In Germany, the right to vacation in the Federal Vacation Act (BURLG) is regulated. The question of how many coherent vacation days must at least have to be approved is particularly relevant for employees and employers.
Statutory minimum leave and guidelines for distribution
According to Section 3 (1) of the BURLG, employees are entitled to at least 24 working days of relaxation vacation per calendar year at a six-day week. On the five-day week common today, this corresponds to 20 working days.
In accordance with Section 7 (2) BURLG, the vacation should be granted in a coherent way. A division is only permitted if urgent operational reasons or personal circumstances of the employee justify this. In any case, however, part of the vacation must include at least twelve coherent working days – this is legally mandatory.
Conversion at five-day week: ten coherent working days
Since the law speaks of working days and that Saturday is fundamentally a working day, there is a minimum duration of ten consecutive working days at a five-day week. This regulation ensures a relaxing interruption of everyday work, which goes beyond a single extended weekend.
The conversion serves the legally secure adaptation to modern working time models and protects the right to a real relaxation vacation.
Conversion at five-day week: ten coherent working days
Statutory holidays that fall during the period of the coherent vacation are not calculated separately, but are considered part of the holiday chain. This means that even if one or more holidays fall into the twelve-day period, the right to a coherent vacation remains formally fulfilled. This legal opinion was confirmed in 2020 by a judgment of the Koblenz Labor Court (Az. 10 Ca 1255/19), which clarified that public holidays did not affect the character of a coherent vacation.
The minimum claim is not an upper limit
Important: The legal requirement of at least twelve working days only represents the minimum standard. Employers may – and should approved longer vacation periods in the sense of health protection, especially if this serves to regenerate the employees or allow operational issues.
In many collective agreements and company agreements, there are also cheaper regulations that go beyond the statutory minimum vacation or enable flexible holiday designs.
D. Maier / Redaktion Finanzen.net