Vacation for teaching and researching staff
Termination of the standard vacation agreement
The Saco-S association has considered terminating the standard vacation (Swedish: schablonsemester) agreement for several years. Over time, the problems have increased, and the unions at the university therefore finally decided to terminate the agreement.
A recurring problem has been that “standard” has been perceived as flexible vacation, where teachers have been able to take leave when it suits them and the business. This has reduced administration and worked well for many – but as the examples below show, it has also led to situations where the rules have become unclear or where employees have been caught in a bind.
Member case: before summer 2024
Before the vacation planning, a head of department sent out a message: the department applies standard vacation and no exceptions are granted. This is wrong. This is contrary to both central and local collective agreements. Employees should be able to schedule vacation at other times, provided that the business allows it. In addition, employees have the right to save vacation days – and if vacation days are saved, standard vacation cannot be applied.
Member case: autumn 2025
A doctoral student is in the final stages of their thesis. The doctoral student and supervisor agree to work intensively over the summer: the text is submitted in July, the supervisor provides feedback, and the thesis is to be printed in August. The doctoral student works without interruption until the defense, and the employment ends in September. At that time, the department's HR asks the doctoral student to sign that they have had a standard vacation.
Doctoral students are sometimes subjected to pressure in such situations – questions of loyalty, arguments about finances, or claims that it was the doctoral student's "own choice" to work during the summer. Sometimes the department says that the doctoral student was still on leave after the thesis went to print. Few people have the strength to contact the union in such a situation, which means that these situations recur frequently. These problems also affect postdocs and junior researchers.
New agreement – new foundation
The parties – the employer and the employee organisations – have tried to take advantage of what worked in the previous agreement and fix what did not work. The biggest change is that teaching and research staff (see exactly which positions are included below) can now apply for vacation, instead of applying for an exception as in the previous agreement on standard vacation.
For employees who do not apply for vacation, the vacation will be scheduled according to a “fixed model”. The fixed model means that all vacation days will then be scheduled starting the first week after midsummer. The same applies to vacation according to a fixed model as to other vacation – that the employer cannot require the employee to perform work during the leave.
The head of department/equivalent can refuse a vacation application, but only if it conflicts with teaching or research. Of course, the head of department and employee can together come up with another time that works. However, it is the employer who ultimately decides on the vacation schedule.
The new agreement will be available on our website shortly.
Who is covered by the new agreement
The agreement covers all teaching categories as stated in the appointment regulations for Uppsala University, as well as employees with the titles researcher, postdoc, doctoral student, assistant with doctoral student duties and teaching assistant first and second cycle (Swedish: amanuens).
Saved vacation
Employees who have more than 20 paid vacation days per year have the right to save one or more of the excess days. The head of department/equivalent may only refuse saved vacation if the application is contrary to the Vacation Act or the Villkorsavtal. Employees may have a maximum of 30 saved vacation days.
Each saved vacation day means:
- annual working hours increase by 8 hours in the year the day is saved
- annual working hours decrease by 8 hours in the year the day is taken
New days cannot be saved during a year in which saved days are taken.
Teachers and head of department/equivalent must plan together so that the use of saved vacation is possible.
Follow-up
The Saco-S association would have preferred to exclude doctoral students and postdocs from the agreement, as these groups more often are negatively affected. However, they are still included in the agreement*. The employer has therefore promised to annually report which teachers have had holidays according to a fixed model, so that the Saco-S association can contact members and follow up on how the placement has worked.
The most important thing is that teaching and research staff actually have the opportunity to recover. Ultimately, it is about the health of our employees.
Important dates
By March 31:
Teaching and researching staff must apply for vacation and if they want to save or take saved vacation. The date is early to enable planning for the coming academic year.
By April 30:
The head of department must have consulted with the employee if the requested vacation cannot be granted.