Vacation

According to § 3 BUrlG, the annual statutory minimum vacation is 24 days in a 6-day week and 20 days in a 5-day week. As a rule, however, employers grant more than the statutory 4 weeks' leave; this is referred to as "excess leave". Collective agreements can also provide for a higher vacation entitlement than the statutory minimum.

For part-time employees, the amount of vacation entitlement depends on the number of working days per week. If full-time employees are granted 30 vacation days in a 5-day week, part-time employees with 3 working days per week receive 18 vacation days per year. The following formula can be used for the calculation:

The full vacation entitlement arises for the first time after 6 months for newly established employment relationships in accordance with § 4 BUrlG. Employees are entitled to partial leave in accordance with § 5 BUrlG if they leave the company before completing the waiting period of 6 months or after completing the waiting period in the first half of a calendar year. This means that an employee who has already been with the company for 2 years but leaves on May 31st of a calendar year only earns 5/12 of their full annual leave in the year they leave. However, if this employee leaves on 31 July of a calendar year, he or she will acquire his or her full annual leave, unless an effective deviating provision has been made in the contract which at least leaves the statutory leave entitlement unaffected. Leave not taken at the end of the employment relationship must be compensated by the employer. However, vacation compensation during the existing employment relationship is out of the question.

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