Court Ruling: Statutory Minimum Vacation Days Can't Be Waived in Settlements
Waiving statutory entitlements for minimum leave is not permitted.
Facebook Twitter Whatsapp E-Mail Print Copy Link **Employees are entitled to their statutory minimum vacation days, even when their employment contract is terminated by a court settlement. This was decided by the Bundesarbeitsgericht (German Federal Labor Court) in Erfurt in a case from North Rhine-Westphalia.
The court declared that an employee cannot forfeit their statutory minimum vacation days, not even through a court settlement. "In an existing employment relationship, an employee cannot waive their statutory minimum vacation days, even through a court settlement," the highest German labor court ruled (9 AZR 104/24).
The case in question involved the compensation for seven days of statutory minimum vacation. The plaintiff, hired as an operations manager, was ill and couldn't work from the start to the end of his employment. After a court settlement, his employment was terminated with a severance payment of 10,000 euros. The settlement described vacation claims as "granted in kind."
The former operations manager appealed and demanded payment of 1,615 euros plus interest for the remaining seven days of statutory minimum vacation, arguing that the forfeiture of minimum vacation in the court settlement was invalid. The lower courts, including the Cologne Labor Court, ruled in his favor. However, the Federal Labor Court has now dismissed the employer's appeal.
The plaintiff is entitled to compensation for his unused statutory minimum vacation from 2023 under the Federal Vacation Act, the federal judges ruled. An agreement that vacation claims are granted in kind is invalid to waive minimum vacation.
What This Means for Employees
This ruling underscores the importance of adhering to statutory minimums in employment agreements. It reinforces the protection of workers' rights and prevents employers from negotiating away these rights in court settlements, ensuring that employees receive the minimum vacation time guaranteed by law.
This decision serves as a reminder that employees' statutory minimum vacation rights are non-negotiable, even in the event of a court settlement. This ruling aligns with the overall goal of German labor law to protect certain rights, such as the right to minimum vacation time.
- Employees, regardless of the termination of their employment through a court settlement, retain their right to the statutory minimum vacation days, as affirmed by the court ruling, which also emphasizes the significance of adhering to these minimums in employment contracts to safeguard worker's rights.
- The science of labor law, while forming agreements in the workplace-wellness context, should recognize that employees' right to family life encompasses their right to statutory minimum family benefits such as vacation days, which cannot be waived, not even through a court settlement, underpinned by the recent ruling by the German Federal Labor Court.
