Leave Policies

Holiday Leave in Germany

Anyone working in Germany is legally entitled to time off for holidays, sickness, care responsibilities, and following the birth of a child.

Full-time employees in Germany are entitled to a statutory minimum of 20 days of paid holiday per year based on a five-day working week, or 24 days based on a six-day working week. Part-time employees have their holiday entitlement calculated pro rata based on the number of working days per week.

In practice, most employers offer more holiday, with between 27 and 30 days of annual leave (excluding public holidays) being common. Some employers may also allow additional holiday in exchange for a reduction in salary. Your exact holiday entitlement should be stated in your employment contract.

Generally, holiday should be taken during the calendar year. Under certain circumstances, unused holiday can be carried forward to the following year. For example, if you were unable to take your holiday due to illness or operational reasons, it may be possible to carry it forward until March 31 of the following year.

Leftover Holiday Entitlement and Leaving Your Job

If you have unused holiday when you leave your job, you may be entitled to compensation for holiday that could not be taken.

Your employer may also require you to take your remaining holiday during your notice period.

Sick Leave

If you are ill on a working day, you must inform your employer. Most companies have a designated process for reporting sickness, which usually involves contacting your manager and, in some cases, the HR department.

Taking time off when you are sick is generally accepted in Germany. Employees are not expected to continue working when they are unable to work due to illness.

If you become ill during your holiday, the days covered by a medical certificate generally do not count as holiday days.

If you have worked for your company for more than four weeks, you are generally entitled to continued payment of your salary for up to six weeks of illness, subject to the applicable legal requirements. After this period, employees covered by statutory health insurance may be entitled to sickness benefit.

If your child becomes ill, you may also be entitled to take time off work to care for them. Statutory health insurance may provide child sickness benefit to eligible parents when their employer does not continue paying their salary.

Maternity Leave in Germany

Employees who become pregnant while working in Germany are protected by maternity protection rules.

Maternity protection generally covers six weeks before the expected birth and eight weeks after childbirth.

The protection period after childbirth is extended to 12 weeks in certain cases, such as premature births, multiple births, or when a child is diagnosed with a disability under the applicable legal requirements.

Parental Leave in Germany

New parents can take parental leave (Elternzeit). Parental leave is a legal entitlement to time off work and is available to eligible employees.

Parental leave itself is generally unpaid. However, parents may be able to receive parental allowance (Elterngeld) to help compensate for lost income.

Parental Leave Requirements

You may qualify for parental leave if:

• You are employed, including under part-time or temporary contracts.
• You live together with your child in the same household.
• You personally care for and raise the child.
• You work no more than the legally permitted number of hours per week while on parental leave.

Parental leave may also be available in certain situations involving adopted, foster, or other children, depending on the applicable legal requirements.

How Much Parental Leave Do You Get?

Each parent is generally entitled to up to three years of parental leave per child.

Parental leave can be taken between the child's birth and their third birthday. It can also be divided into several periods.

Parents can generally transfer up to 24 months of parental leave to the period between the child's third and eighth birthdays without requiring employer approval, subject to the applicable rules.

For the mother, parental leave can begin after the maternity protection period. The maternity protection period after childbirth is counted toward the three-year parental leave entitlement.

For the other parent, parental leave can begin from the birth of the child.

Parents can take parental leave at the same time or separately.

How to Apply for Parental Leave

You generally need to notify your employer at least seven weeks before parental leave begins.

For parental leave taken between the child's third and eighth birthdays, the notice period is generally 13 weeks.

The request should be submitted in the required form and should clearly state the period of parental leave you intend to take.

Special exceptions may apply in certain circumstances, such as premature births or specific adoption situations.

Care Leave

Employees in Germany may be entitled to take time off work to care for close relatives who require care.

In urgent situations, employees can generally take up to 10 working days of short-term leave to organize or provide care. Depending on the circumstances, care-related benefits may be available through statutory long-term care insurance.

Employees may also be entitled to take care leave (Pflegezeit) of up to six months to care for a close relative in need of care.

For longer-term care leave, employees generally need to provide advance notice and may need to provide documentation confirming the need for care.

During qualifying care leave, employees receive special protection against dismissal.

The rules for care leave depend on the size of the employer and the specific care situation. In particular, the statutory entitlement to longer-term care leave generally applies to employers with more than 15 employees.