The holiday allowance is usually accrued from 1 April to 31 March. This is what we call the accrual year. However, for some individuals, the accrual year runs from 1 January to 31 December. This depends on the trade union. 

Wage earners
Every time wage earners are paid, their employer is responsible for contributing the holiday allowance, which is an amount corresponding to 12% of their wages, to TAKS' holiday fund. The holiday allowance is collected throughout the year and is then automatically credited every year on 2 May.

Salary earners
Salary earners, that are monthly paid, are entitled to time off with the usual salary. Furthermore, they are entitled to a holiday supplement which is 1.5% of the salary earned in the accrual year. The holiday supplement is usually paid together with the monthly payment for April.

You can always see how much holiday allowance you have earned on Borgaragluggin.

The holiday allowance is paid on 2 May. It is not possible to be paid in advance.

You must take the time off between 2 May and 1 May in the year after the accrual year. For example, if your accrual year ran from 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2019, you must take time off between 2 May 2019 and 1 May 2020. This is called the holiday year.

You must take the holiday during the holiday year, or else it will be lost. It cannot be carried over to the next holiday year.

Holiday allowance that remains unclaimed by 1 May the following year will return to the holiday fund.

If you are a wage earner, your holiday allowance is paid to the same bank account as in the previous years, unless you have notified TAKS of a change. In April, every year, you will receive a letter stating how much pay you are due, who your employer is and to which account the payment is made. If this account has been deleted, you must notify TAKS of a new account number.

If you are a salary earner, you will receive your usual monthly payment during your holiday.

There are two ways to notify TAKS of a change of bank account: 

• on TAKS' online portal, Borgaragluggin, you can change the bank account under Basic information > Contact information, 
• or by filling out a form and returning it electronically to TAKS via Mínboks or by post to TAKS, Postboks 2151, 110 Tórshavn. Find the form under quick links.

The deadline for changing the bank account is usually two weeks before the holiday allowance is due. 

Don't have a Faroese bank account?
If you do not have a Faroese bank account, you will be sent a notice. You can return the notice to TAKS with information of a bank account for the holiday allowance before 15 June. You can also hand in the notice at our customer service, Smyrilsvegur 20, 100 Tórshavn. You can find our opening hours at the bottom of this homepage. If the account is not Faroese, you are responsible for paying the cost of the transfer. If you have lost the notice, you can contact TAKS. In this case, you will not receive the payment until after 16 June.

After 15 June you can email TAKS at taks@taks.fo and ask to have your holiday allowance transferred to your bank account. Remember to inform us of your bank account number and to enclose some picture identification. If the account is not Faroese, you are responsible for paying the cost of the transfer. 

We recommend not to cancel your Faroese bank account until after your holiday allowance has been paid on 2 May.