Vacation Entitlement Calculator: How many vacation days are you owed?

Did you know that your vacation entitlement is not a fixed number but depends on how many days you work each week? This is not a marketing gimmick – it follows directly from Germany’s Federal Leave Act (BUrlG). Understanding the legal mechanics lets you verify any calculation instantly, without fiddling with spreadsheets.

Legal framework and statutory minimum

The BUrlG defines the minimum vacation in working days, not calendar days. According to the relevant provisions:

for a 6‑day workweek the statutory minimum is 24 working days per year,
for a 5‑day workweek it is 20 working days. Thus the law creates a proportional relationship between the amount of work performed and the amount of rest granted.

Part‑time employees are protected

The Act explicitly states that part‑time workers must not be disadvantaged. The vacation entitlement is calculated proportionally to the actual days worked. Example: A full‑time employee with a 5‑day week receives 20 vacation days. A part‑time employee working 3 days a week gets:

20 days ÷ 5 days × 3 days = 12 vacation days.

This proportional calculation is embedded in the BUrlG and guarantees that the work‑to‑vacation ratio stays constant, whether you work 2, 3 or 5 days per week.

Joining or leaving mid‑year

When you start or end employment partway through a calendar year, the vacation must be prorated. Simple multiplication by 12 no longer works because the number of actual workdays varies.

Tools that handle the prorating correctly

The Lexware Vacation Calculator requires, according to its product documentation, both the weekly workdays and the number of employment months, then computes the prorated entitlement exactly as prescribed by the relevant legal framework. 
The Ordio Vacation Entitlement Calculator states in its product information that it follows the same statutory basis and treats the entry/exit month as a central factor.

Both solutions perform the intricate month‑fraction calculations and ensure you receive neither too much nor too little vacation.

What a calculator must actually verify

A pure converter that only turns days into hours or weeks cannot enforce the legal minimum. The product description of TimeCockpit makes it clear that its vacation‑converter lacks any statutory logic and is limited to unit conversions. 

Therefore, the safest choice is a calculator explicitly built on the BUrlG and equipped with a plausibility check. Such tools flag inputs that fall below the statutory minimum and provide corrective hints, preventing both employers and employees from unintentionally breaching the law.

Practical steps for error‑free entitlement

Identify your weekly workdays and determine whether you fall under the 5‑ or 6‑day schema.
Compute the base entitlement using the provisions of the BUrlG (20 or 24 days) and apply the proportional formula for part‑time if needed.
Use a BUrlG‑compliant online calculator (e.g., Lexware or Ordio) when your employment period does not cover a full year – these tools handle the correct prorating automatically.
Avoid pure converters for legal verification; they are useful only for presenting hours or weeks.

Following this workflow keeps your vacation entitlement transparent and compliant with the Federal Leave Act.

Try it yourself: Vacation Entitlement Calculator