According to § 7 of the Federal Vacation Act (Bundesurlaubsgesetz) and established case law:

Once approved, the employer may not unilaterally cancel your leave

“Ein einmal genehmigter Urlaub bindet den Arbeitgeber grundsätzlich. Die zeitliche Festlegung des Urlaubs kann nur einvernehmlich rückgängig gemacht werden.” (Haufe.de News und Fachwissen)

In practice, this means: once your employer has approved your vacation dates, this agreement becomes binding. The employer cannot simply cancel or withdraw the approved leave on their own.

Narrow exception – extreme emergency situations

The employer may only ask you to return from leave or cancel/postpone your approved vacation in exceptional operational emergencies where there is no other way out than revoking the leave.

These situations are very rare and require a truly compelling case (for example, a natural disaster, or a financial crisis that threatens the very existence of the company). Courts interpret this exception very strictly (anwalt.de).

You are not obliged to agree – even if costs are reimbursed

Even if the employer offers to reimburse all your holiday expenses (travel, accommodation, etc.), you are not legally obliged to accept the cancellation or change of your leave.
Any change is only permissible based on mutual agreement between you and the employer.

Summary

• No, your employer is generally not allowed to reject or cancel your vacation once it has been approved.

• Cancellation is only conceivable in very exceptional emergency cases with serious operational reasons.

• Any attempt to cancel approved leave without such an emergency is legally invalid unless you expressly agree to it in writing.

The website’s editorial and writing team strives to provide accurate information based on thorough research and consultation of multiple sources. Nevertheless, errors may occur or some details may be incomplete or not fully verified. Therefore, please regard the information contained in these articles as an initial reference and always consult the competent authorities for definitive and reliable information.