Professional voicemail messages for German public holidays

business voicemail message

Use 12 scripts for your voicemail greeting to record a professional message for each German public national or regional holiday. Find out the dates of Germany’s bank holidays, including the special regional non-working days.

There are several occasions for which you can hardly forget to record voicemail business greetings for your clients and partners. Christmas and Easter, if they are public holidays in the country you operate in or your summer vacation period. In such a case, you have enough time to plan your voicemail message, record it with a professional voice-over artist, and ensure your community is informed on time about the changes in your business hours. More importantly – about when they can get in touch with you.

However, country-specific holidays or even region-specific days are non-working for their residents. If you are native, you are usually aware of these “free” days – the public holidays valid for the whole country and those that apply only in your state. So again, you can prepare your voicemail business greeting on time.

If you are a foreign company opening its new location in a big country like Germany, you may be confused about national and regional, or religious official holidays. Even your German employees probably know only some of the holidays in neighboring states. That’s why having voicemail greetings scripts pre-recorded for different occasions is handy. To save you time, we have gathered 12 scripts for your voicemail messages that you can easily record by yourself or with the help of professional voice-over artists.

Introduction to German public holidays 

german-holidays

As we already mentioned, if you are doing business in Germany, you should be aware of different local holidays that require changes to your business hours which concern your clients and partners. Each year nine official holidays are celebrated nationwide. Additionally, the local authorities of some regions have set more dates as official non-working days. So, depending on your location (your Bundesland), you may end up with 13 days of German public holidays that require you to have activated your business voicemail service.

Multiple German bank holidays are religious and date back many years or even centuries. The so-called Day of German Unity is a relatively new holiday on 3 October. It celebrates the anniversary of the German Reunification, which took place in 1990. The Day of German Unity is the only holiday determined on the government level. Federal state authorities set the other holidays. Most companies close during German public national or regional holidays or work with reduced open hours. Below we have listed all the important dates you should mark in your calendar to set your voicemail message with accurate information.

German national holidays in 2021

out of office holiday

• 1 January – New Year’s holiday (Neujahrstag).
• 2 April – Good Friday (Karfreitag). The date varies each year.
• 5 April – Easter Monday (Ostermontag). The date varies each year.
• 1 May – Labor Day (Maifeiertag).
• 13 May – Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt, 40 days after Easter). The date varies each year.
• 24 May – Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) – the seventh Monday after Easter, also called Pentecost Monday. The date varies each year.
• 3 October – Day of German Unity, (Tag der Deutschen Einheit).
• 25 December – Christmas Day (Weihnachtstag).
• 26 December – second Christmas day, Saint Stephen’s Day (Stephanstag).
• 31 December – New Year’s Eve (many companies work with reduced business hours unless they are not closed for the whole festive season between Christmas and New Year).

German regional holidays during 2021

Oktoberfest Bavaria

The holidays listed below are official non-working days only for specific regions. It is a good practice to add the name of the holidays to why your company is closed in your voicemail message. That way, your clients from other regions in Germany or abroad will not wonder why you are not working in the middle of the week.

• 6 January – Epiphanie, (Heilige Drei Könige). It is a non-working day in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Saxony-Anhalt (names in German).
• 8 March – International Women’s Day – Berlin
• 3 June – Corpus Christi, (Fronleichnam) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and some local authorities in Saxony and Thuringia.
• 8 August – Peace Festival, (Friedensfest) – Bavaria (Augsburg).
• 15 August – Assumption Day (Maria Himmelfahrt) – Saarland and some local authorities in Bavaria.
• 31 October – Reformation Day, (Reformationstag) – Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and parts of Thuringia.
• 1 November – All Saints’ Day, (Allerheiligen) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland.
• 17 November – Day of Prayer and Repentance (Buß-und Bettag, Wednesday before 23 November) – Saxony.

Keep in mind that all holidays that are related to Easter change accordingly.

12 scripts for business voicemail messages

Business voicemail

Once you put in your calendar all days that are national or local (for your office location) holidays, you have to plan your voicemail messages carefully. Make sure clients, partners, or service providers from different regions are informed on time about the updates of your working schedule during holidays.

Business voicemail scripts for the holidays period

1. Thank you for calling [company’s name]! We are closed from [X date] till [X date] for the festive season. We shall return on [X date] with our standard business hours from [X hours] till [X hours]. Looking forward to hearing from you and happy [X holiday]

2. Hello! You have reached [company’s name]. Currently, we are closed from [X date] till [X date] for the [X holiday] period. For emergency issues, please contact [employee’s name] on [telephone number]. You can also reach them at the following [email address]. Thank you for calling! Happy holidays!

3. Hello! Thank you for reaching out to [company’s name]. It is [X holiday] time, and we are not working from [X date] till [X date]. We will be available again on [X date], and you can contact us anytime from [X hours] till [X hours]. You can reach our colleague in an emergency at the following number [telephone number].

4. Hello! Thank you for contacting us at [company’s name]. It is a festive season, and we are working with reduced business hours from [X date] till [X date]. You can reach us by phone daily from [X hours] till [X hours], or you can contact us by email at [email address]. Starting from [X date], you can reach us during our standard business hours from [X hours] till [X hours]. Happy and cheerful holidays!

For more ideas of what voicemail message you can record for holidays, read our article on holiday voicemail greetings for a better customer experience.

Business voicemail scripts for regional holidays in Germany 

german voicemail

5. Thank you for reaching out to [company’s name]. Today in Bavaria, we celebrate Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige), an official public holiday. We shall be available tomorrow during our standard business hours from [X hours] till [X hours], and we will be happy to have you back! Have a lovely day!

6. Hello! Thank you for calling [company’s name]. International Women’s Day is today, and our Berlin office is not working. You can contact us tomorrow from [X hours] till [X hours]. In an emergency, please call [telephone number] to report your problem. We are at your disposal again tomorrow with our usual business hours from [X hours] till [X hours].

7. Hello! You have reached out to [company’s name]. Thank you for your call. We celebrate Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) here in Baden-Württemberg today, so we are closed for the day. You can contact us again tomorrow from [X hours] till [X hours], or you can email us at [email address] so we can get back to you as soon as possible.

8. Hello! Thank you for contacting [company’s name]. We are sorry we could not answer your call today, as we have a special holiday here in Augsburg – the Peace Festival, which is an official non-working day. If convenient for you, call us tomorrow during the standard operations hours from [X hours] till [X hours], and we will be able to handle your call personally.

9. Hi there! You have reached [employee’s name] at [company’s name]. I am out of the office today since we celebrate Assumption Day in Saarland. You can always email me at [email address], and I will answer you as soon as possible. Otherwise, you can contact me again tomorrow from [X hours] till [X hours].

10. Hello! Thank you for calling [company’s name]. We are officially closed today as we celebrate Reformation Day, a bank holiday in Brandenburg. Contact us tomorrow, we are at your disposal from [X hours] till [X hours], or you can always email us at [email address]. Have a nice day!

11. You have contacted [company’s name]. Our office in North Rhine-Westphalia is not working today because we are celebrating All-Saint’s Day, a public holiday here. We would love to hear from you, so please call us tomorrow from [X hours] till [X hours]. Thank you for your call, and have a nice day. 

12. Hello! Thank you for contacting our company! Today is a day off as we officially celebrate the Day of Prayer and Repentance here in Saxony. We are available again tomorrow during our standard business hours from [X hours] till [X hours]. You can always email us at [email address], and we shall contact you back ASAP. 

Best practices of a professional voicemail message

professionl voicemail

Even if you decide to record yourself the voicemail greeting for the public national or regional holidays in Germany, do not forget several gold rules to follow. Thus, you can transform your voicemail message into an effective communication tool with your clients and partners, even if you cannot answer their call immediately.

• The main goal of your holiday voicemail greeting is to inform your callers about the changes in your business hours during the festive day or period.
• Include the exact date or dates when you are closed or operate with reduced hours.
• If you have, add a telephone number for emergency issues.
• Provide your callers with an email address if they want to write to you for you to get in touch with them.
• Tell your callers when exactly you are available again so they can contact you back.
• Last but not least, be concise. The callers are probably a little annoyed that they could not contact you right away, so keep your message short, simple, and informative. 

If you want to record a professional voicemail message in German or French, try the Mixvoip voice-over artists!

How can your business phone system support you during your regional or public holidays in Germany? 

cloud pbx mobile

No doubt, voicemail messages are a standard tool for business communication when no one can answer an incoming phone call. However, your business cloud phone system is also a great solution for handling calls when you are out of the office for different reasons, including German national or regional holidays. With the help of the enhanced features of your Cloud PBX, you can be flexible, mobile, and productive even if you are not in the office during the holidays. If you put an emergency line in your voicemail message, you should assign an employee to answer it. The good news is that the on-call agent doesn’t need to be chained to the desk during the holidays. 

With smart call management, your colleague is available for incoming calls from their home. Install a softphone or a mobile app accessible through your business phone system and start getting any emergency calls on the most convenient device at home – be it a PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. If you want more tips on handling your calls successfully during the holiday season, read our article: How to manage your calls professionally during the holidays?

Whether your company is in Berlin, Trier, or Munich, your final business goal is to have happy and loyal customers and partners. That means smooth and effective communication with them, which sometimes can be disrupted if your clients and suppliers are unpleasantly surprised when they call you and find out you are not working in the middle of the week. A situation many companies from Germany are familiar with.

To avoid disappointment for your callers, we recommend that you record a voicemail message with information that will answer their questions about when and how they can contact you. It is also better to include why your business is closed that day. Remember that callers from other states are unaware of the local bank holidays.

Setting a nice, informative voicemail holiday greeting helps you create a professional image for your target audience. It shows each call matters to you, and you want to leave a positive impression on your community even if they did not have the chance to contact you first because they are located in different German provinces. With a good and well-thought voicemail message, you will make them give you a second call so that you can impress them with your products and customer service.  

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