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Vacation

"Your remaining leave expires on 31 December."

You still have days of leave, and the company says they are gone at year end.

§ 7 Abs. 3 BUrlG / BAG 19.02.2019 – 9 AZR 423/16

The boss may NOT do that
Not automatically — the company must first ask you to take it and warn you.
Leave should be taken in the current year; carrying it over to 31 March of the following year is possible if operational or personal reasons require it (§ 7 (3) BUrlG). But: since the case law of the ECJ and the Federal Labour Court, leave only expires if the company asked you in good time and specifically to take it and clearly warned you that it would otherwise expire. If it did not, your leave remains and moves into the next year. If you could not take leave because of illness, separate, longer deadlines apply.

What the law says

§ 7 (3) BUrlG – Carry-over
Leave must be granted and taken in the current calendar year. Carry-over is only permitted for urgent operational or personal reasons; it must then be taken in the first three months of the following year.
BAG 19 Feb 2019 – 9 AZR 423/16
Leave as a rule only lapses if the employer has previously enabled the employee to take it and the employee nevertheless voluntarily did not.

What you can do

  1. Request your leave in writing and in good time — then you have proof.
  2. If you got no warning about expiry, the leave does not expire.
  3. Note your leave balance at the end of the year.
  4. When your training ends, remaining leave is paid out (see "Leave at the end").
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