Remaining leave
Remaining leave is the part of the annual leave not taken by the end of the year. Whether it expires or carries over into the next year does not depend on the calendar alone.
As of:September 2026
The rule in the act
Leave has to be granted and taken in the current calendar year. A carry-over is only permissible where urgent operational reasons or reasons relating to the person justify it; the leave then has to be granted and taken in the first three months of the following year.
On the bare wording of the act, leave would therefore expire on 31 March at the latest. That reading has not applied without qualification since 2019.
The employer's duty to give notice
On 19/02/2019 (9 AZR 541/15), implementing the case law of the European Court of Justice, the Federal Labour Court held that leave only expires where the employer has first specifically asked the person to take their leave and has clearly and in good time pointed out that it will otherwise expire.
If that notice is not given, the leave does not expire. It becomes remaining leave of the following year and continues to accumulate. The Federal Labour Court has also held that in that case the standard limitation period of three years does not begin to run either (judgment of 20/12/2022, 9 AZR 266/20).
MetronHR works these figures out itself: time accounts, premiums, overtime and the limits of the German Working Hours Act, with every booking.
What an effective notice achieves
It has to be individual, not a notice on a board. It has to name the specific number of open days, ask for leave to be requested and name the point of expiry. And it has to come early enough for the leave still to be taken.
A standard paragraph on the payslip as a rule does not satisfy the case law, because it neither specifically asks nor is demonstrably received.
Example: no notice over three years
- 2024: 8 days not taken, no notice given.
- 2025: 6 days not taken, no notice given.
- 2026: 30 days' entitlement plus 14 days of remaining leave from previous years.
- Total entitlement 44 days. No expiry has occurred, and limitation has not begun.
Common mistake
Expiry on 31 March gets treated as a matter of course. Without documented individual notice and instruction it does not occur, and the entitlements add up over years.
Further reading
- Section 7(3) BUrlG
- „Leave must be granted and taken in the current calendar year. A carry-over of leave into the next calendar year is only permissible where urgent operational reasons or reasons relating to the employee justify it.“
- Federal Labour Court, judgment of 19/02/2019, 9 AZR 541/15
- Federal Labour Court, judgment of 20/12/2022, 9 AZR 266/20
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
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Related terms
Leave entitlement
The leave entitlement is the number of paid free days in the calendar year. By law it is at least 24 working days, calculated on a six-day week.
Pro rata leave
Pro rata leave is the proportionate leave entitlement of one twelfth of the annual leave for every full month the employment relationship has existed.
Payment in lieu of leave
Payment in lieu of leave is the payment of untaken leave in money. It is permitted only where the employment relationship ends and the leave therefore can no longer be taken.