Vacation planning - these are the legal rules

What is vacation planning and what purpose does it serve? 

Vacation planning is there to organise the presence and absence of your employees caused by vacation. Good vacation planning makes smooth resource planning possible. That means that, ideally, vacation does not create staff shortages in the business. 

But vacation planning is not only about resource planning. It should always ensure fair and transparent treatment of the people in your company as well. 

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What legal requirements apply to vacation planning? 

The legal requirements for vacation planning are laid down in the BUrlG, or German Federal Leave Act. All the rights relating to vacation entitlement and vacation rules are set out there. 

The German Federal Leave Act sets out the following points: 

• Employees are in principle entitled to at least 20 vacation days (on a 5-day week) per year.
• A vacation entitlement only exists once the first six months of the employment relationship have passed.
• Employees have a right to at least one block of two weeks' vacation per year. That is meant to prevent vacation days from being broken up”. 
• “The vacation wishes” of employees have to be taken into account in vacation planning. 
• At the same time, as an employer you do not have to approve every vacation request. 
• Under certain conditions, employers may also order vacation. That is then called “company shutdown leave”.
• The employer may set a deadline by which staff have to submit their vacation requests. They can justify this on the grounds that the company wants to plan resources as early as possible. 

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Under what circumstances may an employer refuse vacation? 

Where there are operational reasons, an employer may turn down vacation requests. That means an arbitrary refusal is not possible, but if there are other foreseeable reasons, the employer may refuse the request. 

Operational reasons can be, for example 

• seasonal peaks, 
• staff shortages, 
• new jobs, 
• stocktaking, 
• Clashing with colleagues' vacation wishes

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Can vacation that has already been approved be withdrawn?

Vacation that has already been approved may not be withdrawn. Only in absolutely exceptional cases may an employer call staff back from their vacation. In those cases the employer has to cover any additional costs such as travel expenses. 

The same applies to employees, however: once the vacation is approved, employees cannot simply decide not to take it after all. That is only possible in agreement with the employer. 

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Who takes priority in vacation planning?

In vacation planning, staff with school-age children take priority above all. If they want to take vacation during the regional school holidays, the employer is obliged to give those wishes preference. 

It can also be taken into account if an employee's partner is only granted vacation in a particular period. That applies to teachers, for example. 

In some companies, clashing vacation wishes are decided on the basis of age and length of service. 

In any case, as an employer you should weigh up carefully how you handle vacation wishes. The decision should always go in favour of the staff who had to stand back the previous year, for example. That is how you secure general employee satisfaction. 

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How far can employees choose their vacation freely? 

Employees may generally choose their vacation freely. But they also have to be prepared for the fact that not every vacation request can be approved. Particularly at popular vacation times, such as the school holidays, it can certainly happen that vacation requests have to be turned down. 

In vacation planning it should also be borne in mind that employers can set deadlines for requests. The law does not prescribe from when or by when vacation requests may be submitted, but there can be internal rules. 

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Is taking vacation without approval permitted? 

A vacation request is only approved once the employee has received written confirmation. So-called “self-granted vacation” is not permitted and can lead to formal warnings and to dismissal. 

That is also why vacation should only be booked once the request has been confirmed in writing. 

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‍Why is good vacation planning so important for your company?

Resource management

As already explained, from an employer's point of view vacation planning is above all about planning resources. Especially in the summer months, when interest in vacation is often highest, it is important to keep an eye on when which employees are unavailable. Incidentally, the same applies to May and June, months with plenty of public holidays.

Scheduling and deadlines

When it comes to planning customer projects, it is always helpful to keep an eye on your employees' absences while working out timeframes and deadlines. You do not want foreseeable delays in completing the work later on. 

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Employee satisfaction

Your forward planning goes down well with your employees. If they are informed about vacation periods early, they can coordinate their work and their private lives better. Employee satisfaction is directly linked to work performance, so this aspect should not be underestimated.

Customer communication

Project planning for customer projects should be realistic above all so that possible delays or limitations can be passed on to the customer in advance. That improves the customer relationship and avoids misunderstandings.

Efficiency and productivity

But use forward planning above all to be able to plan strategically around your employees' vacations. Maximise productivity in your company by deploying work and resources efficiently and minimising potential interruptions.

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Clear vacation planning for more satisfaction and efficiency

Well thought-out vacation planning brings many benefits: it not only keeps things running smoothly and employees happy, it also strengthens trust within the team. By knowing the legal requirements and making sensible use of digital tools, you can make vacation planning stress-free. 

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