Saxony has plenty of opportunities for long weekends and extended holidays in 2024
In the year 2024, planning your vacation days in advance can result in a significant amount of leisure time. By strategically scheduling your time off around public holidays, you can maximize your time off work.
What are Brückentage?
Brückentage, or “bridge days,” refer to the days that fall between a weekend and a public holiday, or vice versa. For example, if a public holiday such as Christi Himmelfahrt (Ascension Day) always falls on a Thursday, the following Friday can be considered a Brückentag. This in-between day is an excellent opportunity to take a day off and extend your weekend.
Maximizing time off in Saxony
Saxony offers several public holidays in 2024 that can be combined with weekends to create extended breaks:
- New Year (Neujahr): New Year’s Day falls on a Monday in 2024. By taking days off from January 2nd to January 5th, you can have a total of nine consecutive days off with only four vacation days.
- Easter (Ostern): By taking days off from March 25th to March 28th, in addition to the public holidays on Good Friday (Karfreitag) and Easter Monday (Ostermontag), you can enjoy ten consecutive days off with only four vacation days. If you also take days off from April 2nd to April 5th, you can have a total of 16 consecutive days off with eight vacation days.
- Labor Day (Tag der Arbeit): Labor Day falls on a Wednesday in 2024. By taking days off on April 29th, April 30th, May 2nd, and May 3rd, you can enjoy nine consecutive days off.
- Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt): Ascension Day, which always falls on a Thursday, can be turned into a long weekend by taking a day off on the Friday after (May 10th). By taking the entire week off, you can have a total of nine consecutive days off with only four vacation days.
- Pentecost Monday (Pfingstmontag): By taking days off from May 21st to May 24th, you can enjoy nine consecutive days off.
- Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit): By taking a day off on October 4th, you can have a long weekend with four consecutive days off. By taking additional vacation days from September 30th to October 2nd, you can have a total of nine consecutive days off.
- Reformation Day (Reformationstag): Reformation Day falls on a Thursday in 2024. By taking a day off on November 1st, you can have four consecutive days off. By taking additional vacation days from October 28th to October 30th, you can have a total of nine consecutive days off.
- Day of Repentance and Prayer (Buß- und Bettag): By taking days off on November 18th, November 19th, November 21st, and November 22nd, you can enjoy nine consecutive days off.
- Christmas (Weihnachten): By taking days off on December 23rd, December 27th, and December 30th, in addition to the public holidays on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day, you can have nine consecutive days off. An extra day off on December 24th may be needed for some workers. By taking an additional day off on December 30th, you can extend your time off until New Year’s Day, resulting in three additional vacation days.
Are employers required to grant Brückentage?
Brückentage are considered regular vacation days from a legal perspective. There is no specific regulation that grants them preferential treatment. According to the specialist portal “Haufe.de,” the same rules that apply to other vacation days also apply to Brückentage. The provisions can be found in the Federal Holiday Act (BUrlG), and additional regulations may be included in collective bargaining agreements and employment contracts. Generally, employers should grant vacation time as a continuous period. However, the possibility and timing of vacation depends on the circumstances in the workplace and the interests of other employees.
