Remaining vacation

The term residual leave describes all vacation days that have not yet been taken at the end of the year.

Prerequisites

In Germany, every employee has a statutory right to paid leave under the Federal Leave Act. If the employee does not take all their vacation days, they can take their remaining days, i.e. the remaining vacation, into the new year.

Calculation of vacation days

Here is a tip on how to easily calculate your statutory vacation entitlement:

Simply multiply the number of working days per week by 4. This is also a quick way to calculate the vacation entitlement for part-time work. Only the working days and not the number of hours per week are decisive.

Can remaining vacation expire?

Can the remaining vacation expire? Yes, it can. The remaining vacation days must be taken by March 31 of the following year at the latest. This avoids the accumulation of vacation days. The remaining vacation days are carried over automatically so that employees do not have any additional work.

Please note: The employer must inform employees at the end of the year that they still have remaining leave. It only expires if the employee can prove that they have waived their leave.

Have remaining vacation paid out

As a general rule, there is no right to vacation pay in lieu. As a boss, you don’t have to worry about employees storing up vacation and presenting you with an invoice at the end of the year. After all, vacation is supposed to provide relaxation. The Federal Leave Act does not provide for payment in lieu.