Short Answer

Every vacation day backed by an official medical sick note must be credited back to your annual holiday balance.

The law prevents your employer from deducting registered days of illness from your statutory recreational leave.

What Most Expats Don't Realize

You spent five days of your hard-earned summer holiday trapped in a hotel bed with a severe stomach virus, assuming those days were simply wasted. When you returned, you told HR about your ruined trip without providing an official medical certificate issued on the exact first day of your illness. The company refused your request to reinstate the time off, causing you a permanent loss of five vacation days worth approximately €1,250 in paid leave.

What To Do

  • Call a local medical practice or use an authorized digital clinic on the very first day you fall ill during your trip.
  • Ask the treating physician for a formal certificate of incapacity for work that explicitly states the start date and duration.
  • "Ich war im Urlaub krank und reiche hiermit meine ärztliche Bescheinigung ein, um meine Urlaubstage zurückzuerhalten." (I was sick during my vacation and herewith submit my medical certificate to get my vacation days back.) — email this document to your payroll clerk immediately upon your return.