Vacation Entitlement When Changing Workload

When an employee's workload changes — whether reduced or increased — vacation entitlement must be recalculated and adjusted. The JobDone system provides a flexible calculation method that ensures vacation days and hours are adjusted fairly and correctly to reflect the new working conditions.

The following vacation entitlement calculator can be a helpful tool: https://jobdone-time-calculator.vercel.app/ferien-rechner

The vacation entitlement calculation in JobDone takes into account both the current employment contract and any unpaid absences. This is particularly important because changes in workload affect the value of individual working days — and therefore the overall vacation entitlement. For more on vacation and unpaid absences, see → Vacation Entitlement for Unpaid Absences

Without a fixed weekly schedule — 100% and 60% workload

In the following example, the vacation entitlement is calculated for an employee who works in two different periods with different workloads, but without a fixed weekly schedule. This means that daily working hours are spread evenly across the week, and the value of each working day (hours per day) changes depending on the workload. As the value of a working day changes, so does the value of a vacation day.

Contracts across time periods

Period 1: 01.01.2024 – 31.07.2024 Workload: 100% Working days per week: 5 days (Mon – Fri) Working hours per day: 8.4h Vacation days per year: 5 working weeks = 25 working days

Period 2: 31.07.2024 – 31.12.2024 Workload: 60% Working days per week: 5 days (Mon – Fri)

Working hours per day: 5.04h Vacation days per year: 5 working weeks = 25 working days

Result

Calculation Breakdown

Period 1: 01.01.2024 – 31.07.2024

During this period, the employee works at a 100% workload. The calculation details are as follows:

1. Days in period: 213 days (out of 366 total days in 2024).
2. Period ratio: Since 213 of 366 days represent 58.2% of the year, the period ratio is 58.2%.
3. Base vacation days: The annual vacation entitlement is 25 days.
4. Pro-rated vacation days: The period ratio is applied to the base vacation days to calculate the pro-rated entitlement for this period:

• 25 days × 58.2% = 14.5 days (rounded)
  1. Hours per day: At a 100% workload, the value per day is 8.4 hours.
  2. Total vacation hours: The pro-rated vacation days are multiplied by the hours per day to determine the vacation entitlement in hours for this period:
• 14.5 days × 8.4 hours = 122.2 hours

Vacation entitlement for Period 1: 122.2 hours

Period 2: 01.08.2024 – 31.12.2024

In the second period, the workload is reduced to 60%. The value of daily working hours changes accordingly, and the pro-rated vacation entitlement is adjusted.

1. Days in period: 153 days (out of 366 total days in 2024).
2. Period ratio: Since 153 of 366 days represent 41.8% of the year, the period ratio is 41.8%.
3. Base vacation days: The annual vacation entitlement remains at 25 days.
4. Pro-rated vacation days: The period ratio is applied to the base vacation days to calculate the pro-rated entitlement for this period:

• 25 days × 41.8% = 10.5 days (rounded)
  1. Hours per day: At a 60% workload, the value per day is 5.04 hours.
  2. Total vacation hours: The pro-rated vacation days are multiplied by the hours per day to determine the vacation entitlement in hours for this period:
• 10.5 days × 5.04 hours = 52.7 hours

Vacation entitlement for Period 2: 52.7 hours

Vacation Entitlement Summary

The total vacation entitlement for 2024 is as follows:

• Period 1 (100% workload): 14.5 days (122.2 hours)
• Period 2 (60% workload): 10.5 days (52.7 hours)
• Total vacation entitlement: 34.7 days (174.9 hours)