The Ministry of Employment announced that the application to have frozen holiday money paid out must be done digitally.

The ministry is working on a digital solution so that Danes can easily choose whether they want frozen holiday money paid out. The payment requires a digital request from the individual recipient. 

The agreement to pay out three weeks of saved holiday funds is part of the government’s summer package that intends to boost the economy after the Coronavirus Crisis. 

How it works
Peter Hummelgaard, the minister of employment, said that the bill on the frozen holiday funds is expected to be presented to Parliament on August 11.

The early payment of up to three weeks’ saved holiday funds should be based on an application from the employee.

If the employee does not apply for holiday pay in advance, it will be paid according to the general rules. 

Criticism of application
There has been criticism about the payment requiring an application instead of being given automatically.

The Ministry of Employment said that the payment will be “voluntary”. 

“So you can choose to leave the money if you do not want it paid out now. For the same reason, the employee must choose to have them paid out,” the ministry said.

The extra holiday subsidy emerged because of the transition period of the new holiday law. In the transition period from September 1, 2019 to August 31 this year, 12.5 percent of vacation pay will be frozen. The money was initially intended to be paid out only when the individual retires. This has resulted in pooled funds of 100 billion kroner in total. 

According to the ministry, 39 billion kroner will be paid after tax.