With the termination, the holiday pay is gone

The employer may make the payment of holiday pay dependent on the employee not being dismissed.

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

After 17 years, an employee was terminated. She demanded vacation pay for the vacation days she had taken after her termination. This was unjustified, according to the Federal Labor Court.

Her employment contract stated: "The prerequisite for the payment of vacation pay is an ongoing employment relationship." The judges deemed this clause valid. Vacation pay is a special payment whose sole purpose is to reward loyalty. Therefore, the employer may make this payment dependent on the employment relationship not being terminated.

No compensation for work

Tying a special payment to a condition would be prohibited if it represented direct compensation for work performed. Vacation pay is different, as it is paid for "vacation days taken" and is intended to promote relaxation during vacation. Vacation pay is therefore not a payment earned through work. Therefore, the boss can make it dependent on a condition.

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So the employee came away empty-handed.

Federal Labor Court, judgment of 22 July 2014, Ref.: 9 AZR 981/12