The perfect bridge day is no use if your leave request is refused or the company closes anyway. Here are the key German employment law rules around bridge days, explained simply. As of October 2026. This article is not legal advice.
Do you have a right to the bridge day?
There is no right to a specific day of leave, but there is a right to a fair decision. Under § 7(1) of the Federal Leave Act (BUrlG), the employee's wishes must be taken into account when the timing of leave is set. The employer may only refuse for two reasons:
- Urgent operational needs, such as a stocktaking, an order with a fixed deadline or a minimum staffing level that would otherwise not be met.
- Leave requests of other employees who deserve priority on social grounds. Examples include parents of school-age children during the school holidays or employees whose partner can only take leave at certain times.
If many colleagues want the same bridge day, the date of the request alone is therefore not decisive. Applying early still helps because the company can plan better. Once the employer has approved the leave, according to the Federal Labour Court it can generally no longer revoke it unilaterally.
Company closures on bridge days
Many companies close on bridge days or between Christmas and New Year. Employees usually have to use vacation days for this. If there is a works council, it has a say in setting general leave principles and the leave schedule (§ 87(1) no. 5 Works Constitution Act, BetrVG). Company holidays are then usually set in a works agreement. Important for your planning:
- Ask early in the year about planned company closures and enter those days first. In the bridge days calculator, simply deduct them from your vacation budget.
- According to case law, company holidays can count as urgent operational needs that take precedence over individual wishes. A noticeable part of your annual leave should still remain yours to plan freely.
- If the company closes although you have no leave left, the employer may not simply cut your pay. Clarify how this is handled in your case with the works council or HR.
Pay on public holidays
For working time lost because of a statutory public holiday, the employer continues to pay the wage you would have earned without the loss (§ 2(1) Continued Remuneration Act, EntgFG). If a holiday falls in the middle of your leave, no vacation day is deducted for it: leave is only calculated for Werktage, and statutory public holidays do not count as Werktage (§ 3(2) BUrlG).
There is one trap: anyone who is absent without excuse on the last working day before or the first working day after a public holiday is not entitled to pay for that holiday (§ 2(3) EntgFG). Simply skipping the bridge day can therefore be doubly expensive: lost pay and possibly a formal warning.
Sick on a bridge day
If you fall ill during your leave and prove it with a doctor's certificate, the days of illness are not counted against your annual leave (§ 9 BUrlG). You keep the vacation day and have to request it again; it does not automatically extend your leave.
Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve
24 and 31 December are not statutory public holidays in Germany. Whether you have them off depends on your employment contract, collective agreement or works agreement. In the German public sector, employees are released from work with pay on both days under § 6(3) TVöD, as far as operational circumstances permit. Many companies give half days. If you have both days off, you need correspondingly less leave for the Christmas bridge.
Leftover leave: better a bridge than expiry
Leave must generally be taken in the current calendar year; it can only be carried over to 31 March of the following year for urgent operational or personal reasons (§ 7(3) BUrlG). According to the Federal Labour Court, however, leave only expires if the employer has informed you of the impending expiry in good time and specifically (BAG, judgment of 19 February 2019, 9 AZR 423/16). Leftover days in autumn are ideal for the Christmas bridge.
Checklist for your leave request
- Create a plan with the bridge days calculator and deduct any company closure first.
- Submit your leave requests for the next year early, in writing or in the company's leave system if possible.
- Offer alternatives, e.g. Corpus Christi instead of Ascension if several colleagues want the same bridge.
- Wait for approval before booking any trips.
Legal basis: §§ 3, 7, 9 Federal Leave Act, § 2 Continued Remuneration Act, § 87(1) no. 5 Works Constitution Act. As of October 2026. The holiday entitlement calculator works out your leave entitlement.