Falling ill during your vacation is doubly frustrating — you lose both the holiday and the rest. The good news: German law makes sure you don’t lose the vacation days themselves.
The rule
Under § 9 BUrlG, sick days during your vacation do not count as vacation days. They are sick days, and your vacation balance is restored by the number of days you were ill.
The two conditions
The protection only applies if you meet both of the following:
- Medical certificate (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung). You need a doctor’s certificate covering the sick days. The certificate is required from day one of the illness, not from day four as in the normal case. If you are abroad, a certificate from a local doctor is sufficient, but it must show that you were unable to work — not just unwell.
- Immediate notification. You must inform your employer immediately, ideally the same day. Notification can be by phone, email, or message; the form is not prescribed by law but most contracts specify it.
If you are abroad
If you become ill on holiday outside Germany, additional rules apply under § 5(2) EFZG:
- You must inform the employer of the illness, the location, and the expected duration as quickly as possible (typically by phone, follow-up in writing).
- The medical certificate from the foreign doctor must specifically confirm that you are unable to work, not just that you are ill.
- If you are insured in the German statutory system, the doctor’s certificate should also be sent to your German Krankenkasse.
Can you stay on vacation?
The restored days do not automatically convert into extended holiday. Once you are well, you resume work according to the original schedule (or the days are added back to your annual balance for later use). You cannot simply stay at the beach for an additional week.
Going back to work mid-vacation
If you recover before the vacation period was supposed to end, you are typically expected to be available again. But many employers — particularly if the vacation was longer than a week — allow the employee to take the remaining days as planned and add the sick days back to the balance.
What if the employer refuses to restore the days?
This is the most common dispute. The certificate from the foreign doctor is sometimes refused as insufficient. If so, draft a written demand with the certificate and any underlying notes; in many cases the dispute resolves at this stage. If it does not, the claim is enforceable at the labor court.
Foreign certificates — what to look for
The German EFZG requires the certificate to specifically confirm “Arbeitsunfähigkeit” (inability to work), not just illness. Foreign doctors don’t always use that exact phrasing. We typically recommend asking the foreign doctor to write a brief English/German note like: “Patient is unable to perform their work duties from [date] to [date] due to [diagnosis].” That covers the form requirement and avoids the most common employer objection.
The notification chain
- Same day: phone or message your direct manager and the HR contact named in your contract.
- Same day or next: send a follow-up email summarising the call.
- Within 3 working days: get the certificate to a German doctor or to your German Krankenkasse (foreign certificate).
- Within the original notification chain: provide expected return-to-work date.
Long-term illness during vacation
If your illness extends beyond the vacation period and into expected work time, all the usual sick-pay rules apply: up to 6 weeks of employer-paid sick leave (Entgeltfortzahlung), then Krankengeld via the Krankenkasse at approximately 70% of gross. The vacation days you “saved” by being sick remain available for later use.