When your employment relationship ends, whether due to dismissal, resignation, contract expiration or other reasons, and you haven’t used your regular vacation days, your employer must pay you specific monetary amounts. How much money your employer owes you if you haven’t taken your vacation depends on your years of service and is determined by specific legal provisions. Your right includes both the compensation for the vacation days you didn’t take as well as the corresponding allowance.
How much money your employer owes you if you haven’t taken your vacation
According to article 1 paragraph 3 of Law 1346/1983, every employee who leaves the company without having used their annual vacation is entitled to financial compensation equivalent to the wages they would have received if they had actually taken the vacation. This amount is calculated differently depending on how many years you’ve worked at the company.
What amounts you’re entitled to in the first year of employment
During the first calendar year you work at a company, the money your employer owes you for vacation you didn’t take is calculated based on your months of employment. Specifically, for each month you worked, you’re entitled to compensation equal to 2 daily wages or 2/25 of your monthly salary.
Additionally, the vacation allowance you’re entitled to is calculated at 2 daily wages for each month of work, with a maximum limit of half your monthly salary or 13 daily wages total. This means that even if you worked the entire year, the allowance cannot exceed this maximum limit.
Compensation calculation during the second year
In the second calendar year of your employment, the calculation method remains the same as the first year. How much money your employer owes you if you haven’t taken your vacation continues to be determined by the same formula: 2 daily wages or 2/25 of the monthly salary for each month you remained in service.
The vacation allowance also remains at the same levels, meaning 2 daily wages per month with a maximum limit of half the monthly salary or 13 daily wages. The legislation makes no distinction between the first and second year regarding the calculation of these amounts.
Rights from the third year onwards
From the third calendar year of employment and for all subsequent years, things change significantly in favor of the employee. At this stage, if you leave your job without having taken your regular vacation, you’re entitled to the full wages of the complete regular vacation provided by law.
This means the employer must pay you the full vacation allowance, exactly as you would have received it if you had taken your vacation at the time of employment termination. There are no longer restrictions or proportional reductions based on months of work, but you receive the entirety of the rights you’ve acquired.
How to claim the money owed to you
To ensure you receive all the money your employer owes you for vacation you didn’t take, it’s important to know your rights and claim them promptly. Vacation compensation and vacation allowance must be included in the final settlement you receive when leaving the company.
In case the employer refuses to pay the owed amounts or there’s disagreement about their calculation, you can contact the Labor Inspectorate or seek legal advice. Your rights are protected by law and it’s important not to waive them without having received the full compensation you’re entitled to.
