How is the employee's paid leave allowance calculated?

Verified 06 February 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister)

During his leave, the employee does not receive a salary. However, the employee receives a vacation pay. This allowance may be calculated from 2 ways :

  • or by the 1/10 rulee of the total gross compensation,
  • or by the salary maintenance rule.

Not all elements of gross compensation are taken into account in the calculation of leave with pay.

Tableau - Amounts taken into account and not taken into account in determining leave with pay

Sum

Consideration

Salary basic

Yes

Salary increase (overtime, night worketc.)

Yes

Salary reconstituted during periods equivalent to actual work (maternity leave, paternity and childcare leave and of adoption or Work stoppage because of non-occupational disease, of occupational disease, of accident at work or of journey accident

Yes

Vacation Pay of the previous year

Yes

Seniority bonus (if not paid for the year, periods of work and leave combined)

Yes

Attendance bonus paid monthly

Yes

On-call premium

Yes

Commissions for salespeople

Yes

Expatriation bonus

Yes

Benefits in kind

Yes

End-of-year bonus

No

Incentive premium

No

Balance sheet premium

No

Participation bonus

No

Business expenses

No

13e month (if not paid for the year, combined periods of work and leave)

Yes

Partial Activity

Yes

Financial contribution under the non-compete obligation

Yes

Compensation for end of contract (so-called precariousness premium) of fixed duration

Yes

End-of-assignment allowances for temporary contracts

Yes

The employee's paid leave allowance is calculated by comparing two calculation methods:

  • According to the 1re method (called du 1/10e), the holiday pay is equal to 1/10e of the total gross compensation perceived during the reference period
  • According to the 2from method (called du maintenance of salary), the leave with pay allowance shall be equal the remuneration received if the employee had continued to work

That's the amount the most advantageous which is paid.

In making this calculation, the employer may take into account:

  • Either the actual schedule of the month, the fairest method and recognized by the judges
  • Or the average number of working days (or workmanship)
  • Or the actual number of working days (or working days).

Example :

An employee receives a salary of €24,000 gross during the reference period taken into account for the calculation of its allowances (i.e €2,000 per month) and the employee takes 2 weeks of paid leave.

The 2 calculation methods are as follows:

Tableau - Comparison of the methods used to calculate the vacation pay

Method of salary maintenance

1/10 methode

Taking into account the actual schedule of the month (7 hours per day) in a month that has 21 working days, the actual number of hours worked in the month is fixed at 147 hours (21 x 7) and the number of hours not worked due to paid leave at 70 hours (10 x 7).

The calculation is as follows: 2 000 x (7x10) / (7x21) = €952.38

The calculation of 1/10e of gross remuneration is calculated as follows: (24 000/10) = €2,400 for leave of 30 working days (or 25 working days).

For a fraction of 2 weeks of leave, the calculation is as follows:

  • In working days (i.e. 12 days): (24,000/10) x (12/30) = €960.00
  • In working days (10 days): (24 000/10) x (10/25) = €960.00

The employee then receives the most favorable amount, namely €960.00 for the 2 weeks of paid leave.

FYI  

Leave with pay is paid on the usual date of payment of salary. The dates of the leave with pay and the amount of the corresponding leave with pay allowance must be shown on the payslip.

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