Holiday Entitlement and Pay Calculator by Country

Days and holiday pay under each country's own code — calendar days versus working days, and the vacation premium that only two of them actually pay.

Reference table

Monthly salary	Holiday pay owed	Days you are owed	Daily rate
1,000	MX$500.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$33.33 per day — monthly divisor 30
2,000	MX$1,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$66.67 per day — monthly divisor 30
2,500	MX$1,250.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$83.33 per day — monthly divisor 30
5,000	MX$2,500.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$166.67 per day — monthly divisor 30
7,500	MX$3,750.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$250.00 per day — monthly divisor 30
10,000	MX$5,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$333.33 per day — monthly divisor 30
12,500	MX$6,250.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$416.67 per day — monthly divisor 30
15,000	MX$7,500.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$500.00 per day — monthly divisor 30
20,000	MX$10,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$666.67 per day — monthly divisor 30
25,000	MX$12,500.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$833.33 per day — monthly divisor 30
30,000	MX$15,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$1,000.00 per day — monthly divisor 30
40,000	MX$20,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$1,333.33 per day — monthly divisor 30
50,000	MX$25,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$1,666.67 per day — monthly divisor 30
75,000	MX$37,500.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$2,500.00 per day — monthly divisor 30
100,000	MX$50,000.00	12 working days — Art. 76 y 80 LFT	MX$3,333.33 per day — monthly divisor 30

🌎 Days in the First Full Year

Mexico12 working days + 25%
Brazil30 calendar days + ⅓
Colombia15 working days
Dominican Rep.14 working days
Spain and Peru30 calendar days
Argentina14 calendar days

Four Things That Change the Number

Calendar days are not working days. Brazil's 30 calendar days are about 22 working days — comparing them with Mexico's 12 working days without saying so compares different things.
Only Mexico and Brazil pay a vacation premium: 25% and one third. Applying it elsewhere inflates the result by a quarter or more.
Mexico changed in 2023. The first year went from six days to twelve, and much of the internet still says six.
Argentina divides the monthly salary by 25, not 30, so its holiday day is worth more than an ordinary one.

The Same Word, Eight Different Rules

Holiday entitlement is the payroll concept where comparing countries goes wrong fastest, because the unit itself changes. Brazil and Spain grant thirty days, but those are calendar days including weekends — roughly twenty-two actual working days. Mexico grants twelve days in the first year and Colombia fifteen, but those are working days, so the gap between them is far smaller than thirty against twelve suggests. On top of that sits the vacation premium, which exists in only two of these countries: Mexico adds 25% to the pay for the holiday days, Brazil adds a third, and everywhere else you simply receive your ordinary salary while you are away. Getting either detail wrong moves the answer by a quarter or more.

How Seniority Changes It

Several of these countries raise the entitlement with years of service, and none of them do it the same way. Mexico climbs from twelve days in the first year by two a year up to twenty at the fifth, then by two every further five years. Argentina jumps in steps: fourteen days under five years, twenty-one under ten, twenty-eight under twenty, and thirty-five beyond. The Dominican Republic moves once, from fourteen days to eighteen after five years. Brazil, Spain, Peru, Colombia and Chile do not increase the statutory minimum with seniority at all, which is why a collective agreement is usually where extra days come from in those countries. The figure here is always the legal minimum: a contract can give more, never less.

Rules Worth Knowing

Holiday cannot legally be replaced with money while the employment continues. Only on leaving is the unused balance paid out.
In Brazil the worker may sell up to a third of the days back — the abono pecuniário — but only a third, and only at the worker's request.
In Mexico the days must be taken within six months of the anniversary, and the employer must give at least one continuous block of twelve.
Public holidays falling inside a calendar-day holiday period are absorbed by it; inside a working-day period they are not.
Sick leave during holiday interrupts it in Spain and Brazil: those days are recovered rather than lost.
Untaken holiday from previous years does not simply vanish, but the time limit to claim it is short in most of these countries.

Common Mistakes

Applying a vacation premium in a country that has none. It overstates the payment by 25% or 33%.
Treating calendar days as working days, which overstates the time off by roughly a third.
Using six days for the first year in Mexico. That was the rule before the 2023 reform.
Dividing the monthly salary by 30 in Argentina, where the legal divisor for holiday pay is 25.
Forgetting the proportional entitlement on leaving. Unused days are always paid with the final settlement.
Assuming the statutory minimum is what your contract gives. Collective agreements routinely improve on it.

Worked Examples

With a premium and without one

Mexico, $15,000 a month, 1 year

Daily rate = 15,000 ÷ 30 = 500
12 days × 500 = 6,000
Premium 25% of 6,000 = 1,500

$7,500 — 12 working days

Dominican Rep., RD$30,000, 3 years

Daily rate = 30,000 ÷ 23.83 = 1,258.92
14 working days × 1,258.92
No vacation premium applies

RD$17,624.84 — 14 working days

Frequently Asked Questions

How many holiday days am I entitled to?

It depends on the country and your seniority. Mexico gives twelve working days in the first year and rises with service; Colombia fifteen working days; the Dominican Republic fourteen; Brazil, Spain and Peru thirty calendar days; Argentina fourteen calendar days rising in steps.

What is the difference between calendar days and working days?

Calendar days include weekends and holidays; working days do not. Brazil's thirty calendar days work out to around twenty-two working days, which is why it is not three times Mexico's twelve despite the headline numbers.

What is the vacation premium?

An extra payment on top of the salary for the holiday days. Mexico pays 25% under Article 80 of the Federal Labour Law and Brazil pays one third under the Constitution. Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Peru, Argentina and Chile pay none.

Can my employer pay me instead of giving me the days?

Not while you are still employed — the point of the entitlement is the rest. Brazil is the partial exception, allowing the worker to sell back up to a third of the days. On leaving, any unused balance is always paid.

How is holiday pay calculated when I leave?

In proportion to the time worked since your last anniversary. The days accrue month by month, so half a year gives half the entitlement, paid with the final settlement along with any premium the country requires.

Is this the minimum or what I will actually get?

It is the statutory minimum. A contract, a collective agreement or company policy can give more days or a better premium, and many do. It can never give less.