How holidays are calculated on the pay slip

How are accrued holidays calculated and where can I read them on the pay slip? We have explored the topic in depth with our partner F2D, an expert on the subject!

How holidays are calculated

Paid annual holidays are an indispensable right recognized for all employees, regardless of their qualification or type of contract. In fact, all those employed in public utility work and in professional placement projects are also included.

It is a duty that the tax regime imposes on all companies and individual employers. However, it is not always so easy to be able to calculate them and read them on your pay slip: so how do you do it?

How to read holidays on your pay slip

The holidays due to workers have a minimum duration of four weeks, a period which can possibly be extended but can never be reduced. To actually understand how they are calculated on the pay slip, it is essential to determine the days due to the employee in a year as established by the National Collective Labor Agreements (CCNL) for each professional category and based on each person’s seniority and qualification.
However, there is a double method for the calculation: the first is that imposed by legal regulations, which establishes a period of no less than four weeks, which is mandatory and cannot be monetised, and the contractual one which can instead be monetised based on the reference sector.

In fact, three different periods of holiday can be distinguished: the first, of at least two weeks to be enjoyed uninterruptedly during the vesting year, a second of two weeks to be enjoyed in fractions within and no later than 18 months from the end of the vesting year and a third period which is greater than the established minimum of four weeks and can also be used in fractions by the end of the negotiation.

How are holidays calculated in the pay slip?

Now looking at the practical aspect, the pay slip normally shows the holidays not taken until 31 December of the previous year (AP Residual), the days accrued during the year by contract (Accrued or Due) and those already enjoyed (Enjoyed), finally the balance of the days or hours remaining corresponding to the difference between the accrued or due residual of the previous year and the one enjoyed.

It is therefore up to the worker to check on a monthly basis that the statement shown on the pay slip is correct and promptly communicate any discrepancies to his employer.
The calculation of accrued holidays is based on the actual days of work performance, including cases of absence which by law are equally defined as presence on duty, for example maternity or paternity leave, accidents at work, sick days, assignments at polling stations.
However, parental leave, strikes, military service, union leave for elective positions, unworked notice periods and zero-hour redundancy payments are not included.

It is useful to point out that, in the event of illness arising during the holiday period, a suspension of the same is envisaged if the intrinsic function, i.e. the recovery of psychophysical energies through rest, is compromised.
In these cases the worker will have to send the certificate electronically to INPS to communicate the state of illness to the employer and be able to enjoy the paid rest period.

What happens in case of untaken holidays

The right to holidays implies the obligation for the employer to assign them but also to pay a salary for the period of absence from service, of the same amount as that paid on days of regular presence.
In the case of days not used, by law there is a prohibition on monetization, i.e. the worker cannot agree with the employer to transform this period into pay.
In the event of termination of the employment contract, monetization is instead envisaged if the lack of use is not considered attributable to the will of the employee but caused by company needs or ascertained for example in the event of death or forensic medical findings and other cases of objective impossibility.