A yoga course can be considered vocational training, a Berlin court has ruled, paving the way to doing the "Downward-facing Dog" or "Greet the Sun" on company time in Germany's capital.

The state labour court for Berlin-Brandenburg has ruled a worker has the right to paid leave so they can attend a five-day adult education course entitled "Yoga I - successful and relaxed at work with yoga and meditation".

The judge ruled that under Berlin's Educational Leave Act, even a yoga course fulfils the far-reaching criteria of "professional development" which would promote an individual's "adaptability and self-assertion".

The laws regarding "education leave" vary in Germany and workers have no claim to it in either Bavaria, the country's biggest state, or in Saxony.

In Germany's other states, a worker is entitled to five-days' educational leave per year, but employers can refuse permission under certain circumstances.