My employer has neglected the payment of holiday bonuses due to the financial situation

Last year, my employer paid me a holiday bonus, but this year, the bonuses were not paid due to the bad financial times. Who is entitled to receive holiday bonus?

There are no legal provisions on holiday bonus or end-of-holiday pay, they are governed by collective agreements. Because the collective agreements vary between sectors, the regulations concerning holiday bonus should be checked in the agreement in question.

Usually, employees receive half of their salary during the holiday as holiday bonus. A typical prerequisite for the payment of holiday bonus is that the employee must resume their work after the holiday. Under the collective agreements for civil servants, the holiday bonus is usually paid together with the holiday compensation, even if the civil servant changes jobs.

Even employees not governed by a collective agreement are often entitled to holiday bonus by virtue of their employment contracts, or the employer has the obligation to pay them holiday bonus due to a standard practice of the organisation.

If your are entitled to holiday bonus under your employment contract or collective agreement, or if the holiday bonus has become one of the terms and conditions of your employment over the years and your entitlement has never been contested, you have the right to receive holiday bonus. Your employer does not have the right to make unilateral changes to a benefit that is comparable to salary.