself when you take holiday within the holiday period.

Documentation requirements

You must be able to document that you have left the labour market. Acceptable documentation includes:

• A declaration from the paying authority (e.g. Udbetaling Danmark, your private pension scheme)
• decision granting pension or early retirement pension
• a payment from a private pension scheme
• a payment from an occupational pension scheme

If the employee died within the holiday period 1 September year one – 31 December year two, the unclaimed holiday pay will be paid to the estate.

You must submit the probate certificate and forward it to feriefonden@sdu.dk.

Additional documentation may be requested.

• have accrued holiday pay in the holiday period 1 September of year one – 31 December of year two, AND
• have taken holiday during the holiday period 1 September of year one – 31 December of year two, AND
• have not received payment for the holiday taken.

If you have not taken your holiday by 31 December of year two within the holiday period, the right to both the holiday and the holiday pay lapses, unless the holiday pay can be disbursed without the holiday being taken.

• Application form for payment of unclaimed holiday pay, AND
• Detailed tax records (the annual tax statement is not sufficient), AND
• A declaration from the employer you had during the relevant period regarding employment, holiday taken, and any holiday obstacles, OR
• A declaration from a paying authority regarding holiday taken and holiday obstacles (if you were receiving benefits when you took holiday).

For example:
You are employed at another Danish university and have completed an assessment task for SDU. You did not request your holiday pay via borger.dk before the deadline. The funds have now been transferred to SDU. To receive the payment, you must submit a completed application form, detailed tax records covering the entire holiday period, and an employer’s declaration from the employer you had at the time you carried out the assessment task for SDU, confirming that you have taken the holiday accrued in connection with your primary employment.

The Holiday Fund reserves the right to request additional documentation.

Please send your application and all attachments to feriefonden@sdu.dk. Please note that the processing time may be up to six weeks.