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FAQ Germany*

Work & Taxes

1. Under what conditions am I allowed to work in Germany?

Anyone who is a citizen of one of the following countries may work in Germany without any restrictions:

  • a member state of the European Union (EU), e.g. Germany, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia
  • a country of the European Economic Area (EEA), i.e. Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein
  • Switzerland

Family members (spouses, children, grandchildren) of an EU citizen may also work without further restrictions in the country as this EU citizen, even if they themselves are not EU citizens.

If, on the other hand, you are not a citizen of one of the countries mentioned above, e.g. a Ukrainian citizen, and do not have any family members with EU citizenship, you may only work in Germany if you have a residence title that states that you may work in Germany. A residence title can be, for example, a visa, but also a residence title for the granting of temporary protection under Section 24 of the Residence Act ("Aufenthaltsgesetz" or "AufenthG"), which is currently granted to many refugees from Ukraine.

[More information, see our chapter "Residence"]

Please note: A German residence title does in general not allow you to work in other EU countries.

 

Restriction 1: Professions subject to admission restrictions

Restrictions on the right to work in Germany may arise if you wish to pursue a so-called restricted profession. These are professions that require a special qualification and are therefore regulated by law, e.g. doctors, nurses, architects, lawyers and teachers.

You are not allowed to work in a restricted profession until the degree you obtained abroad has been recognized in Germany. You can find out how recognition works in detail on the official online portal of the German government and in the flyer provided there.

If your profession is not subject to admission restrictions, you can still have an official "certificate evaluation" issued for your vocational qualification certificate by the Central Office for Foreign Education. The certificate evaluation is not necessary to practice a non-restricted profession, but it can increase your chances of a successfull application for a job because it makes it easier for the employer to compare vocational qualifications.

Free advice and support on the subject of recognition of qualifications is available, among others, from the advice centers of the "Integration through Qualification" (“Integration durch Qualifizierung”) funding program. A nearby counseling center can be found using the "Recognition in Germany" counseling search. The hotline "Working and Living in Germany" answers questions about entry into Germany, residence, job search and learning German.

Further information on the recognition of professional qualifications, especially for refugees from Ukraine, is available from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

 

Restriction 2: Minors

In general, law prohibits the employment of children and teenagers before their 15th birthday. There are, however, exceptions for temporary and vacation jobs:

 

a) Exception 1: Hourly employment of school-age minors in temporary jobs.

Children and teenagers from the age of 13 who are still subject to full-time compulsory schooling may be employed on an hourly basis with the consent of their legal guardians, i.e. usually their parents, provided the employment is easy and suitable for them. From the age of 13, a child may therefore, for example, deliver newspapers, babysit, give private lessons or help out in a household.

 

b) Exception 2: Employment of school-age minors in vacation jobs

In addition to the options listed above, during school vacations teenagers who are 15 but not yet 18 years old may - as long as they are subject to full-time compulsory schooling - with the consent of their parent i.e. guardian pursue a job for up to 20 working days per calendar year. There is no regulation how these 20 days must be distributed over the course of the vacations.

Further information on the employment of minors can be found, for instance, at the Palatinate Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

2. How do I find a job and apply for it?

There are various ways to find a job in Germany, e.g.

  • job portals on the Internet such as Stepstone,
  • social media platforms like LinkedIn or Xing,
  • career portals of universities and colleges,
  • corporate career websites,
  • spontaneous applications to companies without job postings,
  • the Federal Employment Agency,
  • if you want to do a professional training or an apprenticeship, at ausbildung.de or the apprenticeship exchange of the Chambers of Industry and Commerce
  • job fairs (especially in larger cities, but sometimes also virtually).

Various organisations and companies have installed job portals, e.g.

Jobs in the legal field:

It is common practice to send an e-mail to the employer of your choice with a short cover letter, a resume, diplomas as well as references, and, if applicable, a letter of motivation. Some companies have their own career pages where you can apply online.

There are no standard requirements for the format of the application. In Germany, it is still customary to attach an applicant photo to the application or resume.

The language at the workplace is usually German, sometimes also English. Applicants should not be discouraged from applying if their German is not (yet) perfect.

3. What do I have to consider when concluding an employment contract?

In principle, a German employment contract does not have to be concluded on paper. However, the employer is required by law to provide the employee with the essential contents of the contract on paper and signed by the employer, no later than one month after the start of the employment relationship. Normally, therefore, the employment contract is printed on paper and signed by the employer and the employee.

The employment contract does not have to be written in a language that the employee understands. An applicant who does not speak the language of the contract is therefore best advised to have it translated, for example, by a language app or a multilingual friend. Sometimes employers translate the employment contract even if they do not have to.

 

4. Can I have more than one job at the same time?

Whether you can have more than one job at the same time depends on the individual jobs and the respective agreements in the employment contract.

If you already have a full-time job, another job is often impossible due to time constraints. Several part-time jobs are often more compatible.

In general, it is not permitted to take up a part-time job with a competitor of the employer without the employer's permission. Part-time jobs for companies that do not compete with the employer, on the other hand, are generally possible. However, many employment contracts contain rules according to the question, which a second job only is permitted with the prior permission of the main employer. The employer must grant this permission, though, if there are no operational reasons against it, e.g. if you are always tired because of the second job and therefore can no longer perform your other job properly.

If you have several jobs at the same time, your employers must ensure that the number of hours worked on your jobs does not exceed the legally permissible working time (see question 14) and that the legally prescribed resting breaks within one work day and rest periods between work days are observed.

It is important to know that your second job automatically falls into tax class VI. The tax classes are determined by your personal life circumstances (e.g. tax class I for singles or tax class IV for married couples) and affect the amount of taxes to be paid. In tax class VI, which applies to second jobs, there is no tax allowance. This means that even the first euro earned with the second job is already taxed, while e.g. a single person with only one job pays taxes only if s/he earns more than a certain minimum income. In this case, it is possible, however, that you can get back the paid income tax or at least parts of it as a tax refund by filing a tax declaration (see question 7).

However, this is only possible after the end of the calendar year in which you worked for the money, so you may have to wait a long time for the tax refund.

5. May I work alongside my studies? What is a working student job ("Werkstudentenjob")?

Yes, in Germany it is possible to work while studying.

However, there are time restrictions if you want to work as a so-called working student (“Werkstudent) alongside your studies. That is a normal employment relationship (with a right to paid vacation, a right to the statutory minimum wage, etc.). However, less social security contributions have to be paid by both the employer and the employee. A working student job is therefore attractive for both sides.

The government only wants to support employment as a working student though if the working student devotes most of his/her time to his/her studies and only works part-time. Therefore, a working student may work a maximum of 20 hours per week during the semester. During the lecture-free periods between university semesters you may also work full-time.

6. How much money do I earn in Germany?

In general, employees agree on a so-called gross wage (per hour or per month) with their employer. Depending on the job and the amount of income, taxes (income tax, church tax and solidarity surcharge if applicable; see question 9) as well as social security contributions (health insurance, nursing care insurance, pension insurance, unemployment insurance) must be deducted from this amount. Taxes and social security contributions are paid directly by the employer to the relevant authorities, so that an employee does not have to take care of this. The amount actually received by the employee is the net wage.

The higher an employee's gross wage is, the more taxes you have to pay. Social security contributions increase at least up to a certain level of gross income (up to the so-called contribution assessment ceiling). If you want to know what your net income will be before you sign your employment contract or receive your first salary, you can use a free "gross/net calculator" on the internet. There you enter your personal life circumstances (e.g. whether you are married, whether you are a member of a church, etc.) and then receive a forecast of the net wage.

7. Do I have to pay income tax on my salary in Germany if I live and work in Germany?

Attention: The following information is only a general overview. Please inform yourself in more detail, if necessary, whether and which income you have to pay taxes on. If you need help with this, the association “Lohnsteuerhilfe Bayern e. V.” (Lohnsteuerhilfe.de), which is active throughout all of Germany, offers help at a reasonable price.

Anyone living in an apartment or a house in Germany or who stays in Germany permanently (i.e. for longer than 6 months) has to pay taxes on his/her entire income in Germany. However, an asylum shelter or an initial reception center does not count as an apartment or house in that sense. In this case, the duty to pay taxes depends on whether the (intended or actual) stay in Germany lasts longer than 6 months (then tax liability in Germany: Yes) or whether this is not the case (then tax liability in Germany: No).

However, an exception applies to income that has a special connection to Germany. This includes, for example, wages paid for a work activity performed locally in Germany. This has to be taxed in Germany, even if the above-mentioned conditions (home or permanent residence in Germany) are not met. Foreign pensions or income from renting out an apartment abroad, for example, have no such special connection to Germany. You therefore only have to pay tax on these in Germany if you live in an apartment or house here or if you stay in Germany for longer than 6 months.

8. Do I have to file a tax declaration if I live and work in Germany?

Attention: The following information is only a general overview. Please inform yourself in more detail, if necessary, whether and which income you have to pay taxes on. If you need help with this, the association “Lohnsteuerhilfe Bayern e. V.” (Lohnsteuerhilfe.de), which is active throughout all of Germany, offers help at a reasonable price.

In principle, every taxpayer in Germany must notify the tax office responsible for him/her of his/her income for the previous year in a tax declaration by July 31 each year. This can be done either online via the official portal ELSTER (or another tax software) or in writing via the Form Management System (FMS) of the Federal Tax Administration. There you will find instructions and important forms (Attention: The registration at "ELSTER" can take up to two weeks). You can find out which tax office is responsible for you via the official tax office search of the Federal Central Tax Office.

Alternatively, you can also hire a tax advisor. In this case, the tax declaration must be submitted by the end of February of the second year i.e. 14 months after the year in which the income was earned. However, in order to avoid fines, the tax advisor should inform the responsible tax office of your representation before July 31. You should therefore instruct the tax advisor to do so.

In some cases you are exempt from the obligation to file a tax declaration. If you only had income from a single employment in the past year, you do not have to file a tax declaration. In this case, the tax on your earned income will be deducted directly from your salary by your employer and paid by him/her to the tax office. This also applies if you receive or have received benefits as an asylum seeker or "Arbeitslosengeld II" (= “Hartz IV”) in addition to or before your work. You are considered to be employed if your employer is allowed to give you precise instructions on the basis of your employment contract as to how and at what time you must carry out your work activity.

If you are not required to file a tax declaration, you can still do so voluntarily. This can be beneficial for you, because you may get a part of your paid taxes back from the tax office (tax refund). This is possible, for example, if in the past year you have

  • spent more than € 1,000 in relation to your work (e.g. application costs, relocation costs, travel costs),
  • children under the age of 25,
  • taken out additional insurance in addition to your statutory health and social insurance, or
  • had extraordinary expenses (e.g. costs due to illness or funeral costs).

In this case, you can submit the tax return to the tax office responsible for you via "ELSTER" or the Form Management System (FMS) up to four years after the end of the year for which you want to submit the tax declaration.

If you do not have a home in Germany or do not reside in Germany permanently (see question 7), the tax is usually deducted directly from your wages that you receive from an activity in Germany. The tax is then paid and you usually do not have to file a tax declaration.

What does the tax declaration look like and which attachments do I have to submit?

The tax return consists of a main part, the so-called "main form", and further attachments. Which attachments you have to submit depends on what income or expenses you had. The most important attachments are the following:

  • Annex N - for employees (if you are employed as explained in question 8)
  • Annex Pension Expenses - for pension expenses (e.g. pension payments, costs for a pension insurance)
  • Annex Special Expenses - for donations and alimony payments
  • Annex Extraordinary Burdens - for expenses due to illness or funeral of another person

If you use a (fee-based) tax software such as WISO Steuer or Taxfix, these attachments are usually integrated into the software and do not have to be filled out separately.

9. What is the difference between the tax identification number (IdNr.) and the tax number? And how can I apply for it?

If you want to take on a job or submit applications to the tax office (e.g. for child benefit or exemption orders), you need a tax identification number (IdNr.).

The tax identification number is assigned only once. It never changes. The number is assigned automatically when you have informed the Foreigners' Registration Office (you can find the office responsible for you here: BAMF/Behörden.de) about your stay in Germany. It will be sent to your address a few weeks after your registration. If you have not received the number within two months, you can request it again from the Federal Central Tax Office.

For further information, the Federal Central Tax Office provides a note on the identification number for refugees.

The tax number, on the other hand, is important if you want to communicate with the tax office. It can change, for example, if you move or get married. As an employee, you will automatically be assigned the tax number when you file your tax return for the first time. Just leave the corresponding line in the tax declaration blank.

10. How much taxes do I have to pay?

If you have a taxable income of less than € 9,984 gross (in 2022; the amount is usually adjusted annually), you do not have to pay any taxes. This is the so-called basic tax-free allowance. If you earn more than the basic tax-free allowance per year, between 2% and 42% tax is deducted from your salary and transferred to the tax office. The more you earn, the larger this percentage becomes. If your gross income exceeds € 277,826 gross per year (as of 2022), you will continue to pay 45% tax on each additional euro earned. If you are also a member of the Protestant or Catholic Church, a church tax of between 8% and 9% of your income tax (not your gross wage) is applied, depending on the federal state in which you live. Starting at a gross income of € 96,409 per year (in 2022), a solidarity surcharge of 5.5% of your payable income tax applies.

What will not be taxed?

“Hartz IV” (= "Arbeitslosengeld II") and benefits that you receive as an asylum seeker are not taxed. This also applies to a whole range of other sources of income including, for example, income from a part-time job as an educator or caregiver, as well as from artistic activities and care activities for old or sick people or people with disabilities. These are tax-free up to an income of € 3,000 per year. You can find more information about tax-free activities on Haufe.de.

11. What does the social insurance include?

In Germany, all employees are automatically covered by statutory social insurance through their employer. Social insurance is a statutory compulsory insurance that you cannot waive.

Social insurance includes health, nursing care, pension, unemployment and accident insurance. Thus, if you become ill, old or unemployed, are in need of care or suffer an accident at work, social insurance will support you.

The amount of contributions to each social insurance depends on the amount of your gross income. Apart from accident insurance, whose contributions are paid in full by the employer, the employee always pays half of the contribution payable. Your employer deducts the respective contributions to the social insurance directly from your gross income.

  • Health insurance: The current contribution rate is 14.6% of gross income, of which the employer pays half.
    If you have statutory health insurance, your family (spouse, children) is automatically covered.
    If you are self-employed or your income exceeds a certain level, you can also take out private health insurance instead. However, you do not have to do this.
  • Nursing care insurance: The current contribution rate is 3.05% of gross income, of which the employer pays half.
    In order to be supported by the nursing care insurance, you must submit an application to the health insurance fund with which you are insured. You can also make such an application if you are caring for a relative.
  • Pension insurance: The current contribution rate is 18.6% of gross income, of which the employer pays half.
    You can (but do not have to) retire at the age of 67 at the latest and will then be financially supported by the pension insurance. The prerequisite for this is, however, that you can prove a minimum insurance period of five years. The pension insurance also supports you if you cannot work due to illness or disability, or if you are widowed or an orphan.
    In addition to the statutory pension insurance, you also have the option of making private pension provisions, e.g. through company pension schemes or private pension insurance. You should do this to prevent the risk of old-age poverty.
    The German Pension Insurance provides further information on the possibilities of old-age provision.
  • Unemployment insurance: The current contribution rate is 2.4% of gross income, of which the employer pays half.
  • Accident insurance: If you have an accident at work, accident insurance will pay your wages and the cost of a new vocational training if you can no longer work in your original profession. Widows and orphans also receive a pension if the insured person dies from a work accident.

12. What is a so-called € 450-job? What is a mini-job?

In the case of a mini-job, the employee either earns only a maximum monthly gross salary of currently € 450 (so-called € 450 job, € 450 mini-job or also marginal employment), or works for a maximum of 3 months, or a total of 70 days in the course of a calendar year (so-called short-term mini-job). As of 01.10.2022, the earnings limit will be increased to € 520. Less or even no social insurance contributions are due for the employee having a mini-job. Since the mini-jobber often earns so little that the basic income tax allowance (see question 9) is not exceeded, s/he often does not have to pay any taxes on his/her earned income. Mini-jobbers therefore generally receive the entire gross salary as net salary, i.e. without deductions.

Mini-jobbers are "regular" employees and are entitled to their rights, e.g. a right to paid vacation, the statutory minimum wage, continued payment of salary in the event of illness and to a certificate of employment (see questions 6 and question 16). They enjoy protection against dismissal under the same conditions as other employees (see question 24).

The maximum permissible working time in a € 450-job is based on the hourly wage. For example, someone earning € 9.82 (i.e. the minimum wage applicable from 01.01.2022 to 30.06.2022) may work a maximum of 45.82 hours per month in order not to exceed the € 450 limit (technical term: marginal earnings limit). If someone earns e.g. € 15 per hour, the marginal earnings limit is already reached at 30 working hours per month (€ 450 : € 15/hour = 30 working hours).

The advantage of a mini-job is that the employee receives a lot of net income from the gross salary.

With regard to the social security of the employee, mini-jobs also have disadvantages. First of all, mini-jobbers are not automatically covered by health and nursing care insurance like other employees and should therefore take out other insurance. Furthermore, they pay little or no pension insurance contributions, which means that they can hardly earn an old-age pension:

Mini-jobs should therefore generally only be used during limited periods of time (e.g. during studies) to earn some extra money, but in the long term should not be a substitute for proper social security provision, e.g. through a full-time job subject to social insurance contributions.

Anyone, who wants to take on a mini-job in addition to their main job that is subject to social security contributions, needs the consent of their main employer (see questions 4 and question 5).

If you have only one mini-job, it is not subject to compulsory social security contributions. If you have more than one mini-job, social security contributions may have to be paid. If you do not have a main job that is subject to social insurance, but you have several mini-jobs with different employers, you must keep track of your income: The overall marginal earnings limit of €450 applies to all jobs together.                    

Further information on mini-jobs is provided by the Federal Employment Agency.

13. When and how do I get paid my salary?

In Germany, a salary is paid only after the respective work has been performed, thus usually at the end of the calendar month. There is usually no entitlement to earlier payment.

The salary is transferred to a bank account, which the employee must inform the employer of when starting the job. Payments in cash do not occur but are often an indication of illegal work. The bank account does not necessarily have to be the employee's, but can also belong to the spouse or a friend, for example. Since in Germany remuneration is generally agreed in euros, the bank account should also be in euros. Otherwise, there is a risk that parts of the salary will be "lost" due to changing exchange rates and bank charges.

14. How long are the daily/weekly working hours in Germany? Which rules apply to breaks during working hours?

A full-time position in Germany is between 37 and 40 working hours per week, depending on the employment agreement. However, the employer and the employee may also agree on part-time positions with fewer working hours.

The employer may not require an employee to work more than eight hours per day on average. If an employee is ordered by the employer to work more than eight hours on one day, this additional working time must be compensated by time off on other days. In no case may an employer require an employee to work more than ten hours per day; in the case of a teenage vacation jobber, the maximum is 8 ½ hours per day.

It is possible to work longer hours on a voluntery basis, for example to earn a promotion, if the employer allows it. Whether overtime is paid, however, depends on what the employer and the employee have agreed upon.

Employees must take at least one 30-minute break during working hours if they work more than six hours a day, and at least 45 minutes if they work more than nine hours. Minors are entitled to a 30-minute break, if they work more than 4.5 to 6 hours, and 60 minutes if they work more than 6 hours.

15. Do I have/am I allowed to work on weekends and public holidays?

Sundays and public holidays are generally free time for employees. However, there are exceptions, e.g. for bakers, doctors and nurses, without whom everyday life would not function on Sundays and public holidays, or for employer with an exemption.

In principle, it is allowed to work on Saturdays. However, most people also have Saturdays off.

In case of doubt, it should be discussed with the employer in the job interview when work is normally required.

Self-employed persons, i.e. persons who are not employed by an employer, may also work on weekends and holidays on a voluntary basis.

16. Do I have to/may I continue to work when I am pregnant? Can I be dismissed because of my pregnancy?

If a pregnant woman wants to work, she is generally allowed to do so until the birth. However, she no longer has to do so in the last six weeks before the expected birth. If she chooses to take time off during the six weeks before the birth, which is common practice in Germany, she will continue to receive her full salary from her employer.

Eight weeks after the birth, the employer is not allowed to let the mother work, even if she wants to. However, she continues to receive her full salary from the employer also during this time.

If the pregnant woman's health or that of her unborn child is endangered by her work, she may ask a doctor to release her from the obligation to work at any time during her pregnancy. She will then receive the so-called maternity benefit from the statutory health insurance fund or the Federal Social Office up to a maximum amount of € 13 per calendar day for the period longer than six weeks before the calculated date of birth and her regular salary from the employer for the six weeks before the birth.

In general, the employer may not terminate an employee's employment during pregnancy and the four months thereafter.

17. What happens if I cannot come to work, e.g because I am ill or have to take care of my child?

In principle, an employee is obliged to work during his/her working hours.

However, if an employee is ill and therefore unable to work, s/he does not have to work. In spite of that, s/he should inform his/her employer as soon as possible that s/he cannot come to work. The employer may require that the employee prove the inability to work with a medical certificate, even if the employee only misses one day of work. Many employers do not require such a certificate until the employee misses three days of work or more.

If an employee is ill and therefore unable to work after his/her employment relationship has already existed for at least one month, s/he will continue to receive his/her salary from the employer for six weeks during his/her illness.

If an employee is sick for longer than six weeks, the employer does not have to continue paying the salary. Employees with statutory health insurance (i.e. all employees who do not have private health insurance) then receive what is known as "sick pay" for a maximum of 72 weeks, i.e. payments from the health insurance fund amounting to a maximum of 90% of the last net wage, up to a maximum of € 112.88 per calendar day (as of 2022).

Persons with private health insurance receive payments from their health insurance company only if this is provided for in their insurance contract. The amount depends on the insurance provisions.

If a child, another close relative (e.g. parents) or the spouse falls ill or requires care and the employee therefore has to look after them, they also do not have to work. In this case, too, s/he should inform his/her employer as soon as possible that s/he cannot work. If the employee is absent for a few hours or a few days at the most for these reasons, the employer has to continue to pay him/her his/her salary. It is best to clarify with your employer how long you will not have to work in this case.

18. How does childcare work while I have to work?

In Germany, employees are not allowed to bring their children to work.

Some employers have their own company kindergartens. Otherwise, employees must arrange childcare themselves, either at a daycare center/kindergarten or through relatives, friends or neighbours, for example.

If you have children of school age (from six years old), they at least go to school in the morning. Some schools offer after-school care.

If you work from home and have flexible working hours, you may be able to take care of childcare yourself. However, you must then adhere to your contractually stipulated working hours and make up the time you spent looking after your children, for example, in the evening.

If you work from home and your working hours are defined explicitly, you may not look after children during this time.

19. May I work from home or perform mobile work?

In general, the employer may determine from where an employee must perform his/her work. Many employers have recognized the advantages of mobile work as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and voluntarily allow their employees to work from home at least some of the time. However, to date, there is no legal right to work from home/mobile work.

If an employee wants to be sure that s/he is allowed to work from home, this should be agreed upon in the employment contract.

20. Do I get vacation time? If so, how much? Will I receive a salary during the vacation?

Yes, every employee in Germany has a legal right to at least 20 vacation days per year, if s/he works five days per week throughout the year. Minors are even entitled to 25 to 30 vacation days per year, depending on their age. If the employee works less than five days per week, the vacation is reduced accordingly. If an employee works only one/two/three/four day(s) per week, s/he is entitled to at least 4/8/12/16 vacation days per year.

This also applies if you work part-time or if you work less than eight hours per day.

The employer must approve the vacation in advance. You are therefore not allowed to take leave yourself. In principle, the employer must fulfill the employee's vacation request if there are no operational reasons against it, e.g. because a project cannot be completed by the other employees alone despite far-sighted planning.

If the employee is not employed by the employer for the entire vacation year, the employee shall receive 1/12 of the statutory vacation for each full month of employment. As soon as an employee is employed for more than six months of a year, s/he is entitled to the full statutory vacation. If s/he is employed for less than six months, s/he receives the statutory vacation only on a pro rata basis.

Many employers agree with their employees to more vacation days than the statutory minimum. For a full-time position, 25 to 30 vacation days per year are common, depending on the industry.

The employee receives the same pay for the vacation time as if s/he had worked.

If an employee becomes ill during his/her vacation and can prove this with a doctor's certificate, s/he is allowed to make up the vacation time spent ill at a later date.

21. My work is dangerous, does the employer have to protect me from danger?

In general, the employer is obliged to protect the employee from hazards at the workplace and in the company. This is to ensure comprehensive health protection and occupational safety for the employee. Thus, if the employee performs hazardous work, the employer must provide the employee with appropriate protective equipment.

22. I need certain equipment for work, e.g. a bicycle or a smartphone. Does the employer provide these?

In principle, the employer must provide the employee with everything s/he needs for his/her work, e.g. a computer for office work or protective clothing on a construction site. However, the employee and the employer may agree that the employee provides certain items himself/herself. In this case, however, the employer must pay the employee an appropriate compensation for this.

If the employee voluntarily agrees to provide certain items himself/herself, e.g. his/her private smartphone, because s/he does not want to safely carry around an additional smartphone from work, this is possible with the employer's consent.

23. How can I terminate my employment?

An employment relationship for an indefinite period, i.e. not only for a specific duration, can always be terminated by the employee. Termination without notice, i.e. immediate termination by the employee, is only possible for important reasons, e.g. if the employer seriously insults the employee. Otherwise, the notice period stipulated in the employment contract must be observed.

Often a so-called probationary period is agreed upon which may be up to six months long. During this probationary period, shorter notice periods may apply, but at least two weeks.

If the probationary period has expired or if no probationary period has been agreed, usually longer notice periods apply. These are often specified in the employment contract and are usually extended the longer you are employed by the employer. If there are no provisions in the employment contract or applicable collective agreements, the statutory notice periods from Section 622 of the German Civil Code (BGB) apply. In case of doubt, you should ask your employer or the human resources department how long the notice period is, or, if necessary, a lawyer.

A fixed-term employment relationship can also always be terminated if there is an important reason, e.g. a serious insult by the employer. If there is no such reason, the employee can only terminate the employment if this is expressly permitted in the employment contract. Attention should be paid to this when concluding a fixed-term employment contract.

Notice periods are always minimum periods. This means that if, for example, an employee only wants to work until the end of June and a notice period of three months to the end of the month has been agreed, the notice must reach the employer no later than March 31.

It is possible to mutually agree the termination of the employment relationship with the employer at any time.

Termination of an employment must always be in writing. This means that any notice of termination must be put on paper (handwritten or printed) and signed with a pen. The same applies in the case of a mutually agreed contract between the employee and the employer on the termination of the employment relationship. Otherwise, the employment relationship is not terminated. Verbal termination or termination by SMS, e-mail, fax, WhatsApp message etc. is not possible.

There are no special requirements for writing a termination notice. Your letter of termination must only state that you do not wish to continue working for the employer. To avoid any misunderstanding, it should be explicitly mentioned that and also when the employment relationship is to end. You do not have to give a reason for the termination.

24. Can my employer terminate my employment contract?

If the employee's employment relationship has been entered into for an indefinite period, i.e. not only for a specific period of time, termination is in principle always possible. However, different requirements apply for a termination by the employer. They depend on the size of the company, how long the employee has been employed there and the reasons for the employer to terminate the employment.

If there are ten or fewer employees in the company, the employer can generally terminate the employee very easily. He then does not need any special reasons for the termination. For example, poor work performance from the employer's point of view is sufficient.

The employee also has little protection against termination by the employer if s/he has not been employed in the company for more than six months. Even then, the employer may terminate the employee without special reasons, e.g. for poor performance.

In any case, the reason for the termination must not be arbitrary or discriminatory. Thus, the employer is prohibited from terminating the employee because of nationality, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.

Immediate termination is only possible in Germany for particularly serious reasons, e.g. theft of work items by the employee. In general, the employer must observe a minimum notice period. How long this period is depends on the employment contract.

Often there is a probationary period which may be up to six months long is agreed in the employment contract. During this probationary period, often short notice periods apply. However, the notice period is at least two weeks long. If the probationary period has expired or if no probationary period was agreed, longer periods apply. These are usually stated in the employment contract. Often, the notice period is extended the longer you are employed by the employer. If nothing is regulated in the employment contract or in a collective agreement, the statutory notice periods from Section 622 of the German Civil Code apply.

If the company has more than ten employees and the employee has been employed by the employer for more than six months, termination by the employer is only possible under specific circumstances. There must then be a behavior or a special characteristic of the employee or a special operational reason that justifies the termination. These include, for example, regular tardiness, refusal to work, long illnesses of the employee or the closure of the department in which the employee works. Even then, however, the employer must observe the notice period agreed in the employment contract, if the reason for termination does not constitute an important reason that entitles the employer to immediate termination.

If the employee's employment relationship is concluded for a fixed term, e.g. for two years, termination is only possible if this is expressly agreed in the employment contract or if there is a particularly serious reason for the termination, e.g. sexual harassment by the employee or theft. Even then, however, as described above, the employee has higher protection against dismissal if s/he works in a company with more than ten employees and has been with the company for more than six months.

Certain groups of employees, e.g. pregnant women and severely disabled persons, benefit from special protection against dismissals.

If you consider the termination by the employer to be unjustified, you should quickly seek legal assistance. This is because you have to take legal action against the termination within three weeks after receiving it, otherwise the termination will be effective.

25. Where can I turn if I have problems in my job, e.g with my boss or colleagues?

If the problems do not concern the supervisor himself/herself, the supervisor should be the first person to go to. It is also possible to contact the human resources department, for example. In larger companies, the works council is a good place to start. The works council consists of employees from the company and represents the interests of the employees.

If you are confronted with discrimination, racism or sexual harassment in the workplace, you can contact the Anti-Discrimination Agency of the Federal Republic of Germany.

26. Can I also work self-employed and what insurance do I have to take out?

You also have the possibility to work self-employed. You are self-employed if you are not integrated into an external working company of an employer and can freely choose your working hours. This is usually the case if you work on a freelance basis or as an independent trader. You are a freelancer if you work, for example, as an architect, doctor, lawyer or in a similar profession. You are a tradesman/tradeswoman if you are engaged in a self-employed, permanent activity, that serves your livelihood and is intended to generate a profit and that is not a freelancer profession.

The following applies to the social security obligations of self-employed persons in Germany:

  • As a self-employed person, you can choose whether to take out statutory or private health and nursing insurance. If you take out private insurance, each individual family member who is not self-insured, must also take out private insurance and pay health and nursing insurance contributions.
  • If you are self-employed and not a freelancer, you may be able to exempt yourself from pension, unemployment and accident insurance, depending on the profession you perform.
  • When you start working as a freelancer, you have the possibility to pay only 50% of the social security contributions in the first three years of freelancing. Moreover, as a foreigner working as a freelancer, if you leave Germany within 60 months after starting your freelance work, you can claim back pension insurance contributions that you have paid in Germany up to that point.
  • You can find more information on the question of whether and how much social insurance contributions you have to pay as a self-employed person at the German Pension Insurance.

Also note that as a self-employed tradesperson you must register your business at the beginning of your business activity. You can find more information on business registration as a self-employed person at Gewerbeanmeldung.de.

When am I considered self-employed from a tax law perspective?

If you are obliged to pay taxes on your income in Germany (see question 7), you must also pay taxes in Germany on income from self-employed work (e.g. as a doctor, nurse or lawyer) or commercial activities (e.g. as a craftsman or construction manager). You are a freelancer if you can freely determine the place, time and content of your work and are not subject to the instructions of a superior. In addition, the activity must belong to a freelance profession, which usually requires a university degree and must have either a scientific, artistic or teaching character. If the latter is not the case, the activity is probably commercial.

27. Do I have to file a tax declaration as a self-employed person?

Even if you are self-employed or have a business, you must submit a tax declaration for the previous year by July 31 of each year (see question 8) above). The only exception to this rule is if you are self-employed or work as a businessperson in addition to being employed (see question 8) above). In this case, if you do not earn more than € 410 (as of 2022) per year with your self-employed or commercial activity, you are exempt from the obligation to file a tax declaration.

Depending on the type and scope of your activity, you must also submit monthly or quarterly advance value added tax (VAT) declarations to the tax office responsible for you and, at the end of the year, prepare an accounting statement in the form of a balance sheet or an income statement. For this purpose, you are obliged to trace and keep certain records.

Since the violation of the record-keeping and tax obligations can be severely punished, you should get help from a tax advisor.

Here you can find more information about registering a self-employed activity or a commercial activity.

 

How much tax do I have to pay?

The amount of income tax you have to pay depends on your sales or profit: The more you earn, the higher the tax rate. The lower limit is at 14%, the top tax rate is 42%. From a gross income of more than € 277,826 per year (as of 2022), you pay 45% tax on every additional euro earned.

* No guarantee can be given for the correctness and completeness of the information published in the FAQ. The published FAQs contain general information that cannot reflect every individual case.