In August 2014 Daimler announced Mail on Holiday for its roughly 100,000 employees in Germany. Employees can have incoming e-mail deleted automatically while they are on holiday. The sender receives an automatic reply that names a contact person, and then the system deletes the mail. According to a Daimler spokeswoman, every employee, up to the level of manager, could use it.
The Ministry’s Own Rule
In August 2013 the Federal Ministry of Labor agreed new rules for its more than 1,100 employees. They may be disturbed in their free time only in begründeten Ausnahmefällen, in justified exceptional cases. Im Urlaub dürfen die Chefs ihre Untergebenen grundsätzlich nicht in Anspruch nehmen. During holidays, bosses may in principle not call on their subordinates. Employees who are not reachable in their free time are not to be disadvantaged. The year before, the minister, Ursula von der Leyen, had said: In der Freizeit sollte Funkstille herrschen. In free time there should be radio silence.
Eleven Hours of Rest
The Working Hours Act says that after the end of the working day, employees must have eine ununterbrochene Ruhezeit von mindestens elf Stunden, an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours. In 2023 the Federal Labor Court decided the case of a paramedic who was expected to read a text message about his next shift during his free time. The court held that an employee can have a duty to take note of instructions even in free time. Briefly reading such a message is not working time under the Working Hours Act. A general right to be unreachable is not written into German law.
Days of Rest and Spiritual Uplift
Article 139 of the Weimar Constitution of 11 August 1919 says: Der Sonntag und die staatlich anerkannten Feiertage bleiben als Tage der Arbeitsruhe und der seelischen Erhebung gesetzlich geschützt. Sundays and the public holidays recognized by the state remain protected by law as days of rest from work and of spiritual uplift. Through its Article 140, the Basic Law made this article part of today’s constitution.
The Vocabulary of Address
duzen — to say du
siezen — to say Sie
ihrzen, erzen — historical: to say Ihr, to say Er
per du sein — to be on du terms
das Du anbieten — to offer the du
der Duzfreund — a friend with whom one uses du
Wo haben wir denn schon zusammen Schweine gehütet? — Since when did we herd pigs together? Duden explains it as: since when are we on du terms?
Drinking Brotherhood
The traditional switch from Sie to du is called Brüderschaft trinken, drinking brotherhood. The dictionary DWDS explains it as agreeing to say du to each other, and records phrases such as wir haben auf Brüderschaft angestoßen, we drank a toast to brotherhood, and wollen wir nicht Brüderschaft machen?, shall we not drink brotherhood? German Wikipedia notes that younger people and workforces usually switch to du at once. If the du is offered from the wrong side, older or more traditional people sometimes find it inappropriate.
Who Offers the Du
Traditionally, German colleagues begin with Sie, the formal you. Moving to du, the familiar you, is a step that one side offers. The German Knigge Society, which advises on manners, gives the rule. Der Vorgesetzte bietet dem Untergebenen das „Du“ an. The superior offers the du to the subordinate. Among equals, the older may offer it to the younger. The Society for the German Language observed in 2020 that Germans use du more often now. But it added that the du does not mean the hierarchy has gone.
The vocabulary of the boundary
Dienst ist Dienst und Schnaps ist Schnaps — duty is duty and schnapps is schnapps. Two things, not to be mixed.
Nach Feierabend — after the working day, used as a time of day in its own right.
Urlaubsanspruch — holiday claim. Not an allowance or an entitlement in the soft sense. A claim, in the legal meaning, enforceable.
Abschalten — to switch off. What a German is expected to do at the end of the day, and the metaphor is electrical.
The company shutdown
Betriebsferien. Many German companies close entirely for a fixed period, commonly in summer or between Christmas and New Year, with the works council agreeing the dates. Nobody is covering. Nobody is on call. The building is shut.
The shop closing law
German shop opening hours were governed by federal law from 1956, and Sunday closing remains the rule across the country. Shops are shut. Not quiet — shut. A Sunday in a German town is a different kind of day, enforced by statute.