Holiday entitlements do not automatically expire after three years, as previously assumed. This applies if employers do not ask their employees to take vacation time in time and point out the approaching limitation period, the Supreme Court (OGH) has now decided.
He bases this ruling on the case law of the European Court of Justice, which stipulates that employers must take action on their own initiative instead of letting their employees’ holiday rights lapse. If you do not comply with this obligation, you are still entitled to paid leave.
A man who had worked as a gamekeeper and later as an estate manager since 2003, working seven days a week, had successfully brought a lawsuit. He only took 121 of the 444 vacation days. It justified this by using unqualified assistants in his absence. When he was terminated at the end of 2020, he received around 9,100 euros for the vacation days he had not taken in the past three years.
More than 30,000 euros for open holidays
In the employer’s opinion, the other claims had already expired. The Supreme Court saw it differently and thus confirmed the court’s judgment: The claimant was entitled to compensation for an additional 180 open vacation days, almost 24,300 euros. This amounts to a total of 33,400 euros.
In the past, the OGH assumed that employees had to ensure that their holiday entitlement did not expire. According to the Austrian holiday law, holiday entitlement expires two years after the end of the year in which it arose. This rule is now limited by the new ruling. The employer must prove that he or she has asked the employees in time to take their vacation.
This means that former employees can make claims for past holiday allowances even after termination of their employment.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
