Less than half of employees are given vacation pay.
Half of the employees in the private sector receive vacation allowance, mainly those with union contracts enjoy this perk. The Institute for Economic and Social Research (WSI) of the Hans-Böckler Foundation revealed this in a study on Tuesday, stating that almost half of the employees get paid holidays, typically in June or July. The percentage was 47% a year ago, they added.
Of these employees with union contracts, around 74% enjoy vacation pay, while a meager 36% of the non-unionized employees do. These figures are consistent with their last year's findings.
Larger companies with over 500 staff members offer vacation pay to 59% of their employees, whereas small businesses with less than 100 workers provide it to only 38% of staff. Experts from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) stressed this point.
In eastern Germany, vacation pay is not as common as in western Germany. However, larger companies and western Germany have higher rates of union contracts.
The vacation pay rates differ widely between industries. For instance, in the agricultural industry of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the sum paid is 186 euros, while the catering and confectionery sector receives a minimal allowance. In the wood and plastic processing industry, western Germany offers a staggering 2,686 euros in vacation pay. Influential industries like metal and printing, automotive, and insurance also provide hefty payments.
The data was collected from 67,880 employees between May 2023 and May 2024.
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Despite the scarce vacation pay among employees, the WSI evaluation revealed that half of the private sector employees receive it, mainly those with union contracts. However, even among unionized employees, only 36% without contracts enjoy this benefit, which is significantly lower than the 74% with union contracts.
