Unpaid leave request (Germany)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
A request to a German employer for unpaid special leave (unbezahlter Sonderurlaub) over set dates, giving the reason and the terms both sides agree: release from work without pay, the employment continuing, and a return on the same terms. There is no general statutory right to it, so the leave exists only once the employer agrees, and the document has room below for that consent. It points out that social insurance cover continues for one month at most (§ 7(3) of the German Social Code, Book IV, SGB IV), after which health insurance must be arranged. In German.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Employee
- Employee's address
- Employer
- Employer's postal address (department if any, street, postcode and town)
- City
- Date
- Period from
- Period to
- Reason
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Do I have a right to unpaid leave in Germany?
- There is no general statutory right. Unpaid special leave is an agreement with the employer, who may refuse it unless a contract, collective agreement or works agreement says otherwise. For certain situations, though, the law grants its own release from work: parental leave under the BEEG, up to ten working days when a close relative suddenly needs care (§ 2 of the Caregiver Leave Act, PflegeZG), and caregiver leave of up to six months (§ 3 PflegeZG). Check these first — you have a right to them.
- Am I covered by health and pension insurance during unpaid leave in Germany?
- Only for a limited time. Without pay, your employment counts as continuing for social insurance for one month at most (§ 7(3) of the Social Code, Book IV, SGB IV). If the leave lasts longer, compulsory cover ends after that: you must arrange health and long-term care insurance yourself — through family insurance, voluntary membership of a statutory fund or private insurance. Talk to your health insurance fund before the leave starts; as a rule, no pension contributions are paid for that time either.
- How is unpaid leave agreed bindingly in Germany?
- This letter is your offer: it states the period and the terms and carries your signature. Once the employer signs the consent at the foot, the special leave is agreed on those terms — keep a copy with both signatures. The law prescribes no form; consent by e-mail would also be valid, but is harder to prove. Do not start the leave until consent has been given.
- What happens to my annual leave if I take unpaid leave in Germany?
- That depends on the circumstances and on case law, so this letter does not fix it but refers to the law and to your agreements. During a longer unpaid leave the entitlement to annual leave may be reduced pro rata. If this matters to you, settle it expressly with the employer beforehand and add the result in writing to the consent.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Child sick: notice to the employer and leave to care (Germany)
When your child is ill and you have to stay at home in Germany: the letter telling the employer and asking to be released from work under § 45(3) of Book V of the Social Code (SGB V). It asks for paid leave where § 616 of the German Civil Code (BGB) or the employment contract gives it, and otherwise announces the claim for child sickness benefit (Kinderkrankengeld) from the health insurer. For parents with statutory insurance and children under twelve; in German, with no diagnosis.
- Request for a pension statement, contribution record or account review (Germany)
The letter to the German statutory pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) asking for a pension statement (Rentenauskunft), an up-to-date contribution record (Versicherungsverlauf) or a review of your insurance account (Kontenklärung) — with your insurance number, birth name and date of birth, the reason and the periods you believe are missing, such as school, university, child-raising or work abroad. The pension insurance also offers these requests free online; this letter is for those who prefer to apply in writing, cannot use the online services or live abroad. In German, ready to print, sign and send.
- Request to present an extended certificate of good conduct (Germany)
The written request a club, nursery, school, youth-welfare provider or other organisation in Germany gives an employee or volunteer so that they can apply for an extended certificate of good conduct (erweitertes Führungszeugnis): under § 30a(2) of the Federal Central Criminal Register Act (BZRG), it is issued only to someone who presents such a request, in which the organisation confirms that the conditions of § 30a(1) are met. It names the organisation, the person and the activity, gives the statutory ground as a choice and says whether the work is voluntary, for a fee waiver. In German.
- Managing director's service contract for a GmbH (Germany)
The service contract between a German GmbH or UG (haftungsbeschränkt) and its managing director (Geschäftsführer), separate from the appointment by shareholders' resolution. It covers duties and transactions needing the shareholders' consent, start and place of work, salary and variable pay, sick pay, holiday, a non-compete during the contract, confidentiality, termination and garden leave after removal from office. It records the director's shareholding and says when the director is insured as an employee: without shares always; a shareholder-director is self-employed only with a majority or a blocking minority over all company business. In German.
- Notifying the employer of sickness (Germany)
The written notice of sickness an employee in Germany gives the employer under § 5 of the Continued Remuneration Act (EntgFG): that they are unfit for work and for how long, with no diagnosis. For people with statutory health insurance it reflects the electronic sick note (eAU) — the employer fetches the certificate from the health insurer, but the employee must still report the absence at once. Those insured privately announce a paper certificate. In German, with a box for an address abroad.
- Resignation letter (Germany)
A German resignation letter (Eigenkündigung): ordinary notice ending your employment on the date you choose, or else on the next possible date, asking for confirmation of receipt, a full employment reference (qualifiziertes Arbeitszeugnis) and for remaining leave to be granted or paid out. Under § 623 of the German Civil Code (BGB), notice ending employment is valid only on paper signed by hand — e-mail, fax, scans and every other electronic form are void. In German, to print, sign and hand over with proof of delivery.