Educational leave (Bildungsurlaub)

Arbeit

Paid time off for further training in Germany – 5 days a year on full pay, IN ADDITION to normal holiday. Applies in 15 of the 16 federal states (not in Bavaria). Only 1 in 12 eligible employees uses it – money left on the table!

Bildungsurlaub (educational leave) is paid time off for vocational or political further education in Germany – on top of normal annual leave.

Entitlement:

• 15 of 16 federal states (Saxony too since 2026 – only Bavaria is still missing)
• 5 days per year on full pay (often combinable into 10 days over 2 years)
• Saarland exception: only 3 days/year

Requirements:

• At least 6 months with the employer
• Application at least 6 weeks before the course starts
• The seminar must be recognised in the federal state where you work (not where you live!)
• Course fees: you pay them yourself. Salary: the employer keeps paying it

What counts as educational leave?

• Vocational training (languages, IT, leadership)
• Political education
• Surprisingly: even yoga, surfing or language courses abroad – if recognised as educational leave

Can the employer refuse?

• Only for urgent operational reasons (peak season, too many colleagues at once)
• The entitlement does NOT lapse then – it is postponed

Did you know? Only 1 in 12 eligible employees actually uses their educational leave – even though it means 5 extra days of paid leave. In 2025, more than 1.3 million employees took it for the first time – and the number is rising.

Something missing or could the translation be better?

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