Labor Rights in Germany: Vacation, Sick Leave, and Dismissal Protection

In Germany, employees are entitled to paid annual leave and, in case of illness, continued wage payment under conditions established by law. These protections apply to full-time work (Vollzeit), part-time work (Teilzeit), and Minijobs alike. However, entitlement to statutory sickness allowance from a health insurance fund depends on your insurance status: a Minijob on its own does not provide it.

Below are the core rules governing vacation, reporting incapacity for work, and terminating an employment contract. The terms of your employment contract and applicable collective agreements (Tarifvertrag) are also essential.

Express Guide: If You Have 2 Minutes

Planning vacation: Under a regular five-day workweek, the statutory minimum is 20 days per year. Dates must be agreed upon with the employer. Calculation and carrying over leave.
Falling ill: Notify your employer without undue delay of your incapacity for work and its expected duration. The eAU does not replace this notification. Deadlines and medical certification.
Sick pay: The employer continues wage payment for up to six weeks if statutory conditions are met; after that, insured employees with corresponding entitlement may receive Krankengeld. Who pays and how much.
Sick child: For Kinderkrankengeld, medical certification and insurance qualifications are required. Limits for 2026.
Notice of dismissal received: The statutory deadline to file a claim with the Arbeitsgericht is three weeks from receipt of written notice. How the deadline is calculated.
Employment ending or agreement offered: Assess all consequences before signing; adhere strictly to registration deadlines with the Agentur für Arbeit. Termination agreement and registration.

Paid Annual Leave

Under §§ 1–3 BUrlG, an employee is entitled to paid leave. The statutory minimum corresponds to four weeks of rest. Under a regular weekly schedule, the number of leave days depends on how many days per week you work, not on the number of hours worked per day.

Working days per week	Statutory minimum vacation days per year
6	24
5	20
4	16

The formula for such a schedule is: working days per week × 24 ÷ 6. For instance, when working two days per week, the minimum is eight vacation days. This principle applies equally to Minijobs, as explained by the Minijob-Zentrale. An employment contract or collective bargaining agreement may provide for more leave.

When the Right Arises and How Leave Dates Are Approved

Full annual leave entitlement first arises after six months of employment. For partial leave (Teilurlaub), §§ 4–5 BUrlG provide 1/12 of the annual entitlement for each full calendar month of employment in the following cases:

the six-month waiting period cannot be completed in that calendar year;
the employee leaves before completing the waiting period;
after fulfilling the waiting period, the employee leaves in the first half of the calendar year.

A probationary period in itself does not imply an automatic 1/12 calculation in every situation. Leave dates must be agreed with the employer: under § 7 BUrlG, the employer takes the employee’s wishes into account, unless urgent operational requirements or socially prioritized leave requests of other colleagues conflict with them.

Statutory leave must be granted as actual time off. If leave can no longer be taken in whole or in part due to the termination of the employment relationship, the remaining days must be compensated financially (§ 7 Abs. 4 BUrlG).

Carrying Over Leave and Long-Term Illness

As a general rule, vacation must be taken within the current calendar year. Carrying leave over to the following year is permitted for urgent operational or personal reasons; the standard carryover period expires on March 31 of the following year. For partial leave under § 5 Abs. 1 Buchst. a, a carryover upon the employee’s request is provided for.

However, leave does not automatically lapse simply because the date has passed: the employer must specifically invite the employee to take leave, clarify the exact remaining amount, and clearly and timely warn them about the impending forfeiture of their entitlement. This was affirmed by the Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruling of February 19, 2019.

Long-term incapacity for work: The special 15-month rule

If an employee is continuously incapacitated due to health reasons from the beginning of the holiday year through March 31 of the second subsequent year, statutory leave for that year lapses 15 months after the end of the leave year. In this scenario, employer notices do not change the outcome.

If the employee was able to work during the holiday year before falling ill, the forfeiture under this rule usually requires that the employer proactively enabled the taking of leave prior to the illness, including all necessary formal notifications. These distinctions are detailed by the Federal Labor Court in its decision of December 20, 2022. Retain all communications from your employer regarding your leave balance: they are vital in any dispute over accrued days.

Illness During Vacation and Vacation Pay

If a physician certifies incapacity for work (Arbeitsunfähigkeit) during an approved vacation, those days of certified illness are not counted against the annual leave allowance (§ 9 BUrlG). Notify your employer of your incapacity immediately and obtain medical certification; reschedule the remaining vacation days separately.

Distinguish between two distinct payments:

Vacation pay (Urlaubsentgelt): Under § 11 BUrlG, this represents regular continued pay based on average earnings over the preceding 13 weeks, excluding overtime compensation. The law provides for adjustments, such as permanent wage increases or reductions caused by short-time work (Kurzarbeit) or lack of work.
Additional vacation bonus (Urlaubsgeld): There is no general statutory obligation to pay this. The entitlement may arise from an employment contract, a collective bargaining agreement, or a works agreement; voluntary payments are also possible. This is clarified by the Minijob-Zentrale.

If You Fall Ill: Notification and Sick Leave

Notify Your Employer Without Undue Delay

§ 5 EntgFG obligates employees to report their incapacity for work and its expected duration without undue delay (unverzüglich). If you already know that you cannot attend your shift, notify the employer before it begins via the workplace’s established communication channel.

You are not required to disclose your diagnosis during routine notification. Employers do not receive medical diagnoses in standard eAU transmissions, as confirmed by the federal portal gesund.bund.de.

When Medical Certification Is Required

If incapacity lasts longer than three calendar days, statutory law generally requires medical certification no later than the following working day. The employer is entitled to demand medical certification earlier, including from the very first day; this right does not strictly depend on a specific contractual clause.

Under the eAU procedure, the employee is required to obtain medical assessment within the same deadlines and secure a copy of the certificate for personal records. If illness extends beyond the initial period, a renewal certificate is required.

In-person visits are not the only permissible method: the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) permits certification via telephone or video consultation under defined criteria. The physician determines the appropriate format.

How eAU Works and When Paper Is Still Required

In covered cases, the electronic certificate of incapacity (elektronische Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung — eAU) is transmitted by the doctor directly to the statutory health insurance provider (gesetzliche Krankenkasse). The employer retrieves this data digitally from the fund. The employee’s duty to report absence to the employer remains fully in effect (§ 5 EntgFG, § 109 SGB IV).

Paper sick notes have not been eliminated entirely. The standard eAU procedure does not apply to private health insurance, Minijobs in private households, or consultations with doctors outside the statutory contract care system (vertragsärztliche Versorgung). In these situations, paper medical certificates must be forwarded to the employer through conventional channels.

In case of technical failures, medical practices issue signed paper copies for the employer and insurance fund, which the employee must transmit manually. The procedure is outlined by the KBV.

If Incapacity Begins Abroad

Under § 5 Abs. 2 EntgFG, inform your employer by the quickest available method of your incapacity, expected duration, and temporary address. If insured with a statutory health insurance fund, notify the fund without delay as well; if illness continues, provide the updated expected duration. Upon returning to Germany while still incapacitated, you must notify both the employer and insurance fund immediately. Do not rely on foreign medical certificates arriving automatically via eAU.

Who Pays During Illness

Continued remuneration by the employer (Entgeltfortzahlung) and statutory sickness benefit from the health insurance fund (Krankengeld) are distinct benefits governed by separate rules.

Payment	Payer	Key Conditions and Amount
Entgeltfortzahlung	Employer	Up to six weeks, provided incapacity arose through no fault of the employee and the employment relationship has lasted four consecutive weeks. Regular working hours remuneration is continued.
Krankengeld	Statutory Health Fund (Krankenkasse)	Provided statutory entitlement exists; typically follows the expiration of Entgeltfortzahlung. Calculated at 70% of gross regular pay, capped at 90% of net pay, subject to the statutory assessment ceiling.

Statutory bases: §§ 3–4 EntgFG, § 44 SGB V, and § 47 SGB V.

Continued pay does not encompass all previous premiums: overtime compensation and certain expense allowances are excluded from the calculation. Collective agreements may provide an alternative assessment base.

In cases of recurring illness due to the same underlying condition, a new six-week period of employer pay does not start automatically. Under § 3 Abs. 1 EntgFG, a renewed six-week entitlement arises only if at least one of the following applies:

the employee was not incapacitated due to that specific illness for at least six months prior to the renewed incapacity;
12 months have elapsed since the start of the initial incapacity caused by that illness.

Entitlement to continued remuneration applies equally to Minijobbers when prerequisites are fulfilled. However, a Minijob alone does not provide statutory entitlement to Krankengeld: verify your insurance coverage with your health fund.

The 78-week maximum includes continued employer pay

For the same illness, Krankengeld is capped at 78 weeks within a three-year period, starting from the first day of incapacity. Periods when benefit payments are suspended, including the six weeks of Entgeltfortzahlung, count toward this 78-week cap. It is not six weeks of employer pay plus an additional 78 weeks from the fund. A secondary illness arising during an ongoing period of incapacity does not extend this maximum duration (§ 48 SGB V).

When Your Child Falls Ill

Statutory child sickness benefit (Kinderkrankengeld) is granted upon meeting the conditions of § 45 SGB V. For routine home care, requirements include:

medical certification that the parent must remain absent from work to care for the child;
corresponding statutory entitlement of the parent and statutory health insurance coverage for the child;
absence of another member in the household who can care for the child;
child age under 12 years. There is no age limit for children with disabilities who require assistance.

For 2026, the following benefit day limits are established:

Recipient	Per Child	Total across multiple children
Each eligible parent	Up to 15 working days	Up to 35 working days
Single parent with entitlement	Up to 30 working days	Up to 70 working days

This is governed by the special provision in § 45 Abs. 2a and explained by the Federal Ministry of Health. Apply directly with your Krankenkasse.

Where entitlement to Kinderkrankengeld exists, the employer must grant unpaid leave, provided there is no concurrent entitlement to paid leave on the same grounds (§ 45 Abs. 3). For workers without insurance coverage for the cash benefit, the statute also provides a right to unpaid leave from work (§ 45 Abs. 5). Consequently, for Minijob workers, leave from work and fund payouts may operate differently.

Termination of Employment and Dismissal Protection

Written Form Requirement

Unilateral termination (Kündigung) and consensual separation agreements (Aufhebungsvertrag) strictly require written form; electronic form is explicitly excluded (§ 623 BGB). A standard letter on paper must be signed by an authorized person. § 126 BGB sets out specific formalities for adhering to written form.

Email, SMS, messaging apps, or verbal declarations are legally void.

Probationary Period

During an agreed probationary period (Probezeit), the baseline notice period is two weeks, without restriction to the 15th or end of the month. The rule in § 622 Abs. 3 BGB applies for a maximum of the first six months; it does not set a universal limit on the duration of probationary arrangements as a whole. Review applicable collective bargaining agreements and contract clauses.

The absence of general protection under § 1 KSchG during the initial six months does not invalidate formal requirements or other legal grounds for the nullity of a dismissal. For instance, § 15 KSchG provides special protection for designated employee representatives.

When General Dismissal Protection Applies

For general dismissal protection under §§ 1 and 23 KSchG, two requirements must generally be met concurrently: tenure of more than six months and an establishment with more than ten regular employees, calculated pursuant to statutory weighting.

This is not a simple headcount: employees regularly working up to 20 hours per week are counted as 0.5, those working over 20 up to 30 hours count as 0.75, and all others count as 1. Apprentices are not counted. Transitional rules exist for employment relationships that began prior to 2004.

When general protection applies, an ordinary dismissal must be socially justified on one of three grounds:

Operational reasons (betriebsbedingt): Requires urgent operational reasons preventing further employment, adherence to redeployment options, and proper social selection (Sozialauswahl). Social selection must account for length of service, age, maintenance obligations, and severe disability. Specific operational exceptions are permissible under narrow legal standards. A dip in orders or closure of a department does not automatically justify dismissal on its own.
Personal reasons (personenbedingt): Dismissals due to health or illness require a negative health prognosis, significant impairment of operational interests, proportionality, and a balancing of mutual interests. Long-term illness in itself does not automatically make dismissal lawful. These criteria are established in BAG ruling 2 AZR 125/21, paras. 11–12.
Conduct-related reasons (verhaltensbedingt): Requires evaluation of specific circumstances and proportionality. Where misconduct can be remedied by the employee, a prior formal warning (Abmahnung) is generally mandatory. Exceptions apply only if behavioral changes cannot reasonably be expected even after a warning, or if the infraction is so severe that continued employment is intolerable. This is clarified in BAG ruling 2 AZR 302/16, paras. 27–28.

Even in small businesses, §§ 4–7 KSchG governing lawsuit deadlines apply. Never assume that the size of a business excuses missing the deadline to contest a dismissal.

Statutory Notice Periods for Ordinary Dismissal

The baseline statutory notice period under § 622 Abs. 1 BGB is four weeks to the 15th or to the end of a calendar month. For dismissal initiated by the employer, notice periods increase with length of service:

Length of service with employer	Statutory notice period for employer dismissal
Under 2 years	4 weeks to the 15th or end of month
2 to under 5 years	1 month to the end of a month
5 to under 8 years	2 months to the end of a month
8 to under 10 years	3 months to the end of a month
10 to under 12 years	4 months to the end of a month
12 to under 15 years	5 months to the end of a month
15 to under 20 years	6 months to the end of a month
20 years or more	7 months to the end of a month

This table reflects the general rule outside the special two-week probationary notice period. These extended notice periods do not automatically apply to resignation by the employee: the baseline under Abs. 1 remains applicable, subject to contractual or collective terms. Notice required from the employee cannot be longer than notice required from the employer.

Collective agreements may deviate from statutory periods. Individual employment contracts may specify longer notice periods; shorter periods are permitted only within the narrow confines of § 622 Abs. 5 BGB. In particular, exceptions apply to temporary hiring for auxiliary work and businesses with no more than 20 employees; in the latter case, notice cannot be shorter than four weeks. Verify all applicable terms before calculating your end date.

Severance Agreements and Registration with Agentur für Arbeit

When Offered an Aufhebungsvertrag

When an employer offers a termination agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag), it may specify an exit date and severance pay (Abfindung). Before signing, consult a qualified professional regarding the repercussions on unemployment benefit ALG I; contact resources are provided below.

An agreement can jeopardize ALG I

If an employee intentionally or through gross negligence brings about unemployment without an important reason, a blocking period (Sperrzeit) may be imposed. For ending employment under such circumstances, the standard blocking period is 12 weeks, with reductions to three or six weeks in specific cases. If an important reason (wichtiger Grund) exists, no Sperrzeit is applied. Signing an agreement does not automatically mean a sanction is inevitable (§ 159 SGB III, Bundesagentur für Arbeit guidance).

In addition to benefit suspension, a Sperrzeit for giving up employment reduces the overall entitlement period for ALG I: by the duration of the Sperrzeit, and by at least one-quarter in the case of a 12-week sanction. Section 148 Abs. 2 outlines exceptions, including events occurring over a year prior to claim inception (§ 148 SGB III).

When to Register as a Jobseeker

Under § 38 SGB III, notification of job seeking (Arbeitsuchendmeldung) must be completed:

no later than three months prior to the termination of employment, if the date is known in advance;
within three calendar days of learning the exit date, if less than three months remain. The statute specifies calendar days, not three working days.

This duty persists even if dismissal is being contested in court or the employer promises continuing work. Late registration without an important reason triggers a one-week Sperrzeit under § 159 SGB III.

Jobseeker and unemployment registrations are distinct

Registering as a jobseeker (Arbeitsuchendmeldung) does not replace registering as unemployed (Arbeitslosmeldung). Complete both steps following the procedures of the Agentur für Arbeit.

Challenging Dismissal: Three Weeks to File with the Labor Court

Under § 4 KSchG, an action for protection against dismissal (Kündigungsschutzklage) must be brought before the labor court (Arbeitsgericht) within three weeks of receiving written notice.

The triggering moment is legal receipt (Zugang), not necessarily physical hand-to-hand delivery. Do not count only from the moment you opened the letter: legal validity is governed by § 130 BGB.

The day of receipt is excluded from the calculation; a deadline measured in weeks concludes on the corresponding weekday three weeks later (§ 187 BGB, § 188 BGB). If the final day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, the deadline expires on the next working day (§ 46 Abs. 2 ArbGG, § 222 ZPO).

Missing the deadline forfeits the right to challenge dismissal

If not challenged in time, § 7 KSchG creates a statutory presumption that the dismissal is legally valid from the beginning. While §§ 4–6 provide exceptions—such as late claim acceptance under § 5 or distinct rules for dismissals requiring administrative approval under § 4—never count on exceptions. Organize court filing or legal consultation immediately upon receiving notice.

Is a Lawyer Required and Who Bears Costs

In first-instance labor court proceedings, parties may represent themselves (§ 11 ArbGG). The court’s legal application office (Rechtsantragstelle) assists in formulating and filing claims, but cannot assess the legal prospects of the case or provide individualized representation. This is explained by Arbeitsgericht Herne and Arbeitsgericht Berlin.

Prepare your employment contract, dismissal letter, and employer contact information in advance. Filing requirements can be found on your local court’s website. The Berlin labor court explicitly notes that assistance from its Rechtsantragstelle is free; this does not mean the entire lawsuit is cost-free.

In first-instance labor litigation, the prevailing party does not receive reimbursement of attorney fees from the losing party (§ 12a ArbGG).

Legal aid for court costs (Prozesskostenhilfe — PKH) is available upon application. Under § 114 ZPO, eligibility depends on personal and financial circumstances, sufficient prospects of success, and lack of vexatious intent (mutwillig). Assistance may be granted with installment requirements; low income alone does not automatically grant unrestricted coverage for any attorney.

Where to Get Individual Support

Legal Disclaimer (Rechtsberatung)

Nodia is an informational and civic media platform. This guide provides legal orientation and cannot substitute for individualized legal counsel by an authorized professional (keine Rechtsberatung im Sinne des RDG).

Faire Integration: Free, anonymous, and multilingual counseling for refugees and third-country nationals (non-EU). Vacation, wage continuation, and dismissals are central topics. Find a center at faire-integration.de.
Trade Unions and DGB Rechtsschutz: Legal advice and court representation for members of DGB trade unions. Check conditions with your specific union; details can be found at DGB.
Rechtsantragstelle at the Labor Court: Free administrative assistance in formulating and filing claims. For strategic advice, consult a certified specialist attorney for labor law (Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht) or an authorized advice bureau.
Beratungshilfe: State legal aid for out-of-court legal advice for individuals meeting financial criteria. Applications are evaluated by the local district court (Amtsgericht). As confirmed in October 2026 on the justice portal, the standard co-payment to an attorney is 15 €, and some law offices waive it. In Hamburg and Bremen, public legal consultation (Öffentliche Rechtsberatung) operates instead.

Information Sources

Key statutory provisions and official interpretations verified as of October 6, 2026. Dates of court rulings indicate when judgments were rendered, not new legislative reforms.