Many German employment contracts refer to the calendar year, but a remaining balance on 31 December does not answer by itself whether days disappear. The reason leave was not taken, the employer’s communication and the type of entitlement can all matter.
Start by separating the balances
Identify statutory minimum leave and any additional days offered by the contract or collective agreement. Additional contractual leave can sometimes be governed by different expiry wording, but only if the documents distinguish it clearly.
Look for concrete employer communication
Keep reminders that stated how much leave remained, invited you to take it and explained a deadline. A generic handbook sentence is not the same as a dated notice tied to your balance.
Long-term illness and protected absences can change the analysis. So can a rejected request. Build a chronology rather than relying on a screenshot of today’s HR portal.
A useful record
Save annual balance notices, requests and responses, plus any change to your weekly working days. If the total remains disputed, ask the employer to show the calculation by leave year.
This guide is general information. Specific deadlines or pending termination should be discussed promptly with an appropriately qualified adviser.