🏖️ Granting leave
In brief
Every employee is entitled to paid leave. The law provides for at least 24 working days a year (Werktage). Werktage are all days except Sundays and public holidays. This applies to a six-day week. If there are fewer working days, the entitlement is converted.
The full entitlement is acquired after six months in the employment relationship.
Mini-jobbers and home helps also have leave. In the contract you may agree more leave, but not less.
Leave must be stated in the written record under the Nachweisgesetz.
Step by step
- Calculate the entitlement24 working days for six working days per week; 20 days for five working days (conversion in the in-depth section).
- Put leave in the contractState the number of days in the written record.
- Agree on leave wishesTake employees' wishes into account, unless urgent operational reasons stand in the way.
- Document leaveWrite down days taken and remaining leave.
Deadlines
- More leave than 24 working days can be set in the contract or a collective agreement.
- Working days within the meaning of the law are all calendar days except Sundays and statutory public holidays (§ 3 Abs. 2 BUrlG).
- Leave must be taken in the current calendar year and otherwise lapses; carry-over only for urgent operational or personal reasons, then into the first three months of the following year (§ 7 Abs. 3 BUrlG); payment in lieu on termination of the employment relationship (§ 7 Abs. 4). The employer's duty to notify under ECJ and Federal Labour Court case law and the conversion for part-time work were not evaluated; they are prone to dispute.
- Leave may not be pushed below the minimum leave by contract.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Entitlement
§ 3 Abs. 1 BUrlG: "Leave amounts to at least 24 working days per year." Under para. 2, working days are all calendar days that are not Sundays or statutory public holidays. The rule assumes a six-day week; with a different distribution the entitlement is converted (common practice: 24 divided by six times working days per week, about 20 days for five working days). This conversion is not backed here by the statutory text.
Waiting period
§ 4 BUrlG: "The full leave entitlement is acquired for the first time after the employment relationship has existed for six months." Partial leave for shorter employment (§ 5 BUrlG) was not evaluated.
Lapse, carry-over, payment in lieu (§ 7 BUrlG)
Under para. 3, leave must be granted and taken in the current calendar year. Carry-over to the next calendar year is permissible only for urgent operational reasons or reasons relating to the employee's person; the leave must then be granted and taken in the first three months of the following year. Under para. 4, leave must be paid out in lieu if it can no longer be granted because the employment relationship has ended.
Not evaluated
Case law of the European Court of Justice and the Federal Labour Court on lapse where the employer has not fulfilled its duty to notify. Take advice on this if needed, as missing notices from the employer can lead to additional claims.
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