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What do you need to consider?
When it comes to the employment agreements in a mini job - such as regarding compensation or working hours - (see our article "If you want to employ mini-jobbers"), the question of the entitled vacation must also be clarified in advance. As for the salary, the matter is relatively clear: at least the minimum wage per hour must be paid, and the remuneration must not exceed € 520.00 per month at present. But what about vacation? Is there a right to minimum vacation for mini-jobbers?
How can you calculate the minimum vacation for mini-jobbers?
First of all, mini-jobbers naturally have a legal entitlement to paid vacation. However, in practice, the question often arises of how to correctly calculate the minimum vacation entitlement for mini-jobbers.
- Fundamentally, for mini-jobbers:
Mini-jobbers generally have the same entitlement to vacation days as other employees - of course, adjusted to the number of their working days. The number of hours worked on the respective days is irrelevant for the vacation calculation. So if, for example, 30 vacation days are granted in the company (e.g., based on a collective agreement), the calculation for the vacation entitlement of mini-jobbers also refers to these 30 days and not to the statutory minimum vacation, which according to the Federal Holiday Act would be 24 days (for a 6-day working week) or 20 days (for a 5-day working week).
- Vacation entitlement with the same number of working days per week
The basis for calculating the minimum vacation entitlement is generally the number of regular working days per week. If mini-jobbers work, for example, every Tuesday and Thursday, two working days per week are relevant.
The following formula applies: Workdays of the mini-jobbers per week × Legal (or contractual) vacation days ÷ 5 (workdays/week) or Workdays of the mini-jobbers per week × Legal (or contractual) vacation days ÷ 6 (working days/week)
- Vacation entitlement with an unequal number of working days per week
The basis for calculating the vacation entitlement for mini-jobbers with irregular working days per week is the average employment days per year. The work obligation in a year is 260 working days for a 5-day week and 312 working days for a 6-day week. The vacation entitlement is then calculated based on this.
The following formula applies: Legal (or contractual) vacation days × Working days/year of the mini-jobbers ÷ Annual working days (312) or Legal (or contractual) vacation days × Working days/year of the mini-jobbers ÷ Annual working days (260)
- Full vacation entitlement only after a waiting period!
Employees can claim vacation if they have been in the employment relationship for at least one month. However, they are only entitled to the full annual vacation after a waiting period of six months. If employees do not meet the waiting period, they can claim pro-rata vacation for the calendar year. This amounts to 1/12 of the annual vacation entitlement for each full month of employment. The same applies analogously to mini-jobbers.
- What if the calculation of the minimum vacation entitlement results in fractions of vacation days, e.g., 14.5 or 14.3 days?
In such cases, the following applies: Fractions that result in at least half a day are rounded up to full vacation days. Fractions that do not result in at least half a day remain and can be offset by granting time off from work or compensated after termination.
Tip
You can find detailed information on vacation calculation for mini-jobbers on the Mini-Job Center's website "Vacation in mini-jobs - this is how it is calculated".
Since there are naturally many different deployment possibilities for mini-jobbers, if you are unsure whether the calculated vacation entitlement is also the legally entitled one, you should contact the Mini-Job Center in good time or seek legal advice elsewhere, e.g., from the Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Crafts, or a trade association.
