Holiday Entitlement for Employees in Germany: Statutory Leave, Calculation, and Special Rules - Germany Unpacked

Holiday entitlement is one of the most important rights employees have in Germany. Nevertheless, many questions arise in practice: How many days of paid leave are employees legally entitled to? How is holiday calculated for part-time workers, Minijob employees, or shift workers? Can an employer reject a holiday request? And what happens to unused leave if an employee becomes ill or the employment relationship ends?

The main legal rules are set out in the German Federal Leave Act, known as the Bundesurlaubsgesetz or BUrlG. Employment contracts, collective bargaining agreements, works agreements, and other statutory provisions may provide additional or different entitlements.

This article explains in detail how holiday entitlement arises, how it is calculated, requested, carried over, and paid out. It also covers important special rules for part-time employees, Minijob workers, trainees, minors, severely disabled employees, parents, pregnant employees, and workers on long-term sick leave.

How many paid holiday days are employees entitled to? Learn about minimum leave, part-time work, illness, termination, parental leave, and special leave.

What Does Holiday Entitlement Mean?

Holiday entitlement is an employee’s right to be released from their duty to work for a certain number of working days without losing their entitlement to pay.

The main purpose of annual leave is rest and protection of the employee’s health. During approved holiday, the employee does not have to work, while the employer generally continues to pay the employee’s normal salary.

Statutory annual leave must therefore be distinguished from other forms of time off, such as:

special leave for personal reasons
unpaid leave
leave for caring responsibilities or childcare
educational leave
time off in lieu of overtime
release from work during a notice period

Not every period of absence from work automatically counts as annual leave under the German Federal Leave Act.

Who Is Entitled to Statutory Holiday?

In principle, all employees are entitled to paid annual leave. This includes:

full-time employees
part-time employees
marginally employed workers and Minijob employees
employees on fixed-term contracts
trainees
working students with employee status
seasonal workers
employees during probation

People who work only a few days per week are also entitled to statutory holiday. What generally matters is not the number of hours worked per week, but the number of regular working days.

Freelancers and genuinely self-employed individuals are generally not covered by the German Federal Leave Act. Whether someone is an employee or self-employed does not depend only on the wording of the contract, but on how the work is actually organised and performed.

How Much Statutory Minimum Holiday Is There in Germany?

Under Section 3 of the German Federal Leave Act, the statutory minimum holiday entitlement is 24 working days per calendar year. The law assumes a six-day working week. Working days within the meaning of the Act are all calendar days except Sundays and public holidays.

For a typical five-day working week, this corresponds to a statutory minimum of 20 working days.

The calculation is:

24 working days ÷ 6 working days × number of regular working days per week

This results in the following minimum entitlements:

Regular working days per week	Statutory minimum holiday per year
6 days	24 days
5 days	20 days
4 days	16 days
3 days	12 days
2 days	8 days
1 day	4 days

The statutory minimum therefore corresponds to four full weeks of annual leave per calendar year.

Statutory Minimum Holiday and Additional Contractual Leave

Many employees receive more holiday than the minimum required by the German Federal Leave Act. Employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements often provide 25, 28, or 30 days of annual leave for a five-day working week.

In these cases, the total annual holiday entitlement consists of two parts:

statutory minimum holiday
additional contractual or collectively agreed holiday

This distinction can be legally important. Mandatory protective rules apply to statutory minimum holiday. For additional leave, employment contracts or collective agreements may sometimes establish separate rules, for example regarding carryover, expiry, or payment in lieu.

However, the contractual provisions must clearly distinguish between statutory minimum leave and additional leave. If there is no clear separation, the stricter rules of statutory holiday law may also apply to the entire holiday entitlement.

When Does the Full Holiday Entitlement Arise?

Under Section 4 BUrlG, the full statutory annual holiday entitlement is acquired for the first time after the employment relationship has existed for six months. This period is known as the waiting period.

The waiting period is not the same as the contractual probationary period. A probationary period may be shorter or longer, provided the statutory limits are observed. For the full statutory holiday entitlement, the decisive factor is generally whether the employment relationship has existed for six months.

Example:

If employment begins on 1 January, the six-month waiting period is completed at the end of 30 June. From 1 July, the employee generally has the full statutory annual holiday entitlement.

If employment begins on 15 March, the waiting period generally ends at the end of 14 September.

Holiday During the Probationary Period

Employees may also take holiday during probation. The common assumption that employees are not allowed to take any holiday during the first six months is incorrect.

Before the six-month waiting period has been completed, employees normally accrue one twelfth of their annual holiday entitlement for each full month of employment. Employers may therefore approve holiday during the probationary period.

Whether a particular period is approved depends on consultation with the employer and any operational reasons that may prevent the leave from being granted.

Example:

With a contractual entitlement of 24 holiday days per year, the employee generally accrues two holiday days for each full month of employment.

What Is Partial Holiday Entitlement?

Under certain circumstances, an employee is entitled only to a proportionate share of annual leave rather than the full annual entitlement. Under Section 5 BUrlG, partial holiday amounts to one twelfth of the annual entitlement for each full month of employment.

Partial holiday may arise in particular:

if the six-month waiting period cannot be completed during the current calendar year
if the employee leaves before completing the waiting period
if the employee leaves during the first half of the calendar year after completing the waiting period

The first half of the calendar year runs from 1 January through 30 June.

If an employee leaves after completing the waiting period and only leaves during the second half of the year, the full statutory minimum annual leave may generally have arisen. The employment contract may provide for a valid pro rata reduction of additional contractual leave.

How Are Fractions of Holiday Days Treated?

If the calculation of partial holiday produces a fraction of at least half a holiday day, the German Federal Leave Act requires it to be rounded up to a full day.

For example, an entitlement of 8.5 holiday days is rounded up to nine days.

Fractions below half a day may not simply be cancelled without replacement. They generally remain as a proportional entitlement unless a valid alternative rule applies. In practice, the entitlement may, for example, be granted through a corresponding period of hourly leave.

Holiday Entitlement for Part-Time Employees

Part-time employees are generally entitled to the same amount of annual leave as full-time employees. They may not be disadvantaged because they work part time.

The calculation is normally based on how many days per week the employee works. The number of hours worked per day is generally irrelevant.

A part-time employee who works four hours on each of five days per week generally receives the same number of holiday days as a full-time employee working five days per week.

A part-time employee who distributes their hours over three days per week needs fewer holiday days to take an entire week off.

The usual calculation is:

Holiday entitlement of a comparable full-time employee ÷ full-time working days per week × employee’s own working days per week

Example:

A full-time employee works five days per week and receives 30 holiday days.

A part-time employee works three days per week.

30 ÷ 5 × 3 = 18 holiday days

The part-time employee receives 18 holiday days and can therefore also take six full weeks of leave.

Holiday Entitlement with Irregular Part-Time Schedules

If an employee does not work the same number of days every week, the calculation should be based on a longer representative period.

For example, where there is a regular two-week cycle, the employee’s annual working days may be compared with the annual working days of a full-time employee.

A possible formula is:

Annual leave of a full-time employee × employee’s own annual working days ÷ annual working days of a full-time employee

Individual calculations may be necessary for changing schedules, on-call work, or highly irregular working patterns.

Changing from Full-Time to Part-Time Work or Vice Versa

If the number of working days per week changes during the calendar year, holiday entitlement generally has to be calculated separately for the different periods of employment.

The German Federal Labour Court considers the working-day arrangement that applied during each individual period. The total annual holiday entitlement is therefore not always calculated solely according to the most recent working schedule.

Example:

An employee works five days per week from January to June and three days per week from July to December. The entitlement for the two periods must generally be calculated separately and then combined.

Holiday entitlement already earned while working full time may not be reduced in value simply because the employee later changes to fewer working days per week.

Holiday Entitlement for Minijob Employees

Minijob workers are generally employees under German employment law. They are therefore also entitled to paid annual leave.

The calculation is based on regular working days, not on income or the number of working hours.

Example:

A Minijob employee works two days per week. The statutory minimum holiday is:

20 holiday days ÷ 5 working days × 2 working days = 8 holiday days

If a Minijob employee works only one day per week, the statutory minimum is generally four holiday days per year.

The employee must also continue to receive pay during annual leave.

Holiday Entitlement for Shift Workers

For shift work, the relevant factor is the number of days on which the employee is required to work within the applicable shift cycle.

If the employee regularly works five days per week, the normal calculation for a five-day week applies. With rotating shifts or longer shift cycles, the entitlement may be calculated using the average number of working days.

Days off under the shift schedule are not holiday days. A holiday day may only be deducted for a day on which the employee would actually have been required to work.

Special issues may arise with night shifts that begin on one calendar day and end on the following day. The relevant factors are the specific shift schedule and the holiday rules applied by the employer.

Holiday Entitlement with a Six-Day Working Week

For a regular six-day working week, the statutory minimum holiday is 24 working days. This also provides four full weeks off work.

If an employer grants 30 holiday days for a five-day working week, this corresponds to six weeks of leave. For a six-day working week, 36 holiday days would generally be required to provide the same amount of time off.

How Must Holiday Be Requested?

Employees may not simply take holiday without permission. Annual leave must generally be requested and approved by the employer.

The form of the request depends on the employer’s internal procedures. A holiday request may be submitted:

through a digital HR system
in writing using a holiday request form
by email
through a company app
orally by agreement in smaller businesses

For evidential purposes, it is advisable to use a form that can be documented.

If the employer does not respond, the leave is generally not automatically approved. Employees should therefore wait for explicit confirmation.

Taking leave without permission may constitute a breach of contractual duties and can result in employment-law consequences, including dismissal.

Must the Employer Consider the Employee’s Holiday Preferences?

Under Section 7 BUrlG, employers must generally take employees’ holiday preferences into account. A request may be rejected in particular if urgent operational reasons or the higher-priority holiday requests of other employees conflict with it.

Possible operational reasons include:

an unusually high workload
significant seasonal peaks
minimum staffing requirements
holiday already approved for several other employees
unexpected operational emergencies
essential inventory or year-end work

A rejection must not be arbitrary. General statements such as “We are very busy at the moment” may not always be sufficient. The employer must carry out a reasonable balancing of interests.

Which Social Factors Matter When Holiday Requests Conflict?

If several employees request leave for the same period and not everyone can be released from work, the employer may consider social criteria.

These may include:

dependence on school holidays because of school-age children
the holiday availability of a spouse or partner
age and need for recovery
whether the employee previously received leave during especially popular periods
length of service
special family circumstances

Parents do not automatically have priority during every school holiday. The employer must reasonably balance the interests of all employees involved. A rotating system for popular periods may also be appropriate.

Can Approved Holiday Be Cancelled?

Once holiday has been approved, it is generally binding. The employer cannot cancel it simply because business planning has changed or more work than expected has arisen.

Cancellation may only be considered in extreme and unforeseeable operational emergencies where serious damage would otherwise occur without the employee’s work.

If the employee incurs costs because of a justified recall, the employer may be required to reimburse them. This may include cancellation charges or additional travel expenses.

Agreements requiring employees to remain available at all times during annual leave are generally difficult to reconcile with the purpose of rest and recovery.

Can the Employer Order Company-Wide Holiday?

Employers may impose company holidays or a temporary shutdown under certain conditions. During this period, the company or part of it closes and employees must use part of their annual leave.

Company holidays may be permissible, for example:

between Christmas and New Year
during a seasonal shutdown
when the company depends on the closure of a major customer
during a planned factory shutdown

The employer may generally not allocate the employee’s entire annual leave without agreement. Employees must retain a reasonable portion of their leave for personal use.

If there is a works council, it generally has co-determination rights regarding general holiday principles, the holiday schedule, and company holidays.

Company holidays must also be announced in good time so that employees can adjust their personal planning.

Can the Employer Order Holiday Unilaterally?

Holiday should generally be scheduled by mutual agreement with the employee. Unilateral release from work may be possible in certain circumstances, for example during valid company holidays or in connection with a termination.

The employer must clearly state that the release from work is intended to fulfil specific holiday entitlements. A simple release from work without a clear statement that holiday is being credited may not necessarily satisfy the holiday entitlement.

The release must also generally be irrevocable. If the employee must remain available to return to work at any time, the guaranteed free time required for annual leave is usually missing.

Can Holiday Be Taken in Half Days?

The German Federal Leave Act generally assumes full holiday days. There is no general statutory right to take holiday by the hour or in half days.

Half-day leave may nevertheless be permitted if provided for by:

the employment contract
a collective bargaining agreement
a works agreement
established company practice
a voluntary agreement with the employer

Statutory minimum holiday is generally intended to provide continuous rest. Permanently dividing the entire statutory minimum leave into individual hours would be difficult to reconcile with this purpose.

Must Holiday Be Granted as a Continuous Period?

Under the German Federal Leave Act, holiday should generally be granted as one continuous period. It may be divided if urgent operational reasons or personal reasons of the employee make this necessary.

If the holiday cannot be granted entirely as one continuous period and the employee is entitled to more than twelve working days, at least one part should generally include twelve consecutive working days.

For a five-day working week, this usually corresponds to a continuous two-week period of leave.

What Is Holiday Pay?

Holiday pay in the sense of Urlaubsentgelt is the salary the employer continues to pay during annual leave.

Under Section 11 BUrlG, it is generally based on the employee’s average earnings during the 13 weeks before the start of the holiday. Additional overtime pay is generally excluded. Permanent salary increases must be taken into account.

Depending on the circumstances, the relevant earnings may include:

basic salary
regular allowances
shift allowances
commissions
benefits in kind
regularly recurring variable pay components

Periods of work loss for which the employee is not responsible, such as short-time work or operational disruptions, may not automatically reduce holiday pay.

What Is an Additional Holiday Bonus?

An additional holiday bonus, known in Germany as Urlaubsgeld, must be distinguished from continued salary during annual leave.

Urlaubsentgelt is the legally required continuation of the employee’s normal pay during holiday.

Urlaubsgeld is an additional payment made by the employer. There is generally no statutory entitlement to it.

An entitlement may arise from:

the employment contract
a collective bargaining agreement
a works agreement
a general employer commitment
established company practice
the employment-law principle of equal treatment

The amount, due date, and any repayment obligations depend on the relevant legal basis.

What Happens If an Employee Becomes Ill During Holiday?

If an employee becomes unable to work due to illness during approved annual leave, the certified days of illness are not deducted from the annual holiday entitlement.

Under Section 9 BUrlG, the employee must generally provide a medical certificate confirming incapacity for work.

The employee should:

inform the employer immediately about the incapacity for work
comply with internal reporting obligations
obtain a medical certificate
comply with additional notification requirements when falling ill abroad

The holiday days not used because of illness are credited back to the employee’s holiday account. However, the employee may not extend the holiday independently. The remaining days must be requested and approved again.

Illness During Holiday Abroad

If an employee becomes ill while on holiday abroad, they must generally inform the employer as quickly as possible:

that they are unable to work
how long the incapacity is expected to last
the address at which they can be reached abroad

Employees covered by statutory health insurance may also have additional notification duties towards their health insurance fund.

Foreign medical certificates may serve as evidence. However, they should clearly state that the person is not merely ill, but unable to work within the meaning of employment law.

Holiday Entitlement During Long-Term Illness

Holiday entitlement may continue to arise during long-term incapacity for work. Illness does not automatically prevent statutory minimum holiday from accruing.

However, a special expiry rule applies in cases of continuous long-term illness. According to case law, statutory holiday may generally expire 15 months after the end of the relevant holiday year.

Holiday from 2025 may therefore generally expire at the end of 31 March 2027 if the employee was continuously unable to work.

The application of the 15-month period depends on the circumstances. This is particularly important if the employee was initially able to work during the holiday year and only became permanently ill later. In such cases, the employer’s information and reminder obligations may be relevant.

When Does Annual Holiday Expire?

Under Section 7(3) BUrlG, holiday should generally be taken during the current calendar year. Carryover into the following year is only intended where urgent operational or personal reasons justify it. Carried-over holiday should generally be taken within the first three months of the following year.

However, statutory minimum holiday does not normally expire automatically merely because the calendar year has ended.

According to the case law of the German Federal Labour Court, employers must generally:

specifically inform employees of their existing holiday entitlement
request that they take the holiday in good time
clearly warn them that the holiday may expire
genuinely enable them to take the leave

Only if the employer has fulfilled these duties and the employee still voluntarily fails to take the holiday can the statutory minimum entitlement generally expire.

A general statement in the employment contract or a notice displayed for all employees is usually not sufficient. The information should be specific, understandable, and provided in good time.

When Can Holiday Be Carried Over to the Following Year?

Carryover may be possible in particular if:

urgent operational reasons prevented the employee from taking leave
illness made it impossible to take the holiday
higher-priority holiday requests of other employees existed
the employer refused a timely holiday request
personal reasons prevented the employee from taking leave

If holiday is validly carried over, it should generally be taken by 31 March of the following year under the statutory model.

Employment contracts or collective agreements may provide longer carryover periods.

For statutory minimum leave, the employer’s information and reminder obligations must also be taken into account.

Limitation Periods for Holiday Entitlements

Holiday claims may generally be subject to the standard three-year limitation period.

However, for statutory minimum leave, case law generally provides that the limitation period begins only at the end of the calendar year in which the employer properly informed the employee about the specific holiday entitlement and expiry periods and requested that the holiday be taken.

If the employer fails to fulfil these obligations, holiday entitlements from several years may accumulate.

Collective agreement exclusion periods and special rules for additional contractual leave must be examined separately.

Holiday Entitlement After Termination

Termination does not automatically eliminate existing holiday entitlement. As a rule, remaining holiday should still be taken during the notice period.

The employee may request leave. The employer may also release the employee from work while crediting the time against outstanding holiday, provided the legal requirements for valid holiday allocation are met.

The release should in particular:

be clearly stated
identify the holiday entitlement being credited
generally be irrevocable
ensure continued payment of salary

If the notice period is too short for all outstanding holiday to be taken, an entitlement to payment in lieu of holiday may arise.

Full or Proportionate Holiday When Employment Ends

If an employee leaves before completing the six-month waiting period, they are generally entitled only to partial holiday.

If they leave after completing the waiting period but no later than 30 June, they generally receive one twelfth of the annual entitlement for each full month of employment.

If they leave after completing the waiting period on or after 1 July, they generally receive the full statutory minimum holiday entitlement for the calendar year.

An employment contract may provide for a proportionate reduction of additional contractual leave even when the employee leaves during the second half of the year. However, the clause must clearly distinguish between statutory minimum leave and additional leave.

What Is Payment in Lieu of Holiday?

Payment in lieu of holiday means financial compensation for holiday that can no longer be taken.

Under Section 7(4) BUrlG, holiday must be paid out if it can no longer be granted in whole or in part because the employment relationship has ended. During an ongoing employment relationship, statutory minimum holiday generally may not simply be replaced with money.

The payment claim arises when the employment relationship legally ends. It is a monetary claim and may be subject to statutory limitation periods and valid contractual or collective agreement exclusion periods.

According to case law, the standard three-year limitation period for payment in lieu of holiday generally begins at the end of the year in which the employment relationship ended.

Calculating Payment in Lieu of Holiday

A commonly used formula for a five-day working week is:

Gross monthly salary × 3 ÷ 13 ÷ 5 × outstanding holiday days

Alternatively, the average daily earnings can first be calculated.

Example:

Gross monthly salary: €3,000
Outstanding holiday days: 10
Regular working days: 5 per week

€3,000 × 3 ÷ 13 ÷ 5 = approximately €138.46 per holiday day

€138.46 × 10 = approximately €1,384.60 gross payment in lieu of holiday

Variable pay components may affect the calculation.

Holiday Certificate When Changing Employers

When employment ends, the previous employer must generally certify how much holiday has already been granted or paid out during the current calendar year.

This is intended to prevent an employee from receiving the full statutory annual holiday from more than one employer for the same period.

The new employer may take the holiday certificate into account. Holiday already granted may be credited against the entitlement arising with the new employer.

Changing employers therefore does not automatically create a completely new full statutory annual holiday entitlement.

Can Employees Waive Statutory Holiday?

Statutory minimum holiday is generally mandatory during an ongoing employment relationship. Employees cannot normally waive this entitlement effectively.

A settlement agreement also cannot simply be used to exclude an existing and still usable statutory minimum holiday entitlement. In 2025, the German Federal Labour Court again emphasised that a waiver of mandatory statutory minimum leave during employment may be invalid.

After the employment relationship has ended, the entitlement to time off may be replaced by a financial claim. Different legal standards may apply to this monetary claim.

Holiday During Parental Leave

Under Section 17 of the Federal Parental Allowance and Parental Leave Act, the employer may reduce annual holiday by one twelfth for each full calendar month of parental leave. The reduction does not happen automatically. The employer must make a corresponding declaration.

The reduction is not permitted if the employee works part time for the same employer during parental leave. In that case, holiday is calculated according to the part-time working arrangement.

Example:

An employee has 30 holiday days per year and takes parental leave for six full calendar months.

The employer may reduce the holiday by 6/12:

30 × 6 ÷ 12 = reduction of 15 holiday days

Unused holiday from before parental leave does not normally expire solely because of parental leave. It may be taken after the parental leave ends during the current or following holiday year.

If employment ends during or immediately after parental leave, unused holiday that can no longer be granted may have to be paid out.

Holiday Entitlement During Maternity Protection

Maternity protection periods and employment bans under maternity protection law generally do not reduce annual holiday.

Under Section 24 of the Maternity Protection Act, periods of absence due to an employment ban are treated as periods of employment when calculating paid annual leave. Holiday not taken before the employment ban may be claimed after it ends during the current or following holiday year.

The rules on parental leave must be distinguished from maternity protection. A reduction is generally possible only for full calendar months of parental leave and only if the employer expressly declares it.

Additional Holiday for Severely Disabled Employees

Under Section 208 of Book IX of the German Social Code, severely disabled employees are entitled to five additional paid holiday days per year if they regularly work five days per week.

For other working schedules, the additional entitlement is adjusted accordingly.

Working days per week	Statutory additional holiday
6 days	6 days
5 days	5 days
4 days	4 days
3 days	3 days
2 days	2 days
1 day	1 day

The additional entitlement is added to the normal statutory and contractual holiday.

A person is generally considered severely disabled if they have an officially recognised degree of disability of at least 50. Employees with an equivalent status but a degree of disability below 50 generally do not receive the statutory additional holiday under Section 208 SGB IX.

If severe disability is recognised retroactively, the additional holiday may also become relevant retroactively under certain conditions. Employees should inform their employer of an ongoing recognition procedure and assert potential claims in good time.

Holiday Entitlement for Minor Trainees and Employees

Special minimum holiday entitlements apply to minors under Section 19 of the Youth Employment Protection Act. The employee’s age at the beginning of the calendar year is decisive.

The annual minimum holiday is:

30 working days if the young person is not yet 16 at the beginning of the calendar year
27 working days if they are not yet 17
25 working days if they are not yet 18

Because the Youth Employment Protection Act assumes a six-day working week, the entitlement must be converted for a five-day week.

This usually results in:

Age at beginning of year	Holiday with 6-day week	Converted for 5-day week
Under 16	30 working days	25 working days
Under 17	27 working days	22.5 working days
Under 18	25 working days	approximately 20.83 working days

Collective agreements or training contracts may provide higher entitlements.

Holiday Entitlement for Adult Trainees

Adult trainees are entitled at least to statutory holiday under the German Federal Leave Act. For a five-day working week, this is at least 20 working days per calendar year.

Collective bargaining agreements often provide a higher entitlement.

Vocational school days are not treated as holiday days. Holiday should, where possible, be granted to trainees during vocational school holidays.

Holiday During Short-Time Work

Short-time work may affect holiday entitlement. The decisive factor is whether the employee has no duty to work at all on certain days or whether only the daily working hours are reduced.

During short-time work with zero hours, completely work-free periods may under certain conditions result in a proportionate reduction of holiday entitlement because there is no duty to work during those periods.

If only the daily working hours are reduced but the number of working days per week remains unchanged, the number of holiday days generally does not change.

Holiday already accrued during earlier periods may not simply be reduced retroactively.

Holiday During Unpaid Special Leave

During agreed unpaid special leave, statutory holiday entitlement may cease to arise or may be reduced proportionately for periods without any duty to work.

If there is no duty to work during an entire calendar year because of unpaid special leave, no statutory annual holiday generally arises for that year.

For temporary unpaid leave, a proportionate calculation may be made based on the periods with and without a duty to work.

Specially protected statutory periods, such as maternity protection, must be distinguished from voluntary unpaid leave.

Holiday During Partial Retirement

In block-model partial retirement, a distinction must be made between the working phase and the release phase.

During the working phase, holiday generally arises according to the existing duty to work. During the release phase, no holiday normally arises because the employee is no longer required to work from the outset.

According to case law, after the end of a block-model partial retirement arrangement, there is generally no entitlement to payment in lieu of holiday for the release phase.

Holiday Entitlement with Fixed-Term Employment Contracts

Employees on fixed-term contracts generally have the same holiday rights as permanent employees.

If the employment relationship lasts less than six months, partial holiday normally arises for each full month of employment.

If holiday can no longer be taken before the fixed term ends, it generally has to be paid out.

A fixed-term arrangement may not be used to exclude statutory minimum holiday.

Special Leave for Marriage, Birth, or Bereavement

The term special leave usually refers to paid time off for a particular personal event.

One possible legal basis is Section 616 of the German Civil Code. Under this provision, an employee generally does not lose their entitlement to pay if they are prevented from working for a relatively short period for a personal reason through no fault of their own.

Possible reasons may include:

the employee’s own wedding
the birth of the employee’s child
the death of a close relative
a necessary medical appointment
an urgent official summons
a short-term personal emergency

However, the law does not specify a fixed number of special leave days for particular events.

Employment contracts and collective agreements often contain specific rules. For example, they may provide one day for the employee’s own wedding or two days following the death of a close relative.

Section 616 BGB may be restricted or excluded by an employment contract or collective agreement. The specific contractual situation must therefore always be checked.

Special Leave When a Child Is Ill

If a child becomes ill, an employee may under certain conditions be entitled to unpaid leave and child sickness benefit.

This entitlement is separate from annual leave and from Section 616 BGB. Employees therefore do not automatically have to use their annual holiday to care for a sick child.

The conditions and number of child sickness days may change by law. Relevant factors include the child’s age, medical confirmation that care is required, the absence of another person who can provide care, and the type of health insurance.

Time Off for Acute Care of a Relative

If a close relative suddenly requires care, employees may generally take up to ten working days off under the German Care Leave Act to organise or provide necessary care.

This short-term absence is not annual leave.

Whether the employer must continue paying salary depends, among other things, on Section 616 BGB and the employment contract. Under certain conditions, the employee may be entitled to a care support allowance.

Educational Leave

Educational leave is statutory time off for recognised further education. In some German states it is also called Bildungszeit or Bildungsfreistellung.

There is no single nationwide educational leave law applying to all employees. The rules depend on the law of the relevant federal state.

Depending on the state, employees may be entitled, for example, to five days of educational leave per year or ten days within a two-year period.

The rules differ in areas such as:

waiting periods
company size
recognised courses
application deadlines
carryover possibilities
eligible groups
reasons for rejection

During educational leave, the employer generally continues to pay salary. Course fees, travel costs, and accommodation are usually paid by the employee.

Educational leave is not deducted from statutory annual leave.

Unpaid Leave

There is generally no universal statutory right to unpaid leave.

However, unpaid leave may be agreed between employee and employer. Statutory rights to time off may exist in certain situations, including:

parental leave
care leave
family care leave
caring for a sick child
certain voluntary public duties
special rules under state law

For voluntary unpaid leave, employees should consider the consequences for social insurance, pay, special payments, holiday, and length of service.

Can Employees Work During Holiday?

Under Section 8 BUrlG, employees may not carry out paid work during annual leave if it conflicts with the purpose of rest and recovery.

Not every activity is prohibited. Permissible activities may include:

voluntary work
helping in a family business without a commercial purpose
occasional favours
work in the employee’s own home or garden
secondary activities that do not interfere with recovery

The main concern is physically or mentally demanding paid work that undermines the purpose of the holiday.

An approved secondary job may also be performed during holiday if it does not interfere with recovery. The nature, extent, and intensity of the work are decisive.

Holiday and Public Holidays

If a public holiday falls within an approved holiday period, it is generally not deducted as a holiday day if the employee would not have been required to work because of the public holiday.

This applies only if the day is a recognised public holiday at the employee’s place of work.

For employees who would have been scheduled to work on the public holiday, the assessment may be different. The relevant question is whether a specific duty to work would have existed without the holiday.

Holiday on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve

24 December and 31 December are not statutory public holidays in Germany.

Employees therefore generally have to work unless another rule applies.

Time off may result from:

the employment contract
a collective bargaining agreement
a works agreement
established company practice
an express release from work
approved holiday

Employees who want the full day off often need to use one holiday day for each date.

Some employers deduct only half a holiday day under internal rules. There is no general statutory right to this arrangement.

Holiday During Release from Work and Dismissal Proceedings

If an employer gives notice and releases the employee from work, it must be examined carefully whether the release is intended to satisfy holiday entitlement.

Valid crediting generally requires that:

the employer clearly designates the release as holiday
the release is irrevocable
the holiday period can be identified
payment of salary is secured

With a revocable release, the employer can ask the employee to return to work at any time. Such a release generally does not satisfy statutory holiday entitlement.

If there is later a dispute about whether the dismissal was valid, the validity of the holiday credit may also become important.

Contractual and Collective Agreement Exclusion Periods

Employment and collective agreements often contain exclusion periods. These require claims to be asserted in writing or text form within a certain period.

Statutory minimum holiday is subject to special protective rules influenced by European law. However, financial claims for payment in lieu of holiday after employment ends may be subject to exclusion periods.

Employees should therefore assert outstanding holiday and payment claims as early as possible and in a form that can be documented.

Common Misconceptions About Holiday Entitlement

“There Is No Holiday During Probation.”

This is incorrect. Employees generally accrue partial holiday during probation. The full annual entitlement is first acquired after six months of employment.

“Part-Time Employees Always Receive Less Holiday.”

This is not necessarily correct. The decisive factor is the number of regular working days. A part-time employee working five days per week generally receives the same number of holiday days as a full-time employee working five days per week.

“Minijob Employees Do Not Receive Paid Holiday.”

This is incorrect. Minijob workers are employees and are entitled to paid annual leave.

“Unused Holiday Always Expires Automatically on 31 December.”

This is incorrect. For statutory minimum leave, the employer must generally provide specific information about the entitlement, request that the employee take it, and warn about the risk of expiry.

“Unused Holiday Can Always Be Paid Out.”

This is incorrect. During an ongoing employment relationship, statutory annual leave must generally be taken as time off. Payment is normally permitted only when employment ends.

“A Holiday Request Is Approved If the Employer Does Not Reply.”

This is generally incorrect. Silence normally does not amount to approval. Employees may not take leave without permission.

“Holiday Days Are Lost If You Become Ill.”

Certified days of incapacity for work during approved holiday are not deducted from annual leave.

“An Employer Can Cancel Approved Holiday at Any Time.”

This is incorrect. Cancellation may be considered only in exceptional operational emergencies.

“Parents Automatically Have Priority During All School Holidays.”

There is no unlimited priority. School-age children are an important social factor, but the interests of other employees must also be considered.

“Holiday Days Depend on Weekly Working Hours.”

The number of regular working days is generally decisive, not the number of hours.

Frequently Asked Questions About Holiday Entitlement in Germany

How Many Holiday Days Are Legally Required in Germany?

At least 24 working days are required for a six-day working week. For a five-day working week, this corresponds to at least 20 working days.

Are 30 Holiday Days Required by Law?

No. An entitlement of 30 days often arises from an employment contract or collective bargaining agreement. The statutory minimum for a five-day working week is 20 days.

How Much Holiday Do I Receive with a Three-Day Working Week?

The statutory minimum for a regular three-day week is twelve working days per year. If the employer grants full-time employees 30 days for a five-day week, the part-time entitlement is normally 18 days.

When Am I Entitled to the Full Annual Holiday?

The full statutory annual entitlement is first acquired after the employment relationship has existed for six months.

Can I Take Holiday During Probation?

Yes. Before the waiting period is completed, partial holiday generally accrues for each full month of employment.

Can the Employer Reject My Holiday Request?

Yes, if urgent operational reasons or socially higher-priority holiday requests from other employees conflict with it. Arbitrary rejection is not permitted.

How Long May the Employer Take to Decide on a Holiday Request?

The law does not specify a fixed decision period. However, the employer must decide in sufficient time to allow reasonable planning. If there is no response, the employee may not simply take the holiday.

Can I Take My Holiday Later If I Become Ill?

Yes. Certified days of incapacity for work are not deducted as holiday days. The restored days must be requested again later.

When Does Unused Holiday Expire?

Unused holiday may generally expire at the end of the year or after the permitted carryover period. For statutory minimum leave, this normally requires the employer to provide proper information, request that the holiday be taken, and warn about the risk of expiry.

Can Holiday Be Accumulated Over Several Years?

This may happen in particular if the employer does not fulfil its information and reminder obligations. Special expiry rules apply during long-term illness.

Must Carried-Over Holiday Be Taken by 31 March?

Under the statutory model, carried-over holiday should generally be taken by 31 March of the following year. Employment or collective agreements may provide longer periods. The employer’s obligations must also be taken into account.

What Happens to Holiday After Termination?

Outstanding holiday should generally be taken during the notice period. If this is not possible, it must be paid out when employment ends.

Can the Employer Pay Out Holiday While I Continue Working?

Statutory minimum holiday generally may not be replaced by money during an ongoing employment relationship.

Are Minijob Employees Entitled to an Additional Holiday Bonus?

They are entitled to paid annual leave. However, an additional holiday bonus is available only if provided by contract, collective agreement, works agreement, or established company practice.

How Is Holiday Calculated for Part-Time Employees?

The holiday entitlement of a comparable full-time employee is divided by the full-time weekly working days and multiplied by the employee’s own weekly working days.

What Happens to Holiday During Parental Leave?

The employer may reduce holiday by one twelfth for each full calendar month of parental leave. The reduction must be expressly declared and does not apply if the employee works part time for the same employer during parental leave.

Does Holiday Continue to Accrue During Maternity Protection?

Yes. Maternity protection periods and employment bans are generally treated as periods of employment for holiday calculations.

How Much Additional Holiday Do Severely Disabled Employees Receive?

For a five-day working week, the statutory entitlement is generally five additional paid holiday days per year.

Must I Take Holiday on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve?

Generally yes, if these are regular working days and no more favourable contractual, collective, or company rule applies. Neither day is a statutory public holiday.

May I Work a Second Job During Holiday?

Paid work is not permitted if it conflicts with the purpose of rest and recovery. A light secondary activity that does not interfere with recovery may be permissible.

Legal Notice

This article provides a general overview of German holiday law and cannot replace an assessment of an individual case. Collective bargaining agreements, employment contracts, works agreements, exclusion periods, and special statutory provisions may lead to different results.