Germans working full-time in this country are legally entitled to vacation of at least 20 days. However, most employers are much more accommodating and give their employees significantly more days off. If you use your vacation days cleverly and use them as bridge days, you can extend your days off for 2024 quite a bit.
Good planning is essential
Bridge days are very popular with many employees.
For example, if public holidays fall on a Tuesday or Thursday, you also take a vacation day on Monday or Friday.
This means they have four days off in a row. These breaks must be planned well in order to give yourself as many days off as possible in 2024.
New Year: January 1, 2024
New Year’s Day falls on a Monday in 2024. It is therefore not necessary to plan an additional day of vacation for a long weekend.
Epiphany: January 6, 2024
Residents of the federal states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt celebrate this holiday. But Epiphany Day does not give residents of these federal states an additional holiday in 2024 because January 6th falls on a Saturday.
International Women’s Day: March 8, 2024
So far, International Women’s Day is only a public holiday in Berlin. Berlin employees will be all the more pleased that the 2024 holiday falls on a Friday. Women’s Day is therefore only suitable to a limited extent for a bridging day.
Easter 2024
In 2024, Good Friday will be celebrated on March 29th and Easter Sunday on March 31st. This is followed by Easter Sunday on April 1st. Most employees have already had four days off in a row.
If you would like to extend your time off, you can plan either four or eight days off for the week before Easter from March 25th or after Easter from April 2nd.
Just four days of vacation are required for a week off. If the weekend before or after the Easter weekend is included, the time off is extended to a total of ten days. If you want to enjoy two weeks off in a row, submit eight days of vacation and get 16 days off in a row.
Labor Day 2024: May 1st
Because May 1, 2024 falls on a Wednesday, Labor Day is ideal for a long weekend. For this purpose, employees can take Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday off.
This results in a total of five days off. If you plan four days off for this week in May, you can enjoy nine days off in a row.
Ascension Day 2024: May 9th
Ascension Day falls on a Thursday – as usual. The Friday following Thursday is a classic bridge day that allows for a long weekend.
Pentecost 2024: May 19th and 20th
Whit Sunday and Whit Monday will fall on May 19th and 20th in 2024. This means that employees are guaranteed a long weekend without having to invest an additional day of vacation.
If you want to use more vacation days, you can extend the time off for some time.
For example, employees would only have to invest six days of vacation in order to enjoy a total of twelve days off from Ascension Day to Pentecost.
Corpus Christi 2024: May 30th
This holiday is celebrated in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Because Corpus Christi falls on a Thursday, the following Friday is recommended as a bridge day.
Assumption of Mary 2024: August 15th
In 2024, the Assumption Day falls on August 15, a Thursday. The holiday applies to Saarland and some communities in Bavaria. Employees working in these regions could use Friday as a bridge day and recover from everyday work for a total of four days.
World Children’s Day 2024: September 20th
World Children’s Day on September 20, 2024 is currently only an official holiday in Thuringia.
Because World Children’s Day 2024 falls on a Friday, Thuringia has a long weekend.
However, the public holiday is not suitable for extending the weekend with a bridge day.
Day of German Unity 2024: October 3rd
German Unity Day is celebrated in this country on October 3rd every year. In 2024 the holiday will be a Thursday and is therefore a good starting point for a long weekend. All you need to do is plan a day off on Friday.
So one day of vacation is enough to unwind for four days or to plan a short vacation.
Reformation Day 2024: October 31st
Residents of the federal states of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia celebrate Reformation Day every year. A long weekend awaits in 2024 – provided that working people plan a bridge day for Friday. In this constellation, employees can expect up to four days off in a row.
All Saints Day 2024: November 1st
On November 1st, the federal states that did not celebrate Reformation Day celebrate their holiday. These include Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
Because All Saints Day 2024 falls on a Friday, there is no need for additional bridge days.
A long weekend is inevitable under these circumstances.
Day of Penance and Prayer 2024: November 20th
Repentance and Prayer Day is a regional holiday that is celebrated exclusively in Saxony. The holiday always falls on a Wednesday – in 2024 on November 20th. If you want to extend the pre-Christmas weekend in Saxony, you should plan additional days off on Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday. If employees choose one of these options, they have five days off in a row.
Christmas 2024: December 25th and 26th
In 2024, the two Christmas holidays will be celebrated on a Wednesday and a Thursday. That’s why there are many options for giving yourself a longer break from your stressful everyday work routine over Christmas. In order to spend Christmas Eve at home, working people should plan vacation for Monday and Tuesday.
The vacation will be extended again with another day of vacation on November 27th. If you want to take complete time off between the years, you should plan additional days off on December 30th and 31st. These days fall on Monday and Tuesday. As New Year’s Day, Wednesday is a public holiday anyway.
2023-12-09 16:39:46