Unpaid Leave (Unbezahlter Urlaub) in Germany
Under German labour law, there is no general statutory right to unpaid leave. The Federal Vacation Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz – BUrlG) does not regulate unpaid leave; instead, such leave is usually granted on the basis of an individual agreement between the employee and the employer or within the scope of specific, narrowly defined exceptions (Factorial, Haufe.de News und Fachwissen).
The law mainly defines to what extent the employment relationship formally continues without pay (§ 7 para. 3 SGB IV): the employment relationship is deemed to continue during up to one month of unpaid interruption. After this period, the employee’s registration in the social security system normally ends (Deutsche Rentenversicherung).
Although there is no general entitlement to unpaid leave, there are specific legally regulated forms of unpaid absence outside ordinary paid annual leave:
Parental leave (Elternzeit)
Parents are entitled to take up to three years of parental leave to care for their child (§ 16 BEEG). During this period, they usually receive no salary, but the employment relationship continues and a return to work is guaranteed under certain conditions (Familienportal).
Care leave for relatives (Pflegezeit)
Employees may take up to six months off work – fully or partially – to care for a close relative in need of care (§ 7 PflegeZG). In general, this is unpaid, but the employment relationship remains in place.
Special leave (Sonderurlaub)
In exceptional circumstances, such as a death in the family, marriage, or relocation, collective agreements, internal company regulations or individual contracts may provide for hours or days of unpaid (or partially paid) leave.
Submit a written request to the employer, clearly stating the desired period of unpaid leave and the reasons for it.
The employer’s consent is essential, since the decision to grant unpaid leave lies largely within the employer’s discretion unless a specific legal entitlement applies (e.g. parental leave, care leave) (Haufe.de News und Fachwissen).
Ensure that the decision is documented in writing – for example, via an addendum to the employment contract or a confirmed email.
Interruption of contributions: After one month of unpaid leave, the employer generally stops paying contributions to health, pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance on behalf of the employee. The employee must then, if they wish to remain insured, register with a health insurance fund (Krankenkasse) on a voluntary basis and pay the full contribution themselves (Advocard).
Salary: No salary is paid for the period of unpaid leave. If the employee only takes a part of the month off, their earnings are usually calculated proportionally based on the number of working days or hours actually worked (www.stepstone.de).
Paid annual leave: If an employee is on unpaid leave for the entire year, their entitlement to paid annual leave can be reduced significantly or completely. For shorter periods of unpaid leave, the annual leave entitlement is usually reduced proportionally to the duration of the absence (§ 7 para. 3 BUrlG) (HR WORKS).
Plan early and submit your unpaid leave request well in advance to increase the likelihood of approval and to allow your employer to plan staffing.
Check your employment contract, collective agreement and company policies to identify any special rules, maximum periods or additional rights related to unpaid leave.
Keep all written approvals and relevant documents (pay slips, correspondence, contract amendments) carefully filed.
If you face an unjustified refusal, seek advice from HR, the works council (if available) or your trade union.
By understanding the legal implications and documenting agreements properly, you can make use of unpaid leave in Germany while safeguarding your employment and social security rights as far as possible.
The editorial and writing team of this website strives to provide accurate information based on thorough research and multiple sources. However, errors may occur or some information may not yet be fully verified. Please treat the content of these articles as an initial reference and always consult the competent authorities or professionals for binding and up-to-date guidance.
