Vacation entitlement
What is a vacation entitlement?
Anyone who works in Germany has the right to take time off. This is regulated in the FederalLeave Act (BUrlG). The majority of employees work 5 working days per week, followed by two days off at the weekend. In addition, employees are legally entitled to at least 4 weeks’ vacation – i.e. 20 working days. The working week days are decisive for the vacation entitlement.
In addition to the statutory minimum requirements, higher vacation entitlements can also be agreed. However, the minimum entitlement may not be undercut.
Where is the vacation entitlement regulated?
Paid leave entitlement is regulated in the Federal Leave Act. The law was first enacted in 1963. The full entitlement to paid leave first arises after six months of employment. It also regulates the conditions under which unused vacation days are carried over to the following year and how vacation entitlements are to be treated when leaving the company.
How is vacation entitlement calculated?
In Germany, Saturday is still considered a working day. The law therefore provides for at least 24 working days per year as paid vacation entitlement. With a five-day week, the minimum holiday entitlement is therefore reduced to 20 days. In total, it should always be 4 weeks. The actual minimum holiday entitlement therefore depends on the length of the working week.
This is a simple way to calculate your vacation entitlement: Working week days x 4 = vacation entitlement
This minimum entitlement therefore applies to both full-time and part-time employees. The prerequisite for the calculation is not the daily working hours, but the days on which work is performed. If someone works less than 5 days a week, the entitlement is reduced accordingly.
There are many companies that offer their employees considerably more vacation time. This is up to the company. Vacation days of 24 to 30 vacation days per year with a 5-day week are not uncommon. The only requirement for this is that the team members work every regular working day at the company.
Where are the regulations for vacation entitlement recorded?
The Federal Leave Act only defines the statutory minimum entitlement. However, further agreements on leave, e.g. special leave in the event of marriage, death of a close relative, unpaid leave, etc. can also be agreed. This takes place in the following agreements between the contracting parties, among others:
- Employment contract
- Collective agreement
- Company agreement from the works council
- Youth Employment Protection Act (JArbSchG)
- German Social Code (SGB IX)
What is the statutory vacation entitlement for part-time or marginal employment?
How many vacation days a part-time employee or mini-jobber is entitled to depends largely on the distribution of working days. In principle, part-time employees are also legally entitled to 4 weeks’ paid minimum leave. This means that even if the person works the reduced hours on 6 days per week, they are entitled to the same number of vacation days as a full-time employee.
However, if the person only works the reduced working hours on 3 out of 6 days of the week, the vacation entitlement is also reduced to 12 days, in accordance with the 4-week rule. The vacation days of part-time employees or mini-jobbers are calculated as follows:
(vacation entitlement full-time x working days of part-time employees:in per week) / usual working days per week full-time
Vacation during the probationary period
Employees are also entitled to vacation during their probationary period. However, an employee is only fully entitled to vacation after 6 months of employment. Employees accumulate one twelfth of their annual leave for each month of employment.
If the employment relationship is terminated before the end of the probationary period, the employee is only entitled to the proportionate annual leave already taken.
Employment during the year and the calculation of leave
There are always uncertainties when it comes to calculating leave when employment relationships are short or started in the middle of the year. In this case, too, the legislation provides help. In this case, the entitlement to days off is based on the month of employment from the date of employment. In addition, there is an entitlement to one twelfth of the regular annual leave for each full month of employment.
What obligations does the employer have when allocating leave?
Section 7 of the Federal Leave Act regulates the obligations of employers.
- In principle, an employee’s vacation requests must be taken into account, provided that no urgent operational concerns or the wishes of other employees, which have priority due to social considerations, conflict with this.
- After a medical preventive measure or rehabilitation, a requested leave must be approved.
- Vacation should always be possible consecutively. If you are entitled to more than 12 days, 12 consecutive days should also be possible.
- In principle, vacation entitlement expires at the end of the calendar year. If the leave could not be taken in full for urgent operational or personal reasons (e.g. illness), it is carried over to the next year and must be used within the first 3 months. Longer carry-over periods can be agreed in individual contracts or collective agreements
How is residual leave dealt with?
It happens time and again that employees do not take all their vacation and therefore still have remaining vacation. You can find out exactly what this is all about in our article on remaining leave.
Are there special regulations for shift work?
In the case of regular shift work, Sundays and public holidays also count as working days. Therefore, a vacation day must also be taken on these days. In the case of night shifts that extend beyond a daily limit, vacation days must also be taken for both calendar days. Accordingly, these persons must also receive a higher vacation entitlement. The vacation days of employees in shift work are calculated as follows:
Vacation days x working days with different distribution per year / working days per year with a five-day week
Are Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve considered half vacations?
Federal Leave Act only describes whole vacation days. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are also just normal working days. Accordingly, full vacation days must also be taken for these days. Other arrangements can be made in the employment or collective agreement, for example. If an employer grants leave on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve for 3 consecutive years without declaring a reservation, this is considered a company practice. Accordingly, this leave must also be granted in the future.
What should I bear in mind if I fall ill while on vacation?
When does vacation expire?
European law and the Federal Labor Court no longer allow leave to simply lapse. The employer is obliged to actively request the employee to apply for and use up leave that has not yet been applied for. This notification must be made in good time, explicitly and with reference to the impending expiry of existing vacation entitlements.
If this explicit notification has been demonstrably made and the employee nevertheless does not submit a vacation request, the employer may invoke the forfeiture of vacation entitlements after the end of the calendar year or the carryover period. In this case, the employee has consciously and voluntarily waived the leave. Only under these conditions does the forfeiture occur if the application is not submitted on time.
Can vacation be paid out to the employee?
In principle, employees do not have the choice of having their vacation entitlement paid out. However, there is a special regulation: If the employment relationship ends and the employee cannot use up their remaining vacation until the last working day, the employer must pay for the remaining vacation days. This is often the case when an employee resigns.
