Does unused annual leave expire in Estonia?
It does — and this is the most expensive deadline in Estonian employment law. An employee's annual leave is at least 28 calendar days, unless the parties have agreed on more or the law provides otherwise. Unused leave carries over into the next calendar year — but not forever. The right to leave expires within one year of the end of the calendar year for which it accrued. In practice: leave earned for 2025 can be used until the end of 2026 — after that it simply disappears. And one thing never disappears: when employment ends, all unused leave days are compensated in cash, however long they have been accumulating.
📋 The rules
- Annual leave: at least 28 calendar days
- Unused leave carries over
- The right expires after 1 year
- Counted from the end of the calendar year
- On termination it is paid in cash
🔓 Exceptions
- Leave may be longer than 28 calendar days by agreement or under the law
- On termination of employment all unused leave days are compensated in cash
- Holiday pay is normally paid before the leave begins unless otherwise agreed
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Expiry is not a penalty — it is a quiet loss. If you do not use the leave earned for 2025 by the end of 2026, it expires, and afterwards you get neither the time nor the money for it. This is where people lose most: days pile up over years, they feel like they are “still there”, and then it turns out the older ones have long since lapsed. Practical advice: ask your employer for the leave balance in writing and look at which year each day was earned for — not just the total. And remember the one guarantee: when the employment ends, all unused days are paid out in cash, so on leaving you do not need to “burn off” leave to keep it from vanishing.
📎 Official sources
❓ Frequently asked
How long is annual leave?
An employee's annual leave is at least 28 calendar days, unless the employer and employee have agreed on longer leave or the law provides otherwise for a particular group of employees.
Does unused leave expire?
It does. Unused leave carries over into the next calendar year, but the right to it expires within one year of the end of the calendar year for which the leave accrued.
How long can old leave be used?
Leave earned for 2025, for example, can be used until the end of 2026. After that deadline it expires, and you can claim neither time off nor money for those days afterwards.
What happens to leave when I resign?
On termination of employment all unused leave days are compensated in cash. That is the one situation in which accrued days are certain not to be lost, however long they have accumulated.
How do I check my leave balance?
Ask your employer for the balance in writing and look at which year each day was earned for, not merely the total. That shows which days are about to expire and which are still safely valid.
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