Public holiday pay
Public holiday pay is the remuneration for working time lost solely because of a statutory public holiday. It is not an allowance but the continued payment of the regular wage.
As of:September 2026
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.
MetronHR works these figures out itself: time accounts, premiums, overtime and the limits of the German Working Hours Act, with every booking.
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.
Further reading
- Section 2(1) EFZG
- Section 11(3) ArbZG, section 3b(1) EStG
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: September 2026
Knowing the terms is one thing. Settling them cleanly is another.
MetronHR keeps time accounts, calculates premiums and checks the limits of the German Working Hours Act automatically. Try it free for 14 days.
No credit card, cancel any time
Related terms
Continued pay
Continued pay is the continued payment of remuneration during illness-related incapacity for work and on statutory public holidays, without work being done.
Target hours
Target hours are the hours a person has to work contractually in a period. They are the comparison figure for the hours actually worked and therefore the basis of every time account.
Substitute rest day
A substitute day of rest is a work-free working day that has to be granted for employment on a Sunday or public holiday. It is not a voluntary benefit but the statutory condition of the exception.
Time premium
A time premium is a supplement on the base wage for work at certain times or beyond regular working time. Apart from night work, there is no statutory entitlement to one.