Working-Life > Vacation > Special Leave

Special Leaves

Definition, Explanation

A special leave is defined as an employees' non-self-inflicted inability to perform his/her work, with absence for few days. Legal basis is § 616 BGB according to which the employer is obliged to only grant special leaves in certain cases. Manifest entitlement is only given if it is contracted in the employment contract or collective agreement. In public service, special leaves of employees and clerks are regulated by the public service collective agreement (TvöD). There can arise confliction in cases where there is no regulation.

Distinct from special leaves, exemption is the more general term applied also to longer absence like in a sabbatical, in maternity protection, in exemption of a works council member from his or her actual work, or in a dismissal for deviance. In some publications, however, the terms of special leave and exemption are used as synonyms.

Since legislation regulates quite little in detail, the collective agreements, employment contracts or company agreements are left to determine what counts as special leave, how many days are allowed for a special leave, and in how far one will be continued to be paid on leave.

Usual admissible reasons for a special leave are:

• Severe illness, or death, of a family member
• Home care need of a sick child
• Home care need of a close relative
• Own marriage
• Special family festivities (golden wedding of the parents)
• Birth of a child
• Moving house for occupational reasons
• Honorary activities, youth work. For disaster operations in THW or auxiliary firefighters, granting of special leaves is obligatory and is refunded by the government
• Civic duties (attestor, lay judge) and church duties
• Labour union activities
• Sport events like Olympic Games, World- and Europe-Championships
• Accident on the way to work
• Doctor's appointments, if they are not possible outside the working hours
• Job interviews
• Reporting one's future unemployment to the labour agency

No entitlement to special leave is given, despite a reason existing, when the employment is resting, or the respective event is not during the working hours, e.g. because of parental leave, Sabbatical or military/alternative service, vacation, sickness.

Sickness and special leave exclude each other, meaning that in case of sickness during a continuously-paid special leave, paying will continue on. During an unpaid special leave, in contrast, nothing is paid.

A general entitlement to unpaid exemption is given, according to § 45 SGB, when a child is being sick or disabled and is below 12 years of age. Here, the special leave is to be granted obligatorily. The allowed period amounts to 10 days per child, for single parents 20 days, for more than one child the allowed period increases for single parents to up to 50 days. Statutory health insurance then will financially compensate by child-nursing-care sick benefits.

Tips, Checklist

• Read in your collective agreement, employment contract or in the company agreement what regulations apply in your company
• In unclear matters on regulations and entitlement to special leaves, ask your works council or the personnel department

Last update: 07/16/2010