Avoiding the Wash-Up of Statutory Vacation in Court Settlements
"No exemption granted for required time off" or "No exception for mandated break" or "Minimum leave cannot be waived" or "Leave of absence must be taken as required"
Staying connected: Facebook Twitter Whatsapp E-Mail Print Copy Link **Even if a court settlement concludes an employment relationship, employees are entitled to their statutory minimum vacation time. A ruling by the Federal Labor Court in Erfurt solidified this point in a case from North Rhine-Westphalia. "In an existing employment, an employee cannot waive their statutory minimum vacation entitlement, not even through a court settlement," the highest German labor court declared (9 AZR 104/24) [1].
Take the case of a former operations manager who, due to illness, was unable to work from the start to the end of his employment. A court settlement led to the termination of his employment with a severance payment of 10,000 euros. Vacation claims were described as "granted in kind" in the settlement. The manager argued that the waiver of minimum vacation in the court settlement was invalid and demanded payment for the remaining seven days of statutory minimum vacation, amounting to 1,615 euros plus interest. Both lower courts, including the Cologne Labor Court, sided with the manager. However, the Federal Labor Court recently countered the employer's appeal [1].
The court decided that the manager was entitled to compensation for his unfulfilled statutory minimum vacation from 2023, deeming an agreement that vacation claims are granted in kind invalid for waiving minimum vacation [1]. So, don't count on vacation days vanishing in court settlements, as employees' vacation rights remain legally protected under German labor law, even in such situations.
[1] German employees cannot waive their statutory minimum vacation entitlement through a court settlement (democracy-journal.de). The ruling aligns with the Bundesarbeitsgericht's stance that employees are entitled to their statutory minimum vacation rights even in legal agreements or settlements (reuters.com). This reaffirms the German legal system's commitment to ensuring employees retain their vacation rights.
- The ruling by the Federal Labor Court in Erfurt emphasizes the importance of community law, as it upholds the right to family life by ensuring that employees are granted their statutory minimum vacation time, even in court settlements related to employment termination.
- In promoting workplace-wellness and health-and-science, the decision reinforces the right to family life and family benefits, as it states that employees are entitled to receive payment for unfulfilled statutory minimum vacation days, regardless of any agreement that vacation claims are granted in kind, thus preserving these rights in legal agreements or settlements.
