Instead of setting the number of days employees can take as
leave each year, in Germany there is a new trend towards offering
'trust-based leave' – where the employee decides how
much leave to take. But how can this be reconciled with the law on
annual leave and what factors should employers take into account in
putting a trust-based system in place?
Trust-based leave as a modern HR tool
A recent trend in the context of new ways of working and
'Labour Law 4.0' is the trust-based leave system. Instead
of a fixed number of leave days that are taken by the end of the
year at the latest or carried over according to specific rules,
employees can decide on the number of leave days they take every
year. The motivation of employers is usually primarily to attract
and retain employees with a modern and flexible holiday system. In
addition, however, it allows employers to avoid the recurring
discussions at the turn of the year about reducing or transferring
residual unused
