Employees are not obligated to answer calls from their boss during their vacation. (Photo: © ermarca/123RF.com)
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June 24, 2026
Employers must contact employees with suspicions that justify immediate dismissal – even during their vacation. This has been clarified by the Federal Labor Court.
Employees are generally allowed to switch off their work cell phones during vacation and are not required to be reachable . However, the Federal Labor Court has ruled in a recent case that if the matter concerns a hearing regarding a summary dismissal, the employer is not only permitted to call, but is obligated to do so. Otherwise, they risk missing an important deadline.
A train conductor could not be dismissed without cause due to collective bargaining agreements. He had a company cell phone, which he was not required to use during vacation and rest periods. On April 24, 2023, a colleague accused him of sexual harassment . At that time, the train conductor was already on vacation , which lasted until May 21, 2023.
The employer confronted the man with the allegations only after his vacation had ended . On June 2, 2023, he consulted with the works council. On June 6, 2023, he issued the dismissal.
The employee filed a claim for protection against unfair dismissal . He argued that the employer had not complied with the two-week deadline stipulated in Section 626 Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB) and that the dismissal was therefore invalid.
Operations management
Operations management
Operations management
The employer countered that contacting the employee during the vacation would have contradicted the purpose of recreation.
The Federal Labour Court (BAG) ruled, as had previously been the Karlsruhe Labour Court and the Baden-Württemberg Regional Labour Court: The notice period had expired and the dismissal was therefore invalid.
According to Section 626, Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB), a dismissal without notice must be issued within two weeks . This period begins as soon as the employer is reliably and sufficiently informed about the relevant facts. The investigation must be carried out promptly. The hearing of the employee concerned should generally take place within one week, unless there are special circumstances.
Contrary to the employer's assertion, the Federal Labor Court (BAG) clarified that the train conductor's vacation was not a special circumstance. There are no legal regulations – neither in the Federal Vacation Act nor in European law – that contain a general ban on contact during vacation. Employers must at least attempt to contact employees, for example by telephone, email, or mail.
However, employees are not obligated to respond during their vacation, according to the ruling. If an employee refuses to comment, citing their vacation, or proves unreachable, the Federal Labor Court (BAG) ruled that special circumstances arise which can suspend the running of the deadline.
Communication with the employee via their work mobile phone would have been possible. An attempt to contact them by letter to their home address would also have been an option. However, the employer waited too long and failed to make contact during the employee's vacation. Since they also failed to provide any specific reasons for delaying the termination , the notice period had expired.
"If an employer becomes aware of grounds for extraordinary dismissal during an employee's vacation, they should attempt to contact the employee immediately and with documentation – even during the employee's vacation," explains employment law specialist Dr. Ramona Segler, LL.M. "From an employer's perspective, it is advisable to use several contact methods simultaneously (such as company mobile phone, private email address, and postal delivery to the private address). Every attempt at contact should be carefully documented to prove, in case of a dispute, that the consultation was conducted with the necessary urgency ."
Furthermore, the expert stated that the ruling clarifies that rigid deadlines do not apply to the duration of a permissible waiting period . A shorter vacation absence may be waited out under certain circumstances, but in the case of a longer absence, an attempt to make contact within a reasonable timeframe is mandatory.
"Finally, employers should always consult the works council regarding a subsidiary ordinary termination as a precautionary measure, in order to keep open the possibility of reinterpretation if the extraordinary termination fails for formal reasons," Segler emphasizes.
Federal Labour Court, Judgment of 4 December 2025, Case No. 2 AZR 55/25
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