30 days of leave
of which statutory: 20 days · for guidance only
How it was calculated
| Statutory annual leave | 24 days (6-day week) × 5 ÷ 6 | 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Contractual annual leave | 30 × 5 ÷ 5 | 30 |
| Entitlement for the year | the higher of statutory and contractual | 30 |
24 Werktage: how many days of leave is that?
The Federal Leave Act (BUrlG) counts your holiday entitlement in Werktage: leave is at least 24 Werktage a year (§ 3(1) BUrlG). Werktage are all calendar days except Sundays and public holidays (§ 3(2) BUrlG), so Monday to Saturday: the 24 days are days on a six-day week.
For your own working week, convert them: 24 Werktage × working days per week ÷ 6. On a five-day week, that is 20 days of leave. In every row of the table, the statutory leave comes to four weeks off.
Working days count, not hours: five days a week, one of them a half day, is a five-day week. Enter a value like 4.5 if you alternate between four-day and five-day weeks (18 days of statutory leave, or 27 with 30 days in the contract). More on the part-time page.
| Working days per week | Statutory minimum | With 30 days in the contract (5-day basis) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 days | 6 days |
| 2 | 8 days | 12 days |
| 3 | 12 days | 18 days |
| 4 | 16 days | 24 days |
| 5 | 20 days | 30 days |
| 6 | 24 days | 36 days |
Starting during the year: waiting period and partial leave
You first earn your full annual leave after six months of employment (§ 4 BUrlG), on the day after this six-month waiting period ends. If it ends before 31 December, you get the full year's leave in the year you start.
If it only ends on 31 December or in the next year, you get partial leave: one twelfth of the annual leave for each full month (§ 5(1)(a) BUrlG). The months count from your start date. Fractions of half a day or more are rounded up (§ 5(2) BUrlG). Smaller fractions are not rounded down but kept, as the Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled on 26 January 1989 (8 AZR 730/87).
The cut-off lies between 30 June and 1 July. If you start on 30 June, you complete the waiting period at the end of 29 December and get full leave. If you start on 1 July, you only complete it at the end of 31 December: the full entitlement then arises in the new year, and for the year you start you get partial leave of 6/12 (BAG, 17 November 2015, 9 AZR 179/15). At your request, this partial leave is carried over to the next year (§ 7(3) sentence 4 BUrlG).
For what applies when you leave during the year, see the page on leaving a job.
| Start date | Waiting period ends | Share of 2026 | Statutory (days) | 30-day contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Feb 2026 | 31 Jul 2026 | full | 20 | 30 |
| 1 Apr 2026 | 30 Sep 2026 | full | 20 | 30 |
| 30 Jun 2026 | 29 Dec 2026 | full | 20 | 30 |
| 1 Jul 2026 | 31 Dec 2026 | 6/12 | 10 | 15 |
| 2 Jul 2026 | 1 Jan 2027 | 5/12 | 8.33 | 13 |
| 1 Aug 2026 | 31 Jan 2027 | 5/12 | 8.33 | 13 |
| 15 Sep 2026 | 14 Mar 2027 | 3/12 | 5 | 8 |
| 1 Oct 2026 | 31 Mar 2027 | 3/12 | 5 | 8 |
| 1 Dec 2026 | 31 May 2027 | 1/12 | 2 | 3 |
Statutory and contractual leave
The 24 Werktage are a minimum. An employment contract, works agreement or collective agreement can give you more. Anything above the minimum is called extra leave (Mehrurlaub). If your contract states leave in Werktage rather than working days, enter 6 under "Contract basis" in the calculator.
An employment contract cannot give you less: it may not depart from the Act to your disadvantage (§ 13(1) sentence 3 BUrlG). A collective agreement may depart from it even to your disadvantage, but not from §§ 1, 2 and 3(1): the entitlement itself, who is covered, and the 24 Werktage (§ 13(1) sentence 1 BUrlG).
For the extra leave, the contract may set its own rules, for example pro-rating it in the year you start once the waiting period is over, or when you leave in the second half of the year, as § 26(2)(b) TV-L does, the collective agreement for the public sector of the federal states. Such a rule may not take you below the statutory leave (BAG, 9 August 2016, 9 AZR 51/16). In the calculator, tick "Pro rata clause" under "Special cases". Without such a rule, the calculator treats the extra leave the same way as the statutory leave.
Under-18s get more under the Youth Employment Protection Act (JArbSchG), depending on their age at the start of the calendar year (§ 19(2) JArbSchG). Severely disabled people get five additional working days on a five-day week under Social Code Book IX (§ 208(1) SGB IX); the page on severe disability has the details.
| Group | Legal basis | 6-day week | 5-day week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | § 3(1) BUrlG | 24 days | 20 days |
| Young people under 16 on 1 January | § 19(2) no. 1 JArbSchG | 30 days | 25 days |
| Young people aged 16 on 1 January | § 19(2) no. 2 JArbSchG | 27 days | 22.5 days |
| Young people aged 17 on 1 January | § 19(2) no. 3 JArbSchG | 25 days | 20.83 days |
| Severely disabled people (GdB 50 or more) | § 3(1) BUrlG, § 208 SGB IX | 30 days | 25 days |
Leftover leave: when does leave expire?
Leave has to be taken in the current calendar year (§ 7(3) sentence 1 BUrlG). It is carried over only for urgent operational or personal reasons, and then it has to be taken by 31 March (§ 7(3) sentences 2 and 3 BUrlG).
But statutory leave does not expire on its own. Under rulings of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU, 6 November 2018, C-684/16) and the BAG (19 February 2019, 9 AZR 423/16), it lapses only if your employer asked you to take it and told you clearly and in good time that it would otherwise be lost. If not, you keep it.
With long illness, there is a limit: if you were unfit for work without a break from the start of the leave year until 31 March of the year after next, that leave lapses at the end of that day, even without a reminder (BAG, 7 August 2012, 9 AZR 353/10; 20 December 2022, 9 AZR 245/19). If you worked at some point in the leave year, it generally lapses only after a timely reminder.
The calculator does not work out whether leftover leave has expired: that depends on what your employer told you.
Sick on leave: what happens to the days?
If you fall ill during your leave, the days you are unfit for work do not count as leave, as long as you prove them with a doctor's certificate (§ 9 BUrlG). Days without a certificate are counted as leave.
Your leave is not extended automatically. You keep the days, and new dates are set for them, taking your wishes into account (§ 7(1) BUrlG). The Federal Leave Act has no rule that cuts leave because of illness, so the calculator deducts nothing.
Worked examples
Five cases for 2026, each on a five-day week. You can recalculate any of them in the calculator above.
Full-time, whole year, 28 days in the contract
Statutory: 24 × 5 ÷ 6 = 20 days. The contract gives 28, and the higher figure applies. The 8 days above the minimum are extra leave.
Result: 28 days, of which 20 statutory
Starting on 15 September 2026, 30 days in the contract
The waiting period only ends on 14 March 2027, so for 2026 you get partial leave. 15 September to 14 December is three full months. Statutory: 20 × 3/12 = 5 days. Contract: 30 × 3/12 = 7.5, rounded up to 8 (§ 5(2) BUrlG).
Result: 8 days, of which 5 statutory
Starting on 1 July 2026, 30 days in the contract
The start date itself counts (§ 187(2) of the German Civil Code, BGB), so the waiting period ends at the end of 31 December 2026 (§ 188(2) BGB). The full entitlement only arises the day after, in 2027. For 2026 you get partial leave for six full months: statutory 20 × 6/12 = 10 days, contract 30 × 6/12 = 15 days (§ 5(1)(a) BUrlG; BAG, 17 November 2015, 9 AZR 179/15).
Result: 15 days, of which 10 statutory
Starting on 2 July 2026, 30 days in the contract
The waiting period only ends at the end of 1 January 2027. For 2026, full months count: 2 July to 1 December is five, and the rest of December does not count. Statutory: 20 × 5/12 = 8.33; the fraction under half a day is kept. Contract: 30 × 5/12 = 12.5, rounded up to 13.
Result: 13 days, of which 8.33 statutory
Young person born on 1 January 2010, statutory leave only
The day of birth counts towards a person's age (§ 187(2) sentence 2 BGB): at the start of 2026 they are already 16 but not yet 17. That gives 27 Werktage (§ 19(2) no. 2 JArbSchG), so on a five-day week 27 × 5 ÷ 6 = 22.5 days.
Result: 22.5 days, of which 22.5 statutory
Legal basis
- § 1 BUrlG
Every employee is entitled to paid recreational leave in every calendar year.
- § 2 BUrlG
Employees within the meaning of the Act are blue-collar and white-collar workers and people employed for their vocational training. People who count as employee-like because of their economic dependence are treated as employees too.
- § 3 BUrlG
Leave is at least 24 Werktage a year. Werktage are all calendar days that are not Sundays or public holidays.
- § 4 BUrlG
The full leave entitlement is acquired for the first time once the employment has lasted six months.
- § 5 BUrlG
One twelfth of the annual leave for each full month, among other cases when the waiting period is not completed in the calendar year (subsection 1(a)). Fractions of leave days that come to at least half a day are rounded up to full days of leave (subsection 2).
- § 6 BUrlG
No entitlement to the extent that a previous employer has already granted leave for the current calendar year. When employment ends, the employer must hand over a certificate of the leave granted or paid in lieu.
- § 7 BUrlG
The employee's wishes must be taken into account when the dates of leave are set (subsection 1). Leave must be granted and taken in the current calendar year. It is carried over only for urgent operational reasons or reasons relating to the employee, and then into the first three months of the next year; partial leave under § 5(1)(a) is carried over to the next year on request (subsection 3). Payment in lieu if leave can no longer be granted because employment has ended (subsection 4).
- § 9 BUrlG
If an employee falls ill during leave, the days of incapacity for work proven by a doctor's certificate are not counted against the annual leave.
- § 13 BUrlG
Collective agreements may depart from the Act, except for §§ 1, 2 and 3(1). Otherwise, apart from § 7(2) sentence 2, the Act's provisions cannot be varied to the employee's disadvantage.
- § 19 JArbSchG
At least 30 Werktage if the young person is not yet 16 at the start of the calendar year, 27 Werktage if not yet 17, and 25 Werktage if not yet 18.
- § 208 SGB IX
Severely disabled people are entitled to paid additional leave of five working days in the leave year; if their working time is spread over more or fewer than five working days a week, the additional leave rises or falls accordingly.
- § 2 SGB IX
People are severely disabled if their degree of disability (GdB) is at least 50 (subsection 2).
- § 187 BGB
If the start of a day is what counts, that day is included when the period is calculated. The same applies to the day of birth when calculating a person's age (subsection 2).
- § 188 BGB
In the case of § 187(2), a period of months ends at the end of the day before the day that corresponds to the period's first day (subsection 2). If that day does not exist in the last month, the period ends on that month's last day (subsection 3).
- § 4 TzBfG
Part-time employees may not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time employees because they work part-time, unless there are objective reasons for it (subsection 1).
- § 2 TzBfG
An employee in marginal employment under § 8(1) no. 1 of Social Code Book IV (a Minijob) is also a part-time employee (subsection 2).
- Federal Labour Court (BAG), 26 January 1989, 8 AZR 730/87: Fractions of leave days that § 5(2) BUrlG does not round up are not rounded down: they are granted as they are, or paid in lieu when employment ends.
- Federal Labour Court (BAG), 17 November 2015, 9 AZR 179/15: Someone who starts on 1 July does not earn full leave that year but partial leave under § 5(1)(a) BUrlG: the full entitlement only arises on the day after the waiting period ends.
- Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), 6 November 2018, C-684/16: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft: leave may not lapse automatically just because no leave was requested. The employer must make it possible to take the leave and point out clearly and in good time that it will otherwise be lost.
- Federal Labour Court (BAG), 9 August 2016, 9 AZR 51/16: Pro rating under § 26(2)(b) TV-L also applies when someone leaves in the second half of the year after the waiting period, but it may not go below the statutory minimum leave.
- Federal Labour Court (BAG), 19 February 2019, 9 AZR 423/16: Statutory minimum leave lapses at the end of the year or of the carry-over period only if the employer asked the employee to take it and pointed out clearly and in good time that it would otherwise be lost.
- Federal Labour Court (BAG), 7 August 2012, 9 AZR 353/10: Where an employee is unfit for work for a long time, statutory leave lapses 15 months after the end of the leave year at the earliest.
- Federal Labour Court (BAG), 20 December 2022, 9 AZR 245/19: Without a reminder from the employer, statutory leave lapses after 15 months only if the employee was unfit for work without a break from the start of the leave year until 31 March of the year after next; if they worked during the leave year, it generally lapses only if the employer enabled them in good time to take the leave.
As of 14 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
In the Act, yes: the 24 Werktage cover Monday to Saturday (§ 3(2) BUrlG). On a five-day week, this is already built into the 20 days of leave. A Saturday you don't work doesn't cost you a day of leave.
No. Public holidays are not Werktage (§ 3(2) BUrlG). If a public holiday falls during your leave, no day of leave is used for it. Which days are public holidays depends on the federal state.
For leave, what counts is not the probation period but the waiting period: you earn full leave on the day after six months of employment (§ 4 BUrlG). If you start by 30 June, it arises in the same year. If you start later, you get one twelfth for each full month in the year you start, and the same applies if you leave before the waiting period ends (§ 5(1)(a) and (b) BUrlG; BAG, 17 November 2015, 9 AZR 179/15).
Leave that a previous employer has already granted you for the current calendar year is offset against your entitlement with your new employer (§ 6(1) BUrlG), but only to the extent that you would otherwise get more than the full year's leave in total. When you leave, your previous employer must give you a certificate of the leave granted or paid in lieu (§ 6(2) BUrlG). In the calculator, enter the days already granted under the special cases, in "Leave from previous employer".
The law only provides for payment if leave can no longer be taken because employment has ended (§ 7(4) BUrlG). While you are employed, leave is taken as time off. The page about leaving a job shows how much you are owed when you leave.
Yes. Every employee is entitled to paid recreational leave (§ 1 BUrlG). A Minijob, the German form of marginal employment, is part-time work under the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act as long as it stays within the earnings limit (§ 2(2) TzBfG), and part-time employees may not be treated less favourably (§ 4(1) TzBfG). Your days of leave follow your working days per week; for a full year, the statutory minimum is four weeks.
How Worklayer calculates it
In Worklayer, the leave policy calculates leave entitlement automatically: pro rata from the start and leaving dates and for part-time work, with accrual through the year and carry-over into the next year. Everyone can see their balance at any time, and Worklayer comes with policy templates for 13 countries and the public holidays of 204 countries.
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Note: this calculator gives a non-binding, automated calculation based on the statutory minimum rules of German law (as of 14 October 2026). It is not legal advice and does not replace an individual review of your case. Collective agreements, works agreements and employment contracts may contain different or more favourable rules, which are only taken into account here as far as you enter them. For a binding answer, please contact a lawyer specialising in employment law, your works council, or your trade union or employers' association. To the extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for the accuracy, completeness or currency of the results. What you enter is processed only in your browser and is neither stored nor transmitted.