Fever on the beach instead of sun and relaxation: if you fall ill on holiday, you don't automatically lose your leave days – and with the right preparation, you are financially covered too. Here you'll learn how to report sick correctly, when you get leave days back and which insurance applies in case of illness.
The most important rule is in the Federal Leave Act: if you fall ill during your holiday, "the days of incapacity for work proven by a medical certificate are not counted towards the annual leave" (source: Section 9 BUrlG, gesetze-im-internet.de, translated). In concrete terms: with a certificate from the first day of illness, these leave days are credited back to you – but you may not simply extend your holiday; you take them again later.
The statutory notification duty also applies on holiday: the employee must communicate "the incapacity for work and its expected duration without delay" (source: Section 5 EFZG, gesetze-im-internet.de, translated). Abroad, this additionally means: inform employer and health insurer as quickly as possible (email/phone is sufficient at first), obtain a medical certificate on site – including the diagnosis period – and communicate the incapacity for work and your address abroad. Be sure to keep receipts and invoices.
Within the EU, the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gets you treated at the standards of your destination country – often with co-payments. Outside the EU, without private coverage you usually pay everything yourself; repatriation to Germany is never a statutory benefit. That is why international travel health insurance is the central building block of every trip – more on our Travel Insurance page.
If you become seriously ill before departure, high cancellation costs loom. Trip cancellation insurance covers these in the event of unexpected serious illness; after departure, trip interruption insurance protects you. What happens without these policies is calculated in our guide Cancelling a Trip Without Cancellation Insurance.
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Yes, to have leave days credited back you need a medical certificate from the first day of illness – the relaxed rules for short illnesses in everyday life do not apply here.
Yes, with proven incapacity for work, the normal rules of continued remuneration apply – even if you fall ill abroad.
No. The sick days are credited back; extending your holiday on your own initiative can be treated as unexcused absence. Always talk to your employer.
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Sources: Section 9 BUrlG – Illness during leave, gesetze-im-internet.de · Section 5 EFZG – Notification and proof obligations, gesetze-im-internet.de · Updated: 2026
