Vacation Days Calculator for Expats in Germany – Quick & Easy

Why you can trust us

This guide is based on the core rules of Germany’s Federal Vacation Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz), including statutory minimum leave, proportional vacation calculations, part-time schedules, waiting periods, and rules for starting or leaving a job. We clearly separate general calculator estimates from situations that may require HR or legal advice.

Understanding Vacation Days in Germany

In Germany, paid vacation is regulated by law through the Federal Vacation Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz). The statutory minimum holiday entitlement is based on a 6-day work week and amounts to 24 vacation days per year.

However, since most employees today have a 5-day work week, this is typically converted into 20 vacation days. This is the legal minimum that employers must grant.

In practice, many employers offer more generous vacation policies. It is common to receive 25, 28, or even 30 days of paid holiday per year, depending on the company, industry, and seniority. Your individual entitlement is therefore defined by your employment contract, not just by the legal minimum.

Vacation days are always based on the number of working days per week, not on the number of hours worked. This means that employees who work 5 days per week receive the same vacation entitlement, regardless of whether they work full-time or part-time. If you work fewer days per week, the number of vacation days is reduced proportionally, but the amount of time off should still represent the same holiday entitlement. The statutory minimum is effectively 4 full weeks of paid vacation per year.

This also applies to Minijobbers. If you work in a Minijob, you still have a statutory vacation entitlement. The number of vacation days depends on how many days per week you regularly work, not on your monthly income or hourly wage.

This is exactly where misunderstandings may arise. A contract with 30 days of vacation may sound more generous than one with 25 days, but if the underlying work schedule differs, the comparison is misleading.

The calculator helps you standardize these values. It works with your actual contractual vacation days and adjusts them based on your working days per week, allowing you to compare different scenarios on an equal basis.

How the Vacation Days Calculator Works

The holiday calculator uses a simple proportional conversion. It adjusts your vacation entitlement based on how many days you work per week.

You enter 2 values:

• Your number of working days per week
• Your total annual vacation days

The calculator then converts your vacation entitlement into a comparable format based on a standard workweek.

This conversion allows you to compare different employment models, especially when evaluating job offers with different working patterns or when comparing different work weeks.

The usual formula is: full-time vacation days ÷ full-time working days × actual working days per week. For example, 30 vacation days in a 5-day week become 18 vacation days in a 3-day week.

Under Section 5 Abs. 2 BUrlG, fractions of vacation days that amount to at least 0.5 days are rounded up to a full vacation day when statutory partial vacation is calculated.

It is important to note that vacation conversion can apply to standard part-time schedules with 1 to 6 working days per week. Irregular schedules, changing shifts or annualized working-time models may need a more detailed calculation.

Results and How to Use Them

The calculator shows your vacation entitlement in a standardized format, making it easier to understand how much paid time you actually receive.

This is particularly useful in several situations:

• Job changes
  When comparing job offers, different companies may state vacation days based on different working schedules. The calculator helps you compare them directly.
• Part-time work
  For part-time workers, vacation days are still based on the number of working days per week. The calculator helps you understand how your entitlement compares if your work schedule changes.
• Contract comparisons
  2 contracts may offer a different number of vacation days, but once adjusted to the same working week, the difference may be smaller than it appears.
• Notice period
  During your notice period, you may still have unused vacation days. However, this calculator does not calculate remaining leave, days already taken, or pro-rata balances. Check your payslip, HR records, contract, termination date, and whether you are leaving in the first or second half of the year.

In short, the calculator helps you translate your vacation days into a comparable and practical value.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even though vacation days seem straightforward, there are several common misunderstandings:

• Confusing legal minimum and contractual entitlement
  The legal minimum is 20 days (for a 5-day work week), but most employees receive more. Always check your contract.
• Mixing up working days and calendar days
  Vacation days are based on working days, not total days in a week.
• Including public holidays in vacation days
  Public holidays are not counted as vacation days if they fall on a working day.
• Assuming part-time workers receive less time off
  Part-time workers may receive fewer vacation days on paper, but this is because they work fewer days per week. The actual holiday period should remain proportionate.
• Automatically pro-rating statutory leave after resignation
  If an employee has completed the 6-month waiting period and leaves on or after July 1, they are generally entitled to the full statutory minimum vacation for that year. This follows from the full entitlement under Sections 3 and 4 BUrlG, because the partial-vacation cases in Section 5 no longer apply. Only additional contractual vacation above the legal minimum may usually be pro-rated if the employment contract clearly allows it.

Vacation when starting or leaving a job

Pro-rata vacation entitlement may apply when you start or leave a job during the year. However, German law treats statutory minimum vacation differently depending on timing and whether the 6-month waiting period has been completed.

If you leave before completing the waiting period, or leave on or before June 30, vacation is usually calculated proportionally. If you have completed the waiting period and leave on or after July 1, you are generally entitled to the full statutory minimum vacation for the year under Sections 3 and 4 BUrlG. Contractual vacation above the statutory minimum may be handled differently if your contract contains a valid pro-rata clause.

The 6-month waiting period, called Wartezeit, is separate from the probation period, called Probezeit. You can build up partial vacation before the waiting period is complete, but the full annual statutory entitlement generally arises only after the waiting period has been completed.

Unpaid leave can be agreed between employee and employer, but it is not part of statutory paid vacation. If an employee takes unpaid leave for a full calendar month, the employer may generally reduce the annual vacation entitlement proportionally by 1/12 for that year.

Vacation expiration and carry-over

Vacation is generally meant to be taken during the calendar year. Carry-over into the next year is usually limited and depends on personal or operational reasons.

Employers also have duties to inform employees clearly about remaining vacation and the risk of expiration. If an employer does not properly inform the employee, vacation may not expire in the usual way. This area can be legally sensitive, so check your specific case if unused vacation is involved.

If you become sick during approved vacation, those days do not count as vacation days if you provide a valid medical certificate, called an Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung. Under Section 9 BUrlG, the certified sick days must be credited back to your vacation balance.

Severely disabled employees with a registered degree of disability, or GdB, of at least 50 are generally entitled to additional paid vacation. The standard supplementary entitlement is 5 extra days per year based on a 5-day work week, scaled proportionally for other weekly schedules. This rule is set out in Section 208 SGB IX. Official text: Section 208 SGB IX.

Conclusion: What the vacation calculator helps you understand

The vacation days calculator is a simple tool that addresses a common source of confusion. Many employees focus on the number of vacation days stated in a contract without considering how those days relate to the underlying work schedule.

From my perspective, the main value of this holiday entitlement calculator lies in making different vacation models comparable. It shows that the number of vacation days alone does not tell the full story – what matters is how those days translate into actual time off and your overall holiday allowance.

In practice, this becomes particularly relevant when changing jobs or comparing employment contracts with different work schedules. The calculator helps you quickly assess whether an offer is truly more generous or simply structured differently.

Your employment contract ultimately defines your vacation entitlement. The calculator helps you compare and understand how different work schedules affect it.

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