Experts clarify

All rights to your vacation! How to take time off

Summer, sun, beach and sea: with these prospects, nothing can keep you at work.(Bild: Pasko Maksim - stock.adobe.com)

For employees, vacation is paid time off. And yet they should know a few things so that they can really enjoy their well-earned rest, advise lawyers from the Chamber of Labor. The "Krone" has compiled the most important facts for you. 

Summer is approaching and with it the much-anticipated vacation season. But before you browse through travel brochures, book your time off and pack your bags, it's worth taking a look at the provisions of employment law:

• How much vacation am I entitled to? According to employment law, all employees are entitled to five calendar weeks of paid leave in a working year. This corresponds to 25 working days for a five-day week or 30 working days for a six-day week. But be careful! This leave entitlement can be lost if you do not use up your leave days within the specified period.

• Can I lose my vacation? The earliest that leave can expire is two years after the end of the leave year in which it was taken. There is therefore generally a period of three years in which to take the leave. However, employees must be informed of the possible limitation period by their employers in good time.

What is going on in the company need not concern you during your vacation.(Bild: stock.adobe.com – africa-studio.com (Olga Yastremska and Leonid Yastremskiy))

• When is leave considered valid? Leave must always be agreed between the employer and employee. This means that the employer cannot unilaterally arrange the use of leave. Conversely, the employee cannot simply go on vacation if the supervisor does not agree. There are exceptions for care leave and "personal holidays".

Vacation is vacation. You can therefore refuse to be on call and perform work during this time.

Experten der Arbeiterkammer

• What do I do if I suddenly fall ill while on vacation? If you fall ill during your vacation and the illness lasts longer than three calendar days, your vacation is interrupted. The days of sick leave then do not count as vacation days. However, this does not mean that the interruption due to illness also extends the vacation. As soon as the agreed vacation is over, you must go to work immediately - provided that the sick leave is already over.

• Can I have my vacation paid out? It is forbidden to agree money instead of vacation as long as you are employed. Only when this is terminated must the employer pay out the outstanding vacation on a pro rata basis. Used vacation days must be deducted. Unused vacation from previous years that has not expired must be paid out in full.