German carer’s leave: the time off employees are entitled to
When a parent suddenly needs care: how many days you can stay away at once, when an employer in Germany must grant longer leave and what you live on meanwhile.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Which time off your employer must give you
Short-term leave
10 days
| Care leave up to 6 months | right |
| Family care leave up to 24 months | right |
| Employees | 40 |
Employees in Germany have three ways to take time off to care for a close relative. In an acute care situation they may stay away from work for up to 10 working days, at any employer, to organise care (section 2 of the Care Leave Act, PflegeZG); the relative’s long-term care fund pays a carer’s leave allowance (Pflegeunterstützungsgeld) of 90 % of lost net pay, at most €135.63 a day (section 44a(3) of Book XI of the Social Code). For longer breaks there is care leave (Pflegezeit) of up to 6 months, full or part time, at employers with more than 15 staff (sections 3 and 4 PflegeZG), and family care leave (Familienpflegezeit) of up to 24 months with at least 15 hours a week, at employers with more than 25 staff (section 2 of the Family Care Leave Act). Together they may not exceed 24 months per relative. During leave you are protected against dismissal, and a federal office grants an interest-free loan covering half the net income gap on application.
The three options compared
| Short-term leave | Care leave | Family care leave | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | up to 10 working days | up to 6 months | up to 24 months |
| Extent | full | full or partial | partial, at least 15 h/week |
| Employer size | all employers | more than 15 staff | more than 25 staff |
| Notice | without delay | 10 working days | 8 weeks (s. 2a FPfZG) |
| Money | carer’s leave allowance 90 % of net | interest-free loan | interest-free loan |
| Legal basis | s. 2 PflegeZG, s. 44a SGB XI | ss. 3, 4 PflegeZG | s. 2 FPfZG |
The first ten days
Short-term leave is for emergencies: your mother falls, a hospital discharges your father without warning, dementia suddenly makes nights alone impossible (section 2 PflegeZG). It applies at any employer regardless of size and needs no notice period; tell your employer at once and provide a doctor’s certificate if asked. Ten days are enough to apply for a care grade, find a care service, arrange short-term care and order aids.
The carer’s leave allowance is paid by the relative’s care fund, not your own health insurer. It is 90 % of lost net pay, or 100 % if you received one-off payments such as a Christmas bonus in the previous twelve months (section 45(2) SGB V). The cap is 70 percent of the health insurance contribution ceiling, about €135.63 a day in 2026. Siblings sharing the days get 10 working days in total per person in need of care and year (section 44a(3) SGB XI).
Which time off your employer must give you
Short-term leave
10 days
| Care leave up to 6 months | right |
| Family care leave up to 24 months | right |
| Employees | 40 |
Care leave: up to six months
If you care for a relative at home you can take up to 6 months off, fully or partly, if your employer usually employs more than 15 people (section 3 PflegeZG). It is unpaid, but on request the care fund pays subsidies towards health and care insurance where family cover is not possible, and pension contributions if you care at least ten hours a week. At grade 3 with allowance only, one year of caring adds €16.71 of monthly pension (carer pension calculator). Accompanying a close relative in the last phase of life is possible for up to three months.
Family care leave: reduce rather than stop
Family care leave lets you cut your hours for up to 24 months to at least 15 a week, at employers with more than 25 staff excluding trainees (section 2 FPfZG). It suits long care situations such as progressing dementia. Both types can be combined, up to 24 months per relative, and both come with the federal interest-free loan worth half the net income gap (section 3 FPfZG).
A typical sequence
A daughter works full time for a company with 60 staff; her mother lives alone in another city and falls on a Tuesday. That day the daughter notifies short-term leave and travels there. Over the next days she applies for a care grade from the hospital, where the shortened assessment deadline applies, arranges short-term care with the hospital social service and claims the carer’s leave allowance from her mother’s care fund for the missed days. Back home, it is clear her mother will need support for some months, so she announces part-time care leave with 10 working days’ notice, halves her hours for 6 months and applies for the interest-free loan. If the need continues she can switch to family care leave, announced 8 weeks ahead, up to 24 months in total.
Protection against dismissal
From the announcement, no earlier than 12 weeks before the start, until the leave ends, you cannot be dismissed (section 5 PflegeZG). This already covers the ten days of short-term leave. Only the highest state labour protection authority may allow an exception in special cases.
What leave does not replace
Leave gives time, not money. Ongoing benefits come from your relative’s care insurance: the care allowance, respite care and the relief amount. If you accept no money for caring you can also claim the carer’s tax lump sum on a German tax return.