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The public holiday has to be the cause
Under section 2(1) EFZG the entitlement exists only where the working time is lost precisely because of the public holiday. Anyone who would have had the day off anyway, for instance because they work part-time and not on Tuesdays, has no entitlement for a public holiday falling on a Tuesday.
Where the public holiday falls on a regular working day, by contrast, that day's target time is paid. In the time account it is credited, not deducted.
Part-time work with unevenly distributed days
Here the specific day matters. Anyone working eight hours on Mondays and four on Fridays is credited eight hours for a public holiday on a Monday and four for one on a Friday.
A flat credit of one fifth of the weekly working time would be wrong in both cases: once too little, once too much.
Those who work on a public holiday
Anyone actually working on a public holiday has no entitlement under section 2 EFZG, because nothing was lost. They receive their normal pay, plus a substitute day of rest within eight weeks (section 11(3) ArbZG) and, where agreed, a public holiday premium.
Such a premium is tax-free up to 125 percent under section 3b EStG, and up to 150 percent at Christmas and on 1 May.
Example: part-time work on three days
- Working days Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 6 hours each.
- Public holiday on a Wednesday: 6 hours are paid and credited to the account.
- Public holiday on a Tuesday: no entitlement, no working time is lost.
- A flat fifth of 18 weekly hours would be 3.6 hours and therefore wrong in both cases.
Common mistake
For part-time work the public holiday gets credited as a flat fifth of the weekly hours. The correct figure is the target time of the specific weekday.
This is not legal advice; for a specific case at your workplace you are better off asking someone qualified to give it.
Published by: AMNAU GmbH
Editorial responsibility: Ugur Aydogan, Product development.
Last reviewed: 2 September 2026