Part-time employee retains vacation entitlement

An employee who changes from a full-time to a part-time job and has not yet taken their vacation days retains their previously accrued vacation days. The employer may not reduce them.

This article is part of the special topic of vacation planning in the workplace.

If an employee switches from full-time to part-time work and still has unused vacation days from their full-time job, these vacation days remain fully valid. This was recently decided by the Federal Labor Court (BAG). The court thus changed its previous jurisprudence and is now in line with the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

Prohibited discrimination

Until now, the Federal Labor Court had ruled that the employee could only receive one reduced holiday entitlement based solely on part-time employment. The ECJ saw it differently and considered this reduction as Discrimination against part-time workersIn the case in question, the collective agreement for the public sector provided for a reduction in vacation time. The corresponding clause is invalid according to the Erfurt ruling.

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practical tip

Many collective agreements contain similar clauses that reduce annual leave for part-time workers. Employers should therefore inform themselves about the situation in their industry. And they should be prepared for affected employees to submit retroactive leave requests. For example, someone who reduces their working hours from five to four days a week in the middle of the year is now entitled to three more days of vacation. Vacation entitlements for this year and for 2014 have not yet expired, as vacation from last year can generally still be taken until the end of March of this year.

Federal Labor Court, judgment of 10 February 2015, Ref: 9 AZR 53/14 (F)