- Notification of termination during vacation
The notice of termination may be given at any time by the employer or the employee except in specific cases (such as incapacity for work, pregnancy, or military service). Vacation does not protect against the taking effect of termination. However, the termination will only be deemed notified upon the employee’s return home, unless the employee takes vacation without entitlement.
- Taking vacation during the notice period
In the event of termination of the employment contract, the length of the notice period and the number of vacation days still to be taken must be taken into account in order to determine whether the company can require the employee to take vacation or whether it must be paid.
It is generally impossible to require vacation days to be taken if the notice period is short (< 2 months), but this varies depending on multiple factors such as whether the employee has quickly found a new job or is released from the obligation to work.
Furthermore, the employee’s presence may be essential (for example, to train his or her successor), which limits the possibility of taking vacation days.
Any remaining vacation balance must be paid in addition to the notice period salary.
- Taking too much vacation
If the employee has taken too much vacation time beyond his or her entitlement, to determine whether the employer can demand reimbursement of the overpaid salary, two cases must be distinguished:
- When the company closure is imposed (annual closure) and results in an anticipation of vacation days, the employer cannot demand compensation.
- When the employee sets his or her own vacation days, the employer can demand reimbursement of the salary if the termination of the employment contract is due to the employee. If the company terminates the employee, the right to compensation is lost.
In all cases, it is important to include the relevant modalities in the employment contract to avoid any dispute on this point.
