Vacation without a boss: So your cell phone stays off and you can relax completely!

Vacation without a boss: So your cell phone stays off and you can relax completely!

The question of whether employees have to be available to their boss while on vacation is currently being increasingly discussed. The holiday season in particular often leads to requests from superiors to their employees while they are recovering. Labor law expert Volker Görzel points out that accessibility during vacation depends heavily on the regulations in the individual employment contract. In general, however, employees are not obliged to be available during their free time or on vacation, unless this has been contractually agreed otherwise. Therefore, the right not to be reached is one of the most important personal rights, as the Schleswig-Holstein State Labor Court stated in a judgment (ref. 1 Sa 39 öD/22).

Managers are also affected in this context because they also fall under the category of employees. According to Görzel, they only have to be available during their contractually agreed working hours. Not being available during your free time is therefore not viewed as a breach of duty. This means that employees do not have to fear termination due to a lack of availability while on vacation, unless a contractual agreement states otherwise. However, if such a regulation exists, termination for behavioral reasons without a prior warning would be ineffective.

Health aspects and accessibility

A recent study by Protime and YouGov shows that 33% of office workers in Germany are available to their employer during Christmas vacation. More than a third of those surveyed feel compelled to be constantly available. This constant availability has alarming consequences: 55% of respondents report symptoms of burnout, while 46% say they regularly check emails or messages outside of regular working hours. Younger generations and parents are particularly affected.

The study, which was carried out in May 2024 and surveyed 2,048 employees in Germany, makes it clear that from a labor law perspective, employees can only be reached during their agreed working hours. Time outside of work should be used for relaxation, which is why work cell phones and laptops should remain switched off during free time. Business calls, emails or messages do not have to be answered unless there are special company agreements that require short-term availability.

Political developments

The issue of requests for accessibility has also reached political decision-makers. On January 21, 2021, the European Parliament adopted an own-initiative report on the creation of a right to be unavailable in order to protect the health of workers and counteract the pressure of constant availability. However, this directive still needs to be adopted and implemented into national law by the member states. Initial negotiations on this failed in 2023, but new consultations on fair teleworking began in 2024 to ensure that employees can exercise the right to be unavailable without fear of negative consequences.

The discussion about accessibility on vacation is not only a labor law issue, but also has significant social and health implications. Employees should be aware of their rights and examine their contracts carefully in order to be able to truly relax on vacation without having to think about work obligations.