Vacation 5-day week?

In Germany, a regular 5-day week is considered the standard for working hours. This means that Vacation is generally calculated in working days. Each employee is entitled to between 20 and 30 days of Vacation per year, depending on contractual agreements and legal requirements. Since the work week consists of five working days, these days from Monday to Friday are crucial for Vacation planning. When submitting Vacation days, only the working days should be counted.

A key factor is the legally mandated minimum Vacation of 20 working days per year in a 5-day week. Those who work less than the minimum, e.g., four working days per week, are entitled to proportional vacation, i.e., 16 days per year.

A typical example: If a full week of Vacation is taken, it counts as five Vacation days, assuming there are no public holidays within the Vacation period. Vacation is taken from Monday to Friday, while the weekend, consisting of Saturday and Sunday, is not counted. Public holidays that fall on a weekday are not specifically considered in this calculation but do not extend the Vacation period. Only if a public holiday falls on a working day and no Vacation is taken on that day, the working day remains unaffected.

Planning Vacation and adhering to labor law regulations are essential. Employers should ensure that the calculation is correct to prevent legal conflicts and maintain the Vacation entitlement of employees.