Would you rather have a month's worth of paid vacation or an additional month's salary? Some workers in Germany might prefer to take at least part of their holiday as a bonus rather than time away, but there are limits to when it's possible.
One of the perks of regular employment in Germany is pretty generous paid vacation time – especially when compared to standard jobs in the US or some other non-EU countries.
But in certain situations workers may not want to use all of their vacation days, preferring to be paid for the vacation time they haven't taken instead.
Here are the rules for doing so in Germany.
Can I opt out of vacation days and be paid instead?
Generally speaking, employees in Germany can't exchange statutory vacation days for additional pay.
Statutory vacation days are the paid days off that German employees are entitled to under the Federal Vacation Act. For most workers on a five-day working week schedule this amounts to at least 20 days off per year, or four weeks of vacation.
READ ALSO: How many times can a short-term job contract be renewed in Germany?
German employment law stipulates that these days are intended for recreation, and that they must be used within the legal deadlines.
If an employer has given notice – i.e. told an employee to use up their remaining vacation days by a certain period – paid leave days may be forfeited if an employee does not take them.
When can employees exchange vacation days for additional pay?
An exception may apply for extra-statutory vacation days, or extra vacation days that are granted beyond the basic federal requirement.
So if your job offers six weeks of paid vacation instead of the minimum four, you could feasibly be paid for two weeks of vacation time if you only take four weeks' holiday. But this is subject to the terms of your employment contract, as well as any relevant collective bargaining agreements.
In most cases, and under normal circumstances, German employment contracts and collective agreements don't allow employees to take pay instead of vacation days.
One notable exception comes up when an employment relationship ends.
If an employee is unable to take their full allocation of vacation days because they have been dismissed, they are often paid instead.
READ ALSO: How many vacation days are you entitled to if you leave your job in Germany?
