Holiday Pay: Part 2 - Employer's Claims for Reimbursement

The employer is obligated to pay the employee the full salary during the vacation period. Under certain circumstances, however, it may happen that the employee receives too much vacation pay. If this is the case, the employer may have a right to reclaim the overpayment.

Repayment due to advance vacation taken

‍The employee is entitled to four weeks of vacation per service year according to Art. 329a OR. Individuals who have not yet reached the age of 20 are even entitled to five weeks. If the employment relationship unexpectedly ends during a service year, it may happen that the employee has taken too much vacation. In this case, the employer may have a right to reclaim, as the vacation and thus the vacation pay must be earned first.

The case is clearest if an explicit repayment agreement has been made in the written employment contract. It is somewhat harder to prove if the advance vacations were taken at the request of the employee. However, even in this case, the employer has a right to reclaim the overpaid salary.

‍Repayment due to work for a third party

‍Article 329d paragraph 3 explicitly states that the employer can refuse to pay vacation pay or demand the repayment of excessively paid vacation wages if the employee performs remunerative work for a third party during the vacation and thereby violates the legitimate interests of the employer. A claim based on already paid vacation wages can be offset against open wage claims of the employee.Findea helps you to keep your taxes simple and straightforward.

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