About this template
Vacation Policy & Vacation Procedures 2026/2027 – complete template for employers
Does your company need an updated vacation policy and clear vacation procedures for employees? This document package provides HR, employers, and managers with separate templates to establish a policy, document consultations, provide vacation notifications, track carried-over days, and prepare operations for vacation closures.
The product is designed as policy and decision support, unlike a standard vacation list or staffing calendar. The templates keep vacation leave, vacation pay, unpaid leave, and carried-over vacation days separate. An included Excel register provides a consolidated administrative overview without automatically determining employee entitlements.
Digital delivery: 15 files in a ZIP – seven editable Word (DOCX) files, seven searchable PDF (A4) files, and one Excel register (XLSX). Five main documents and a Swedish user guide in Swedish, plus an English User Guide with instructions for the Swedish templates.
01. Contents of the package
Total of 15 digital files: 7 DOCX, 7 corresponding searchable PDF files, and 1 XLSX. Five Swedish main templates, one Swedish step-by-step guide, and a separate English User Guide. Version 1.0 – 2026/2027.
Format: Word documents are fully editable, the PDF versions work for review and printing, and the Excel file has nine tabs with sixteen control KPIs. Language: Swedish main documents with an English user guide; no English translation of the main policy is promised. Legal review: October 16, 2026, editorial – no external legal certification. The year 2027 is an edition designation.
02. What the files contain – document by document
| Document | Function and content | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 01. Vacation Policy – employer | Policy for legal support, responsibilities, scheduling, consultation, notification, carrying over, vacation closure, and information security. | DOCX + PDF |
| 02. Consultation and notification of vacation scheduling | Requests, union collaboration, employer decision, date of notice, and receipt of acknowledgment. | DOCX + PDF |
| 03. Carried-over vacation – documentation | Carried-over paid days per year, accrual, withdrawal plan, and the conditions according to Sections 18–21 of the Annual Leave Act. | DOCX + PDF |
| 04. Vacation closure – risk control | Review of paid days, unpaid days, alternative work tasks, notice periods, and collective agreement terms. | DOCX + PDF |
| 05. Collective agreements and vacation – checklist | Check of vacation year, main vacation, deadlines, shifts and part-time, sick leave, and specific contract terms. | DOCX + PDF |
| 06. Swedish User Guide | Ten steps from review of collective agreements to implementation, consultation, decision-making, control, and archiving. | DOCX + PDF |
| 07. English User Guide | English instructions for the Swedish forms; no translated English vacation policy. | DOCX + PDF |
| 08. Vacation policy and decision register in Excel | Nine tabs and 16 KPIs for policy versions, vacation requests, decisions, carry-overs, vacation closures, and controls. | XLSX |
Every Word and PDF file contains separately framed information boxes with 01. Contents of the package and 02. What the files contain, plus a clear legal disclaimer. The documents are not pre-filled with fictitious employees, salaries, collective agreements, or employer decisions.
03. Excel register – nine tabs, 16 KPIs
Overview · Employees · Policy · Requests · Scheduling · Carried-over days · Closure · Control · Read me.
The overview compiles, for example, the number of policy versions, communicated policies, requests, actual decisions and vacation notices, checking of notification deadlines, registered carry-over balance, planned vacation closure, and open discrepancies. The administrative carry-over balance shown in the register is calculated as max(0, opening days + newly acquired carried-over days − used days).
Limitation: Excel is not a payroll system, staffing calendar, or an automated control of the Annual Leave Act. It does not calculate accrued vacation pay, vacation compensation, net vacation days for shift work, or legally correct notice periods. Years and agreements must be checked individually. The workbook is empty from the start, without test personnel or fabricated decisions.
How to implement a vacation policy in the workplace
- Determine the application. Specify employer, unit, staff groups, and any local agreements.
- Check the collective agreement. Take an inventory of rules for vacation years, accrual, paid days, scheduling, shifts, and vacation compensation.
- Separate leave and pay. Report paid, unpaid, and carried-over days separately; the right to leave is not always the right to vacation pay.
- Design the policy. Adapt document 01 to actual routines for responsibilities, requests, consultation, notification, and information security.
- Collect requests. Let employees submit suggestions for vacation periods according to a clear internal planning routine.
- Conduct consultation and necessary negotiations. Document both individual consultation and any union negotiation procedures.
- Make and communicate decisions. Use document 02 and save the actual date and channel for the notification.
- Handle carried-over days correctly. Use document 03 for the correct year and review according to Sections 18–21 of the Annual Leave Act.
- Check vacation closure separately. Use document 04 before making decisions so that unpaid vacation is not incorrectly forced.
- Review regularly. Use Excel and document 05 for audit trails and corrections when collective agreements or laws change.
What rules govern a Swedish vacation policy?
Annual Leave Act, Sections 3–8 – right to leave and vacation pay
The Annual Leave Act (1977:480) is based on a vacation year from April 1 to March 31 and a preceding accrual year, unless permitted deviations apply. The main rule is 25 vacation days per vacation year. Anyone starting after August 31 initially has five days during the vacation year that has started. The right to paid vacation depends on accrual and applicable terms, and short-term employment has specific rules.
Annual Leave Act, Sections 10–12 – negotiation, notification, and main vacation
The employer must follow the law's order for consultation and any negotiations regarding the scheduling of the main vacation. If the scheduling is determined without an agreement, the employee must as a general rule be notified at least two months before the leave; in special circumstances, notice may be given later, but if possible at least one month before. Four weeks of continuous vacation during June–August is the general starting point. Unionen's guidance on vacation notifications explains the practical process.
Annual Leave Act, Section 12 a – part-time employees and irregular schedules
Vacation must be scheduled so that employees with lower employment rates or irregular working hours receive as much leave as full-time employees with regular schedules. How the days should be counted in practice, including net vacation in certain collective agreements, must be checked. This product does not automatically calculate the number of net vacation days.
Annual Leave Act, Sections 18–21 – carrying over vacation
Anyone who has more than 20 paid vacation days is generally allowed to save the excess days. Carried-over days should normally be taken within five years from the end of the vacation year in which they were saved, with statutory exceptions. According to Section 18, vacation days may normally not be saved during the same year that older carried-over days are taken. Years and actual order of withdrawal must be documented and any collective agreement rules reviewed.
Vacation closure, unpaid vacation, and changed vacation
A workplace closure in itself does not mean that the employee must accept unpaid vacation days or be forced to take previously saved days. An already approved vacation period should not be changed casually; test agreement, predictability, reasons, and any damages or costs. Unionen describes vacation withdrawals and closure. Always update employee information according to current rules and collective agreements.
Related documents at Mallbutiken
If you also want to do staffing planning and get a calendar overview, use the separate Vacation Planning & Staffing Overview 2027. Does the company need to document advance vacation pay? See Advance Vacation – Agreement, Withdrawal & Final Settlement. For changes in working conditions, there is the Reassignment Agreement 2026/2027. More HR documents can be found in HR, Labor Law & Whistleblowing – Templates. The linked products are not included in this ZIP package.
Frequently asked questions about vacation policy and vacation procedures
Does a company have to have a written vacation policy?
There is no general obligation to buy or use a specific policy form. However, a clear internal routine can help to handle applications, consultations, notifications, and saving of days consistently according to current law and agreements.
What should a vacation policy contain?
It should state the scope, law and collective agreement, responsibilities, application process, consultation, main vacation scheduling, notification routines, carried-over days, handling of unpaid leave, documentation, and contact channels.
Are all employees entitled to 25 paid vacation days?
No. The main rule entitles employees to 25 days of vacation leave per vacation year, but the paid portion depends on accrual and conditions. Some new employees have fewer leave days during the first part of the vacation year.
When must the employer provide vacation notice?
If the employer determines the vacation without an agreement, notice should as a main rule be given at least two months before the leave. In special circumstances, it may come later, but if possible at least one month before. Check the collective agreement.
Can the employer schedule four weeks of main vacation outside the summer?
As a main rule, four continuous weeks should be during June–August. Contracted deviations and special circumstances may make other solutions permissible. This requires a review in the specific case.
Can the employer force unpaid vacation during a closure?
Normally not solely because the workplace is closed. The employer must test the employee's actual right to paid days and possible alternatives according to the Annual Leave Act, agreements, and circumstances.
How many days of vacation can be carried over?
According to the main rule of the law, paid vacation days exceeding 20 can be saved. Carried-over days have specific rules regarding withdrawal and time limits. Collective agreements can affect handling.
Does Excel calculate accrued vacation days or vacation pay?
No. Excel is a register for policy, applications, decisions, carried-over years, closure, and controls. Salary, legal rights, and net vacation days must be calculated separately with the correct data.
Is an English vacation policy included?
No. The five main documents are in Swedish. An English User Guide is included with instructions but is not a translation of the main templates.
Are the documents official or externally legally certified?
No. They are professionally designed editorial work documents, not government forms or individually lawyer-reviewed employment terms.
Legal sources and version information
Legal source review: October 16, 2026. Document version: 1.0 / 2026–2027. The year 2027 indicates the edition, not that future legal changes are already known. See the Annual Leave Act, Unionen – vacation notice, and Arbetsgivarverket – vacation. Legal individual advice is recommended for collective agreement interpretation or disputes.
