Special wedding leave: how much vacation is employees entitled to for their own wedding?

Exemption from work for one’s own marriage

Special wedding leave: How many days are you entitled to??

April 15, 2019 – 9:16 am

There are extra vacation days for your own wedding?

A wedding is known to be the most beautiful day in the life of a bride and groom. But does the employer see it the same way and grants an additional day off for this special event? We’ll tell you what it looks like when it comes to wedding special leave.

Special wedding leave: That’s what the law says

In Germany, special leave is regulated in the Civil Code (BGB) in Section 616, which states the following: "The person obliged to provide the service is not deprived of the right to remuneration by being prevented for a relatively insignificant period of time by a personal reason without being at fault for the service."

But what exactly does this mean for the special vacation for the wedding? In a nutshell: The exact circumstances in which you are entitled to an additional day of vacation are in law not fixed.

Now get special holidays for the wedding?

The birth of your own child, moving to another city due to company restructuring or the death of the spouse are considered recognized reasons for special leave. This is because these occasions are mentioned in the public service agreement (TVöD).

The whole thing is a little more difficult for a special holiday for the wedding, because it is not expressly specified. However, most employees do not have to do without their additional vacation day. According to the permanent case law of the regional labor courts and the federal labor court, the paid special vacation day is considered appropriate.

It’s worth taking a look at the contract

Before you start planning wildly, you should definitely read your employment or collective agreement very carefully. Special leave for the wedding can be explicitly excluded in this or in any company agreements.

But maybe you are very lucky and your employer is very generous. Some companies even grant their employees two or three days of extra vacation. So that you can enjoy your own wedding to the fullest, you should speak to your manager early on.

Special holiday for the silver wedding, golden wedding & Co.

And what does it look like when your own child, brother or favorite cousin is getting married? The same applies here as for special leave for the wedding: Basically, the decision lies with the employer as to whether he or she approves an additional day off.

Chances are very good at the wedding of your own child, but it looks rather bad with more distant relatives. On the other hand, employers can often look forward to a special vacation day when they celebrate their parents’ silver wedding or golden wedding. The same applies here: throw a glance in the employment contract and definitely talk to your employer beforehand.