Summer travel chaos: What applies if you return late from vacation?

Created: 07/25/2022, 15:23

Chaotic conditions at the airport: Those who return to work late from vacation may have to forego salary.

© Frank Rumpenhorst/dpa/dpa-tmn

Congested airports, forest fires, strikes: Anyone traveling in summer 2022 will have to plan with many imponderables.

What happens if employees are not back at work in time?

Offenburg - Check-in chaos at the airport, a fire in the holiday region or striking flight personnel: there are currently plenty of reasons why employees cannot show up for work on time after their vacation.

Because it hits you through no fault of your own, you should actually continue to get a salary, some might think.

But that is not the case, as Jürgen Markowski, a specialist lawyer for labor law in Offenburg, explains.

No continued payment of wages if you return late from vacation

"It is a principle in labor law: there is only wages for work," says Markowski.

Legal or collective bargaining regulations that also provide for compensation for downtime do not apply to a delayed return from vacation, as court judgments show.

"Unfortunately, there is no relevant regulation in such a case and therefore no continued payment of wages."

Rather, employees must inform their employer immediately that they cannot return in time.

"They should get confirmation of this if possible." It is also the employee's duty to look for alternative travel options.

That can mean traveling back by train instead of by plane.

By arrangement: Use vacation or a temporary work account

There is no penalty for showing up late through no fault of your own.

"You just don't get any wages, the employment relationship is suspended during this time," says the labor lawyer.

"Of course I can agree with my employer to take vacation or, if available, to use a temporary work account." However, that is a matter of agreement.

A warning or even termination are not justified.

"That can only happen if I culpably violated an obligation under the employment contract," says Markowski.

"But if I don't inform the employer, there could be consequences."

Markowski doesn't think it's a good idea to take the work laptop with you on vacation as a precaution in order to work from there in case of an emergency.

Something like this always has to be agreed with the employer.

However, if you are already expecting a natural disaster at your holiday destination, you should perhaps not travel there in the first place.

dpa