German Labor Court Rules Shift Workers' Holiday Entitlement Must Exclude Non-Working Public Holidays

Rescue-service employees and other workers with irregular schedules in Germany now have stronger legal protection when it comes to annual leave. The Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruled on August 19, 2025 (case number 9 AZR 216/24) that employers cannot simply calculate vacation days based on calendar dates. Instead, they must check individually whether the employee was scheduled to work on a given day before counting that day as holiday leave.

Public holidays that fall on days when a shift worker would not have been required to work anyway may not be deducted from the vacation balance, the court made clear. The ruling directly targets the practice used by some employers in emergency services and rotating shift models, where the statutory right to recuperation was being eroded by unfavourable rosters.

Claiming unpaid leave after dismissal

When an employment relationship ends, any accrued but unused vacation must be compensated financially. The Düsseldorf Regional Labor Court (order of December 29, 2025, 3 Ta 216/25) addressed the procedural routes employees can take to enforce such leave-payout claims. The decision clarifies the conditions under which workers can demand payment for leave that could no longer be taken before termination.

Separately, the BAG solidified its line on mass redundancies in a ruling from April 1, 2026. Minor errors in the mandatory mass-layoff notification do not necessarily invalidate the dismissals — provided the Federal Employment Agency was able to anticipate the job cuts. However, if the entire notification or the required consultation procedure is missing, the termination is permanently void and cannot be fixed later.

What can be seized and what cannot

When vacation payouts are made, specific garnishment limits apply. Holiday bonuses within a customary range are exempt from seizure under Section 850a of the German Code of Civil Procedure. The same protection applies to premiums paid for Sunday, public-holiday and night work, as long as those payments stay within legal bounds.

By contrast, allowances for shift work, Saturday work or work on the day before a public holiday count as seizable income. Both employers and employees need to account for these differences when processing payouts.

Industrial tensions over delayed bonuses

In the manufacturing sector, a separate dispute is brewing. The works council at Mercedes-Benz reported that the board unilaterally postponed the so-called transformation payment. The bonus, equivalent to 18.4 percent of a monthly salary, had originally been scheduled for July 2026. New collective bargaining negotiations are now expected in autumn 2026.

Vacation rules for welfare recipients

For individuals receiving Germany's Bürgergeld benefit, clear leave regulations also apply. Twelve of the sixteen federal states support family holidays with daily grants of between 10 and 30 euros per person. Bavaria pays up to 19.50 euros per night, while Berlin offers an additional mobility allowance.

Beneficiaries may be absent from their registered address for a maximum of 21 days per year. They must notify the job centre at least five days before departure. Applications for additional holiday subsidies generally need to be submitted to welfare organisations before the trip begins.

For children and young people from low-income families, the education and participation package covers the cost of school outings and class trips. A separate application is often no longer required.

en | boerse | 69647435 |