German holiday entitlement is governed by the Bundesurlaubsgesetz (BUrlG — Federal Holiday Act), which establishes a statutory minimum of 20 days’ paid annual leave per year for a six-day working week. Where the employment contract provides for a five-day week, the statutory minimum is 18 days. Most employment contracts and collective agreements provide more than the statutory minimum — commonly 25–30 days. Public holidays (gesetzliche Feiertage) are in addition to the annual leave entitlement and are paid by the employer. Unused leave can be carried over in limited circumstances, but the employer must ensure that leave is actually taken.
This guide covers the statutory minimum, public holidays, carry-over rules, part-time entitlement, and the employer’s obligation to ensure leave is taken.
Key takeaways
- The Bundesurlaubsgesetz (BUrlG) provides a statutory minimum of 20 days’ paid annual leave for a six-day working week — Section 1 BUrlG.
- For a five-day working week, the statutory minimum is 18 days (20 × 5/6).
- Public holidays are additional to the annual leave entitlement and are paid by the employer.
- The minimum entitlement is the floor — collective agreements and employment contracts commonly provide more.
- Leave must be taken in the leave year — unused leave can only be carried over where the employee was unable to take it due to operational or personal reasons.
- The employer must ensure leave is taken — the obligation is on the employer, not the employee, to arrange leave.
The statutory minimum
Section 1 BUrlG sets the minimum at 20 days for a six-day working week. For a five-day working week (the standard in most German workplaces), the calculation is:
20 days × 5/6 = 18 days
This is the minimum. The employment contract or collective agreement can provide more, but not less.
Collective agreements
Many collective agreements provide more generous leave. Examples:
| Sector | Typical entitlement |
|---|---|
| Metal and electrical industry | 28–30 days |
| Public service (TVöD/TV-L) | 26–30 days |
| Chemical industry | 28–30 days |
| Retail | 25–28 days |
| Construction | 20–25 days |
The employer should check whether a collective agreement applies and, if so, pay at least the rate set by the agreement.
Public holidays
Public holidays are governed by Section 2 BUrlG and state law (Landesgesetz). The number of public holidays varies by German state (Bundesland):
| State | Number of public holidays (2026) |
|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 12–13 |
| Bavaria | 12–13 |
| Berlin | 10 |
| Hamburg | 10 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 11 |
| Saxony | 11 |
Public holidays fall on fixed dates (e.g., New Year’s Day, Christmas, Easter, Labour Day) and are paid by the employer. If a public holiday falls on a Sunday, it is not substituted — the employee loses the holiday.
The employer must pay the employee for public holidays if the employee would have been entitled to pay on that day — Section 2(1) BUrlG.
How annual leave is calculated
Qualifying period
The employee is entitled to full annual leave after 6 months of qualifying period — Section 4 BUrlG. During the first 6 months, the entitlement accrues at 1/12 of the annual entitlement per month of service.
Example: An employee starts on 1 April and is entitled to 25 days’ annual leave. By 30 September (6 months), the employee has accrued 12.5 days. The remaining 12.5 days are available from 1 October.
Part-time workers
Part-time workers receive leave on a pro rata basis. For a five-day working week with 18 days’ entitlement:
| Working days per week | Leave entitlement |
|---|---|
| 5 | 18 days |
| 4 | 14.4 days (rounded to 14 or 15) |
| 3 | 10.8 days (rounded to 10 or 11) |
| 2 | 7.2 days (rounded to 7 or 8) |
| 1 | 3.6 days (rounded to 3 or 4) |
The rounding approach depends on the employment contract or collective agreement — the employer should state the rule.
Carry-over rules
Under Section 7(3) BUrlG, unused leave must be taken by 31 March of the following year at the latest. The leave can only be carried over where the employee was unable to take it due to:
- Operational reasons (betriebliche Gründe) — the employer’s business needs prevented the leave.
- Personal reasons (in persönlichen Gründen) — the employee was ill or on parental leave.
If the employee simply did not take the leave, it is lost at the end of 31 March (unless the employer agreed to carry it over).
Illness during leave
If the employee falls ill during a period of leave, the days of illness do not count as annual leave — Section 9 BUrlG. The employee must provide a medical certificate (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung, AU) and the leave period is extended by the number of illness days.
The employer’s obligation to ensure leave is taken
The employer is not merely a passive recipient of leave requests — the employer must actively ensure that the employee takes the statutory minimum leave. This was confirmed by the European Court of Justice and the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht).
If the employee does not request leave, the employer should:
- Remind the employee to take leave.
- Set a deadline for the employee to schedule the leave.
- Where the employee still does not take leave, the employer may need to unilaterally schedule the leave.
Payment in lieu
Payment in lieu of untaken annual leave is only permitted on termination of employment — Section 7(4) BUrlG. During employment, statutory leave must be taken as leave — the employer cannot pay in lieu instead.
Where the employment is terminated, the employee is entitled to payment for any untaken leave — calculated at the average daily pay over the last 13 weeks.
Common pitfalls
1. Assuming leave is lost automatically
Leave is not lost automatically. The employer must actively ensure the employee takes leave, and the 31 March carry-over deadline only applies where the leave was not taken for legitimate reasons.
2. Not counting public holidays
Public holidays that fall within a period of leave do not count as annual leave days. If an employee takes a week off and Monday is a public holiday, the employee has used 4 days of annual leave, not 5.
3. Rounding down part-time entitlement
Part-time leave must be at least the pro rata statutory minimum. Rounding down below the minimum is a breach of the BUrlG.
4. Paying in lieu during employment
Paying in lieu of untaken leave during employment is unlawful. The employee must take the leave.
Putting it into practice
Five steps to manage holiday entitlement:
- Record the statutory minimum and the contractual entitlement — ensure employees receive at least the statutory minimum, even if the contract provides more.
- Track qualifying periods — new employees accrue leave during the first 6 months at 1/12 per month.
- Set a carry-over deadline — remind employees in January that unused leave from the previous year must be taken by 31 March.
- Monitor public holidays — check the state calendar and deduct public holidays from leave periods.
- Ensure leave is taken — if an employee is not taking leave, send a written reminder and schedule the leave if necessary.
A leave management system that tracks entitlement by employee, calculates the qualifying period, deducts public holidays, and alerts you when leave is not being taken makes German holiday compliance straightforward.
Sources
- Bundesurlaubsgesetz (BUrlG) (primary source)
- European Court of Justice — Schultz-Hoff (C-350/06) (employer obligation to ensure leave is taken)
- Bundesarbeitsgericht — Annual leave carry-over
- Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales — Holiday entitlement
This article is general information, not legal advice. German holiday law interacts with collective agreements, works agreements, and state-specific public holiday rules — consult a German employment law specialist for specific situations.