Going on holiday during Islamic festivals

IS AN EMPLOYEE ENTITLED TO LEAVE DURING ISLAMIC FESTIVALS?

Summarized: The employee principally has a right to take leave on Islamic festivals as part of their paid recreational leave. The request for the same should, however, be submitted early in advance. 

Employees who have been part of a contractual relationship for six continuous months according to Section 4 of the Federal Leave Act are entitled to paid recreational leave each calendar year in accordance with Section 1 of the same Federal Leave Act. When the employee goes on leave is up to the employee themselves. The employer can only oppose an employee’s wish for leave on grounds of urgent operational reasons, such as staff shortages or periods of intense workload or even leave requests of other employees which take priority from a social standpoint.¹ It is argued in legal literature that so-called ‘urgent concerns’ of the employer are not enough to reject an employee’s leave request based on a religion reason.² Required are, therefore, ‘outstanding operational reasons’. After all, the employee does enjoy special protection of their fundamental right to religious freedom from Article 4 of the German Basic Law.³ According to this view, the employer must be facing an ‘existential hardship’ in order to be allowed to deny the employee leave.⁴ 

^{1 Section 7 (1) 1 of the Federal Leave Act.} 

^{2 Schneider in ArbRAktuell 2016, page 298.}

^{3 See above.}

^{4 See above.}