Germany

Leave

Annual Leave

• Applicable Employer Type: Single employer.
• Eligibility: All employees. Full annual leave entitlement applies after six consecutive months of employment.

• Entitlement:

  • 24 days per year.
  • Where an employee has not completed six consecutive months of service, annual leave is accrued at a rate of two days per completed month of work (24 ÷ 12).
• Annual Leave Pay: Paid at the employee’s full salary, calculated as the average salary over the 13 weeks preceding the start of the leave, excluding overtime and other additional payments.
• Unused Annual Leave: Any unused annual leave remaining at the time of resignation must be compensated in full.

Sick Leave

• Eligibility: All employees.

• Paid Sick Leave:

  • Maximum duration of six weeks, applicable to continuous sick leave or recurrence of the same illness, provided that there is an interval of at least six months between episodes, or 12 months have elapsed since the start of the first sick leave.
  • Entitlement: Employees become entitled to sick pay after four consecutive weeks of employment.
  • Pay Rate: Full salary, excluding overtime and other additional payments.

• Unpaid Sick Leave:

  • Duration is determined based on actual circumstances.
  • Employees covered by statutory health insurance may receive sickness benefits after the initial six weeks.
  • Sickness Benefit: 70% of gross salary, capped at 90% of net salary.
  • Maximum Duration: Up to 78 weeks for the same illness (including the initial six weeks of paid sick leave), calculated within a three-year reference period.

Maternity Leave

• Eligibility: Female employees before and after childbirth.

• Duration:

  • Six weeks before childbirth and eight weeks after childbirth.
  • Extended to 12 weeks following childbirth in cases of multiple births or premature births.

• Allowance:

  • For employees covered by statutory health insurance, the insurance provider pays EUR 13 per day, and the employer tops up the difference to the employee’s average net daily salary.
  • For employees not covered by statutory health insurance, the Federal Social Security Agency provides a maternity benefit capped at a total of EUR 210.

Other Leave Types

• Breastfeeding Leave:

  • Applicable to female employees during lactation (within 12 months after childbirth).
  • Entitlement includes either two breaks of 30 minutes or one break of 60 minutes per working day.
  • For continuous work exceeding eight hours, two breaks of at least 45 minutes each apply.
  • Where no breastfeeding facilities are available near the workplace, one break of at least 90 minutes applies.
  • Paid at full salary.

• Parental Leave:

  • Applicable to parents, adoptive or foster parents, and certain caregivers of grandchildren.
  • Maximum duration of three years, inclusive of maternity leave.
  • Up to 24 months may be deferred until the child reaches between three and eight years of age.
  • Unpaid; however, parental allowance may be claimed at 67% of the employee’s income prior to the child’s birth, subject to a maximum of EUR 1,800 per month where no employment income is earned during the relevant period.

• Care Leave:

  • Applicable to employees caring for close relatives.
  • Short-term care leave: Up to 10 working days to manage acute care situations.
  • Long-term care leave: Up to six months (subject to agreement for employers with 15 or fewer employees).
  • Leave may be taken on a full-time or part-time basis and requires advance written notice and supporting documentation.
  • Generally unpaid, although a care allowance may be claimed.

• Miscarriage Leave:

  • In the event of a miscarriage, the employer must not require the employee to work unless she expressly states her willingness to do so.

  • Where the miscarriage occurs:

    • After the 13th week of pregnancy: No work for two weeks;
    • After the 17th week of pregnancy: No work for six weeks;
    • After the 20th week of pregnancy: No work for eight weeks.
  • The employee may withdraw her consent to work at any time, and the employer must immediately cease assigning work.