Holiday bonus for unused holiday

tflmonte · Post by **tflmonte** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 9:25 pm

Hi,

I have resigned my current job last week and this year (meaning, since April) I have only used 2 days of holiday from the 30 days (with Saturdays) earned during last year. Today they sent me a "preliminary" invoice to check if all the outstanding payments are correct and I noticed that the holiday bonus is missing. I asked payroll and they said that it's "common practice" not to pay bonus if you don't take your holiday as it is normally paid when you come back from holidays (for historical reasons which don't make much sense nowadays).

Anyway, I don't buy this "common practice" !"#¤% as I haven't found any explicit reasons why it shouldn't be paid. The annual holidays act says:

"Holiday bonus
The Annual Holidays Act contains no provisions on the payment of any holiday bonus in excess of holiday pay. Holiday bonus is a benefit paid in accordance with collective agreements and usually amounts to 50% of the holiday pay"

Ok, let's see what the collective agreement that my company follows says:

"Section 7
Holiday pay and holiday bonus

Where so agreed the salary for the annual holiday may be paid on the regular salary payment day for the enterprise. Unless otherwise locally agreed, a holiday bonus of 50 per cent of the salary paid for the annual holiday of the senior salaried employee shall be payable. Unless otherwise locally agreed, the holiday bonus shall be paid at the same time as the salary for the annual holiday."

As I am leaving I will collect holiday pay for the unused holidays plus the ones earned since April this year. So "the holiday bonus shall be paid at the same time as the salary for the annual holiday", meaning my final paycheck with this company.

Does any one know where this "common practice" comes from? At least I don't find anything in the actual agreements pointing in that direction so I think I have the legal grounds to make a claim and get the bonus payment.

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Beep_Boop · Post by **Beep_Boop** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:08 pm

Beyond what the TES says, I don't knowbmuch about these things. However, when I left my previous company a few months ago, I received a payment that included all of the money from my unused holidays.

tflmonte · Post by **tflmonte** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:13 pm

By "all the money from my unused holiday" you mean holiday payment and bonus right?

What does TES stand for?

tflmonte · Post by **tflmonte** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:01 am

Common practice needs to have some legal groundings and so far I haven't found it. If you earn your holiday money during the previous year it makes (a lot of) sense that you earn your bonus as well, it's stupid to do it otherwise, especially if there's nothing explicit on that in the union agreements.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:19 pm

tflmonte wrote:Common practice needs to have some legal groundings and so far I haven't found it. If you earn your holiday money during the previous year it makes (a lot of) sense that you earn your bonus as well, it's stupid to do it otherwise, especially if there's nothing explicit on that in the union agreements.

Common name for the bonus is "lomaltapaluuraha", which one can translate as coming back from the holidays money.

edit. after glancing over the linked tes, I would ask for reason for not paying the bonus in written with someones name under it so the union lawyer has a person to sue.

tflmonte · Post by **tflmonte** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 1:32 pm

I got that sorted out with management and I will get the bonus, it can be agreed locally as the labor agreements are not clear on it.

Rick1 · Post by **Rick1** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 4:51 pm

Common practice is that certain things have not developed over the last years.

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