Germany has one of the most generous statutory vacation regimes in the OECD — and the contractual norm is even more generous. For expat employees who often come from countries with much lower vacation baselines, the German system can seem surprisingly favourable. Here is what you can rely on, and where the traps are.
The statutory minimum (§ 3 BUrlG)
Under the Federal Vacation Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz, BUrlG), every employee is entitled to a minimum of 24 working days of paid leave per calendar year, calculated on the basis of a six-day working week. For the standard five-day week (Monday to Friday), this translates into 20 working days, i.e. four full weeks of paid leave.
The conversion table for non-standard schedules:
- 6-day week: 24 vacation days/year
- 5-day week: 20 vacation days/year
- 4-day week: 16 vacation days/year
- 3-day week: 12 vacation days/year
The formula: statutory minimum days × (your weekly working days ÷ 6).
The contractual norm
The statutory minimum is a floor. Most full-time German employment contracts grant 25–30 days. Some sectors and roles routinely grant more:
- Public sector (TVöD): 30 days plus additional age-based or shift-based days.
- Tech and finance: typically 28–30 days for mid-level roles, 30+ for senior.
- Industrial employees under Tarifvertrag: typically 30 days plus additional days for shift work or age.
- Senior executives: often 30+ days, sometimes uncapped or with explicit „as needed” language (rare).
Whatever your contract grants above the statutory minimum is contractual vacation, which can theoretically be subject to slightly different rules — for example, contracts can validly say that contractual vacation expires earlier than statutory vacation or is forfeited on long-term illness sooner. In practice, most contracts treat both pools identically.
The six-month waiting period (Wartezeit)
The full annual entitlement vests for the first time after six months of employment (§ 4 BUrlG). Before that, you build up 1/12 of the annual entitlement per completed month worked.
After the six-month mark, the full entitlement vests retroactively for the entire current year. So if you started on 1 May with a 30-day annual entitlement, on 1 November (after 6 months) your full 30 days are vested even though the calendar year is more than half over.
Practical implication: many employees start a new job in spring or summer and find themselves with the full annual vacation entitlement just as the year-end is approaching — and then risk losing it because they don’t take it in time. Plan vacation around the Wartezeit, not around the calendar year.
Mid-year start or exit (§ 5 BUrlG)
If you join or leave in the middle of a year, you typically receive 1/12 of the annual entitlement per completed month worked in that year. There is one well-known exception that catches many employees out:
Examples:
- 30-day contractual entitlement, joined 1 January 2024, leaving 31 August 2026: full 30 days for 2024, full 30 days for 2025, full 30 days for 2026 = 90 days total (minus any taken).
- Same contract, leaving 31 May 2026 (first half): full 30 days for 2024, full 30 days for 2025, 5/12 of 30 ≈ 12.5 days for 2026.
- Same contract, leaving 31 July 2026 (just into the second half): 30 + 30 + 30 = 90 days total. The single day of crossing into the second half makes a 17-day difference.
This rule alone is worth several thousand euros for many mid-year exits — but most employers don’t volunteer it.
Special leave (Sonderurlaub)
Some contracts grant additional special leave (Sonderurlaub) for events like your own wedding, the birth of a child, or the death of a close relative. Typical contract provisions:
- Own wedding: 1–2 days.
- Birth of a child: 1–2 days (for fathers; mothers have separate maternity protection).
- Death of a parent, spouse, or child: 2–3 days.
- Death of a sibling or grandparent: 1–2 days.
- Severe illness in the immediate family: 1–10 days, depending on circumstances.
- Own house move (Umzug): 1 day (in some contracts).
- Silver / golden wedding anniversary of parents: 1 day (in older contracts).
These days are usually on top of the regular vacation entitlement and are not counted against your annual balance. They are not statutory — they live in your contract or a Betriebsvereinbarung. Always check both.
Bildungsurlaub (educational leave)
In most German federal states (Bundesländer), employees have a statutory right to 5 days per year (or 10 days every 2 years) of paid leave for further education (Bildungsurlaub). The right is governed by state law, not federal law — so the specifics vary:
- Nordrhein-Westfalen, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen: Bildungsurlaub right exists.
- Bayern and Sachsen: no statutory Bildungsurlaub right.
The course must be officially recognised under state law. You apply to the employer at least 6 weeks before the planned dates. The employer can refuse only for compelling operational reasons.
Vacation accrual during Elternzeit
Under § 17 BEEG, the employer can reduce the vacation entitlement by 1/12 for each full month of Elternzeit (parental leave) — but the reduction must be declared in writing during the employment relationship. Without such a declaration, the full vacation accrual applies even for periods of Elternzeit.
Most employers fail to issue the formal reduction declaration, leading to substantial accrued-but-unreduced vacation balances after long Elternzeit periods. We routinely recover these.
Vacation accrual during long-term illness
Vacation continues to accrue during sick leave. The statutory minimum cannot be reduced. For contractual vacation above the minimum, the contract may include a reduction clause — but only if explicit and only for sick leave beyond a certain threshold (typically 6 weeks of continuous illness).
Vacation accrued during sick leave is preserved by the 15-month rule (BAG 7.8.2012, 9 AZR 353/10) — meaning it survives until 15 months after the end of the leave year, even if not taken in time.
Taking the vacation — your rights
You request vacation; the employer grants it. The employer must take your wishes into account (§ 7(1) BUrlG) and can refuse only for compelling operational reasons or for the priority interests of colleagues with higher protection (e.g., school-age children).
Practical norms:
- The employer should generally grant at least one block of 12+ consecutive working days per year (§ 7(2) BUrlG — implementing the EU Working Time Directive).
- Requests at least 4–6 weeks in advance are typically expected.
- Bridge days („Brückentage” — e.g., a Friday between a Thursday public holiday and the weekend) are normal vacation requests; the employer cannot routinely refuse them just because everyone wants them.
- Last-minute vacation requests can be refused for operational reasons but cannot be habitually refused.
What happens to untaken vacation
By default, untaken vacation expires on 31 December of the year in which it was earned. Two important exceptions:
The transfer to 31 March (§ 7(3) BUrlG)
Where vacation could not be taken in the calendar year for operational or personal reasons, it transfers automatically to the first three months of the following year and must be taken by 31 March. If not taken by then, it lapses (subject to the Max-Planck and illness exceptions above).
This rule is the source of the common (but legally incorrect) belief that „vacation expires on 31 March”. Without the operational/personal reason, vacation expires on 31 December. And in any case, the Max-Planck framework requires the employer’s specific notification before lapse can occur.
Frequently asked questions
Can my contract grant less vacation than the statutory minimum?
No. The statutory minimum of 24 working days (6-day week) or 20 working days (5-day week) is mandatory and cannot be waived by contract.
Does the employer have to grant my requested vacation dates?
Generally yes, taking your wishes into account, unless there are compelling operational reasons or priority interests of colleagues with higher protection. Habitual refusal is unlawful.
Can I sell unused vacation back to the employer instead of taking it?
Only at the end of employment (Urlaubsabgeltung). During active employment, vacation cannot be paid out — it must be taken as time off (§ 7 BUrlG). The exception: contractual vacation above the statutory minimum can theoretically be paid out by mutual agreement during employment, but this is rare and disfavoured.
How does vacation interact with public holidays?
Public holidays in Germany are not vacation days — they are holidays where work is generally prohibited and you do not lose a vacation day for the day off. If a public holiday falls on your scheduled working day during a vacation week, the vacation day for that date is restored.
Do I accrue vacation during parental leave (Elternzeit)?
Yes — unless the employer has issued a formal written reduction declaration under § 17 BEEG. Most employers fail to do this, leading to substantial accrued balances that are recoverable at the end of employment.