All About Employee Leave & PTO in Germany
Learn what you need to know about leave requirements in Germany and how Justworks EOR can help you streamline hiring in Germany.
How an EOR Can Help with Employee Leave & PTO in Germany
Germany has unique leave requirements and cultural norms around vacation time. Justworks EOR can help you understand these cultural nuances by providing localized guidance so your leave policies align with federal regulations and meet employee expectations.
With Justworks, you can save time, money, and effort while mitigating risks associated with hiring in an unfamiliar talent market. We streamline the hiring process and handle HR tasks like payroll management, tax filing, benefits administration, compliance monitoring, and more so you can focus on your business.
Employee Leave & PTO Expectations in Germany
Germany's comprehensive leave policies prioritize employee well-being. Employees in Germany are entitled to vacation leave, sick leave, maternity and parental leave, and other miscellaneous types of leave.
Personal Leave
Personal leave isn’t legally mandated. Whether employees can take personal leave depends on their employment contract. Other leave policies cover family care time, bereavement, and marriage.
Sick Leave
Employees who have worked for a company for over four weeks may take sick days and receive full pay for up to six weeks. After six weeks, the employees receive 70-90% of their regular earnings (dependent on fund level) through social security. Sick leave can last up to 78 weeks over three years. Employees must give employers an estimate of how long they need to take off when they first get sick. Past the third day, employees must submit a doctor’s note to their employer for approval and payment.
Maternity Leave
New mothers receive 14 weeks of paid leave. Maternity leave is separated into two periods, which include six weeks for the prenatal period and eight weeks following birth. Employees receive three months of net wages before pregnancy via public health insurance, capped at €13 per day. The employer pays the difference if an employee’s daily net wages for the three months before pregnancy are higher.
Parental Leave
Paternity leave falls under parental leave in Germany. Parental leave can be taken up to 36 months and shared between parents. The first 12 months of parental leave can be taken in the first three years of the child’s birth. The rest can be used any time between the child’s second and seventh birthday. Parents can also work part-time for 30 hours per week with permission from their employer during the parental leave time frame.
Public Holidays in Germany
Germany has nine national holidays. Employees are entitled to receive both holiday pay and time off, regardless of length of employment. If an employee is required to work on a public holiday, they’re entitled to an additional rest day on another day.
Public holidays in Germany:
New Year’s Good Friday
Easter Monday
Ascension Day
Whit Monday
Pentecost Monday
1st of May
Day of German Unity
Christmas Day
26th of December
Ready to Hire Confidently in Germany
Justworks EOR makes building your global team seamless by offering local expertise to help you understand the nuances of the talent market in Germany. Save yourself the time and hassle of international hiring today.
