I'm a simple emigrant and I'll tell you about vacations in Germany

I promised recently that I would write about trips to a resort funded by insurers, but I decided to cover other standard vacations as well. 🏖️ A normal vacation here is legally a minimum of 20 days, but more often 25–30 days. At the same time you can take them in any amount: even one day, or immediately three weeks. Weekends and public holidays are not counted, so it turns out that you have 5–6 weeks a year. In some companies they may add a couple of days for years of service. 💍 In addition, there are special leaves for events: for your own wedding or the birth of a child you are entitled to 1–2 days, one day can be obtained for a move related to work. In case of a serious sudden illness of household members or death of a close relative – up to three days. And all these days you will be paid 100% of your salary. 🧑‍🎓 Also in Germany you can request educational leave, mainly it is taken for taking exams at university or qualification courses. Theoretically, it can be taken for any accredited course. Here I wrote about this in more detail. Such leave can also be taken for volunteering in rescue services and firefighting or for public activity, for example, participating in elections or serving as a juror in court. 👵 Separate days are provided for care of loved ones. Each parent can take up to 15 days a year for a sick child with compensation up to 90% of income from insurance. And if care for an adult relative is necessary, up to 10 days with benefit payments, or you can take unpaid leave up to six months with job protection. 🩼 Well, and the cherry on top: Kur and Rehabilitation. This is exactly the sick leave that can be obtained for health reasons. It is issued either by health insurance or the pension fund. Usually you must be under a doctor's supervision so they can confirm that there is a problem and that the best way to treat or prevent it would be such a trip to a sanatorium. A voucher can be obtained once every four years. You will be offered a list of sanatoriums, from which you can choose. Going with a partner “for company” at the expense of insurance won't work. They must have their own indications, or they can go with you as a companion, but at their own expense, and usually this is not cheap. And the “mother and child” format is quite a standard practice. You can apply here, and for traveling with a child here. 👶 As for the birth of a child, there is Mutterschutz – paid maternity leave for 6 weeks before birth and 8 weeks after, and Elternzeit – unpaid parental leave up to 3 years for each parent. During this time you receive Elterngeld, about 65% of your salary, from €300 to €1800. 💜 The longest option is a sabbatical. It is not regulated by law, but is common in companies. You can take off for even a year with job protection. Of course you are not paid salary during this time, but some lucky people can bridge it by overtime hours on a special account. What do you think? Not too many vacations? 😄 #useful