Holiday entitlement during notice period in Germany

When your employment ends, questions about unused vacation days often arise. Can you still take your holidays during your notice period? Do you have a right to payment for untaken leave – and what about holiday pay? This guide explains how your holiday entitlement (Urlaubsanspruch) is handled during and after termination, how to calculate outstanding leave, and what happens with special cases like illness or a severance agreement.

Legal basis: your holiday entitlement under German law

Under the Federal Vacation Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz, BUrlG), every employee working a five-day week is entitled to at least 20 paid working days of annual leave. This minimum also applies to interns and mini-jobbers. Holidays must generally be taken during the employment relationship because their purpose is rest. Payment instead of leave (Urlaubsabgeltung) is only allowed when the employment ends.

As a rule, vacation days expire at the end of the calendar year. They can only be carried over to March 31 of the following year if urgent business or personal reasons prevented you from taking them (§ 7 BUrlG).

Recent case law from the Federal Labor Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) strengthened employees’ rights: employers must actively inform employees in good time about the risk of losing unused leave and urge them to take it. If the employer fails to do so, the leave does not expire.

Contractual or collective “extra leave”

Many employment or collective agreements grant additional (“Mehrurlaub”) days beyond the legal minimum.

If the contract distinguishes between statutory and extra leave, special rules may apply — for example, shorter expiry periods or different carry-over rights. The outcome depends on what’s written in the contract.

If the contract makes no such distinction, the same principles as the Federal Vacation Act apply to both statutory and extra leave.

Additional leave for severely disabled employees

Severely disabled employees are entitled to five additional paid vacation days per year based on a five-day week. If they work more or fewer days per week, this is adjusted proportionally. The extra leave does not apply to employees who are only “equally treated” (gleichgestellt) with a disability degree between 30 % and 50 %.

How to calculate remaining holidays after termination

Holiday entitlement does not automatically expire upon dismissal. The decisive factors are whether you leave before or after July 1 and whether your contract contains special rules about extra leave.

Leaving in the first half of the year

If the employment ends within the first six months of the year, you are entitled only to a proportional share of your annual leave.

Leaving in the second half of the year

If your employment ends after July 1, you are entitled to the full statutory annual leave under § 5 BUrlG.

When contractual extra leave is agreed

If you receive additional leave under your contract or collective agreement, the exact wording matters. Some contracts include a “pro rata temporis” clause: the extra leave is granted proportionally.
Example: You resign effective September 30. Your total annual entitlement is 32 days – 20 statutory and 12 extra. The full 20 statutory days remain; for the 12 extra days, you receive 9 days (12 ÷ 12 × 9). Your total entitlement: 29 days minus any taken days. If no such clause exists, statutory rules also apply to the extra leave.

Taking or paying out your leave after termination

When the employment ends, the employer must allow you to take your remaining leave during the notice period. There are several possible situations:

• Ordinary termination with release from duties: You may be irrevocably released from work (Freistellung) until the end of the notice period. Remaining holidays can then be counted as taken.
• Ordinary termination without release: You must apply for your leave and can take it only once approved. The holiday pay must be paid before the holiday starts.
• Employer refuses your request: If your employer rejects your leave request for operational reasons, they must pay you compensation for the untaken leave (§ 7 BUrlG).
• Employee is sick during notice period: Even if you are unable to work, you still gain a right to payment for unused leave (Urlaubsabgeltungsanspruch).
• Immediate (summary) dismissal: Since you cannot take leave anymore, the employer must pay out your unused days.

How to calculate your holiday pay

Holiday pay is based on the average gross earnings during the last 13 weeks before termination, excluding overtime payments.

Example calculation: You earn € 3,000 gross per month, work a five-day week, and have 8 unused days left. Average working days per month = 21.67.
3,000 € ÷ 21.67 = 138.44 € per day.
138.44 × 8 = 1,107.52 € holiday pay.
Any contractual clauses reducing this right are invalid.

Check your payslips carefully. Contractual clauses that lower or exclude your right to holiday pay are invalid under German law.

Special situations

Sick leave and holiday payout

If your employment ends while you are still unfit for work, you are still entitled to payment for unused statutory leave. Extra leave from contracts or collective agreements may expire – but only if the agreement explicitly says so. Without such a clause, you can claim payment for all remaining leave.

Holiday payout and unemployment benefits

The Federal Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) imposes a “rest period” (Ruhenszeit) while your holiday pay is being compensated. During this period, unemployment benefits (Arbeitslosengeld I) are temporarily paused – but your overall benefit duration remains unchanged.

This is not the same as a waiting period (Sperrzeit), which applies if you caused your unemployment yourself (for example, by resigning). In that case, benefits are reduced for usually 12 weeks.

Holiday entitlement under a termination agreement

In a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag), both parties agree to end the employment. Such agreements often contain clauses about remaining leave. Even here, unused leave does not expire automatically — it must either be taken or paid out.

Most agreements include a release from duties, but this counts only if the release is irrevocable and the holiday pay has been paid or promised without reservation. Otherwise, the entitlement continues.

If the agreement says nothing about leave or payout, you can still claim payment. Be cautious about “settlement” or “final clause” (Erledigungsklausel) language — these often waive all claims.
Never sign a termination agreement under pressure. Have a labor lawyer review it before you sign — this can prevent losing your holiday pay or other rights.

In June 2025, the Federal Labor Court ruled that employees cannot validly waive their statutory minimum leave in a court settlement while the employment still exists. Any such clause is void.

Holiday pay (Urlaubsgeld) and repayment after termination

Holiday pay (Urlaubsgeld) is a voluntary extra payment by the employer, based on a contract or collective agreement. Some contracts include repayment clauses if you leave within a certain time.

For these clauses to be valid:

1. They must be explicitly agreed in the contract.
2. The holiday pay must reward loyalty (Betriebstreue), not merely compensate for work performed.
3. The repayment rules must be clear, reasonable, and not make resignation unreasonably difficult.

If the clause is missing, unclear, or excessive, the employer cannot reclaim the holiday pay. When in doubt, seek legal advice before agreeing to repayment.

Frenquently asked questions (FAQ)