educational leave
Educational leave in general
Who is entitled to educational leave?
Every employee is entitled to educational leave.
How many days are you entitled to in a year?
The number of days an employee is entitled to educational leave per year varies in Germany depending on the federal state.
As a rule, employees in most federal states are entitled to five days of educational leave per calendar year. In some federal states, the entitlement can also be increased to up to ten days a year.
The legal basis for the entitlement to educational leave is regulated in the respective educational leave laws of the federal states. The requirements for entitlement to educational leave as well as the recognized educational events and the procedures for recognition are also regulated there.
It is advisable to check the specific regulations on educational leave in the respective federal state in order to find out exactly how many days an employee is entitled to educational leave per year.
Who pays for educational leave?
The costs for the educational leave are usually borne by the employee himself. In some cases, however, employers also bear the costs or at least contribute to them. It is therefore advisable to contact your employer to find out about the possibility of covering the costs.
How do I apply for educational leave?
The educational leave must be communicated/applied for in writing at least six weeks before the start of the educational leave.
You can download the application form from the website of your federal state and submit it to your employer.
Where can I book educational leave and where can I spend my educational leave?
We found our course via "Bildungsurlaub.de", where you will be shown various courses/further training according to your filter.
How am I insured during this time?
international health insurance
My educational leave in Havana
Cost: 1040€ for a two-week intensive course.
Provider: Sprachcafe
Value for money: bad
Positive: The teachers and employees on site were competent and very personable. The area where the school was located was not only beautiful but also safe, which made us feel comfortable throughout our stay.
Cons: The language school was in a somewhat remote area, far from the center. During my beginner's course, I found it difficult to follow the course content in Spanish and wished that more English-Spanish translations were provided.
The school's equipment was in poor condition, some blackboards were no longer in good condition and there was no water in one of the bathrooms. Drinking water was also not available and pages in our teaching materials were missing.
The excursions offered were only in euros and dollars, we complained and insisted on paying in pesos. Therefore, an exception was made for us that we are allowed to pay with CUP. The price of our beach excursion changed several times in just three days, from 860 pesos to 980 pesos to 1280 pesos per person, while in euros/dollars it would have been 5 euros cheaper. Overall the condition of the facility was poor.
The information we had received from the language café in preparation for our educational leave was outdated and incorrect.
Conclusion: After completing the course, we talked to other students from our group about the language school. We agreed that we cannot recommend this school, especially at this price. We found it very unfortunate that apparently the money we paid wasn't actually invested in the school.
