Bildungsurlaub: Why is Bavaria the only German state not to offer educational leave?

Germany is known for having a good work-life-balance with generous holiday leave. And there's another perk you may not be familiar with: Bildingsurlaub. 

Translated literally as "educational holiday", a Bildungsurlaub offers employees paid days off work – typically five days per year – to take a course or training that will help them do their job better. It can be anything from an intensive German language course to yoga for stress management via seminars on AI and cybersecurity as long as it is recognised by the state.

From 2027 Saxony will join the other German states in offering this initiative, leaving Bavaria as the only state where educational leave is not offered. 

Why does Bavaria not have Bildungsurlaub?

Authorities in Bavaria defend the decision not to offer this programme to employees, saying it does not automatically encourage adult learning. 

"A law is not the key to higher participation in continuing education," says the Bavarian Ministry of Social Affairs.

Bavaria argues that it promotes lifelong learning in a variety of different ways – for example, with its ‘Pact for Continuing Vocational Education’, which aims to strengthen the professional development of staff in companies. 

Some in Bavaria, including a few politicians from the Free Voters and CSU, have been calling for Bildungsurlaub to be introduced, but it doesn't look like it's on the way. 

How popular is Bildungsurlaub?

According to estimates by the ifo Institute, just 9.4 percent of all adults (aged 25 to 64) in Germany took part in Bildungsurlaub in 2024. No official figures are available for 2025 yet, but the website Bildungsurlauber.de estimates that a total of 1.2 million people – around 8 percent of those eligible – took educational leave last year.

According to experts, the low participation rate is due to a lack of awareness: most workers in Germany simply do not know they're entitled to educational leave from their job. 

READ ALSO: What is Germany's educational holiday and how can I use it?

What does the business community think of educational leave?

According to the Bavarian Industry Association (vbw), introducing an educational leave law would "only lead to unnecessary cost increases and further bureaucratisation," local broadcaster BR reported.

In view of Germany's economic situation, the demand comes "at the wrong time," says vbw CEO Bertram Brossardt. "We need to work more, not less."

The vbw says Bavaria is already well positioned in terms of adult education without legal regulations. In the 2019 German Continuing Education Atlas, Bavaria ranks just above the national average of around 12 percent, with a participation rate of just under 13 percent among the over-25s.

However, other experts take a different view.  

Verena Menne, Director of Group HR at Randstad Germany, told Business Insider last year: "Educational leave allows employees to take control of their own career development.

"They can strengthen their professional expertise in a targeted manner, improve their long-term job prospects and gain self-confidence – making it a real career booster."

Courses on a variety of topics such as health, climate change and leadership all help employees develop their skills "and also keep their employers competitive in the long term," said Menne. 

READ ALSO: Which roles are companies in Munich hiring for at the start of 2026?

What do trade unions and social welfare groups say?

An educational leave law is "long overdue" in order to secure skilled workers, according to the Bavarian Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB Bayern). Chairman Bernhard Stiedl said it was an "embarrassing signal" for Bavaria to be the only state without Bildungsurlaub.

Verena Bentele from the VdK social association added that educational leave enables people to continue working until retirement and helps women return to work after having children. Educational leave is an "economically worthwhile investment in the long term," she said. 

What else should you know about Bildungsurlaub?

Bildungsurlaub.de allows users to search for possible courses and filter results by the type of course, the time it’s offered, and what federal state needs to recognise the course.

Employees who find a course they want to do have to check that it's okay with their employer. Participants usually have to pay for the course themselves but they continue to receive pay and social security contributions during their time away from work. 

Depending on the state you’re in and how long you’ve been with your employer, you can sometimes carry over five unused Bildungsurlaub days from one year into the next.

This means you can take a two-week course that might help you make more progress in a certain subject, such as language learning.