Holiday (Urlaub)
- Legal minimum: 20 days for a 5-day week (24 working days on a 6-day basis). Typical contracts give 25–30 days.
- You get the full annual entitlement only after 6 months in the job. Before that, you earn 1/12 per month.
- Unused holiday is normally lost on 31 March of the following year — but only if your employer reminded you in time to take it (case law since 2022). Otherwise it carries forward.
- Sick during holiday? Get a doctor's sick note — those days are credited back to you.
- Holiday must be requested and approved (Urlaubsantrag). Don't book flights before approval.
Working time (Arbeitszeitgesetz)
| Rule | Limit |
|---|---|
| Daily maximum | 8 h, up to 10 h if averaged to 8 h over 6 months |
| Break | 30 min after 6 h, 45 min after 9 h |
| Rest between shifts | 11 hours |
| Sundays and public holidays | Generally no work (exceptions: hospitals, hospitality, transport…) |
| Time recording | Employers must record working time (Federal Labour Court, 2022) |
Sick leave
- Notify your employer immediately on day 1. A doctor's note is needed from day 4, or earlier if your employer asks (Chapter 22).
- Pay: 100% from the employer for up to 6 weeks per illness, then Krankengeld from the Krankenkasse (about 70% of gross, max. 90% of net, up to 78 weeks).
- You can't be dismissed just because you're sick, and you don't have to tell your employer the diagnosis.
- Sick child (under 12): parents with GKV get Kinderkrankengeld and unpaid leave from work. The number of days per year is set by law and has been raised in recent years — ask your Krankenkasse for the current figure. You need a paediatrician's certificate.
Parental protection
- Mutterschutz: no work 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after birth (12 for premature or multiple births), with full pay (Krankenkasse + employer). Protection against dismissal from pregnancy until 4 months after birth. Tell your employer once you know you're pregnant.
- Elternzeit (parental leave): up to 3 years per child, for each parent. Request it in writing 7 weeks before it starts. Protection against dismissal applies. Pay comes from Elterngeld (Chapter 30).