Mini-jobs in Germany

Are you looking for a mini-job in Germany and wondering what to look out for? In our guide, you can find out everything about mini-jobs, your rights and obligations and what else you need to look out for in a side job on a mini-job basis.

What is a mini-job in Germany?

A minijob in Germany is intended to be temporary and for a limited number of hours per month. It’s a great way to work alongside school, studies or a part-time job. Since the cost of living is getting higher and higher, many full-time employees are now also looking for a part-time job. A mini-job is also suitable for you without any special training, as a career changer in the field of part-time jobs or with little to no knowledge of German.

The big advantage of a mini-job in Germany is that you keep almost all of your mini-job salary at the end of the month. Employers decide how their employees’ mini-jobs are taxed. Normally, a part-time job is taxed at a flat rate of 2% (including solidarity surcharge and church tax), which is only a few euros per month. However, it is possible that your employer refuses the flat-rate taxation. In this case, your wages are taxed individually according to your income tax bracket. Most employees use the 2% lump-sum taxation or choose the taxation according to your wishes.

Popular mini-jobs in Germany:

• Babysitting (Kinderbetreuung)
• Temporary employee in retail (Verkauf im Einzelhandel)
• House cleaning (Hausreinigung)
• Stockroom assistant (Lagerhelfer)
• Delivery (Lieferung)
• Catering
• Tutoring (Nachhilfe)
• Writing
• Social media creator

Difference between a mini-job and a minor employment

There is no difference between a mini-job and marginal employment (“geringfügige Beschäftigung”), they are simply two different terms for a job that is performed on a marginal basis (duration of employment or monthly earnings). A mini-job is marginal according to the law § 8 SGB IV, which regulates all details of the mini-job or marginal employment.

Difference between mini-job and midi-job

With a mini-job, you were allowed to earn a maximum of 450 euros per month for a long time, i.e. 5,400 euros per year. This has changed as of October 2022. From then on, employees will be allowed to earn up to 520 euros per month. In future, the marginal earnings threshold will be based on a weekly working time of ten hours at minimum wage conditions. This means: If the statutory minimum wage increases, the marginal earnings threshold of a mini-job will also increase.

One speaks of a midi-job when an employee earns more than in a mini-job, but is still within a “transitional salary range” to employment subject to compulsory insurance. This is the case in most part-time jobs up to about 20 hours per week. The midijob therefore begins where the minijob ends. Compared to a mini-job, where you are usually exempt from compulsory pension insurance, with a midi-job you pay into the pension insurance and thus provide for your old age.

Disadvantages of a mini-job

With a mini-job, your monthly salary is limited and is usually not enough to pay for your living expenses from your own resources. You cannot make ends meet with a part-time job on a mini-job basis alone. In addition, you often do not pay into the pension insurance. For an employee who works full-time or part-time in addition to a part-time job, this is not a big deal. You provide for your pension through your full-time job. However, if you only have a mini-job, you have to take care of your pension privately. If you are not insured through another employer or through family insurance (for pupils and students), you must also take care of your health insurance yourself. Mini-jobbers are exempt from health, long-term care and unemployment insurance.

Pension entitlement

No pension entitlement worth mentioning arises from a mini-job. A mini-job increases your pension entitlement by only a few euros per year, with a monthly contribution of about 20 euros. You can be exempted from compulsory pension insurance for a mini-job. This is easily done with a sample letter that your employer usually sends you along with your employment contract. If you do not receive a sample letter, you can find an example below.

Exemption from compulsory pension insurance for mini-jobs

Workers who have a marginally remunerated job (“mini-job”) are in principle subject to compulsory insurance and full contributions to the statutory pension insurance. The share of the pension insurance contribution to be borne by the employee amounts in principle to 13.6 per cent of the remuneration. This results in a difference between the employer’s flat-rate contribution (5 per cent) and the full pension insurance contribution of 18.6 per cent.

The employee has the option of being exempted from compulsory pension insurance. The notification of exemption from pension insurance can be signed together with the employment contract with the employer. The employer submits the application.

Example in German language

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Hiermit beantrage ich die Befreiung von der Versicherungspflicht in der Rentenversicherung im Rahmen meiner geringfügig entlohnten Beschäftigung (»Minijob«) und verzichte damit bewusst auf den Erwerb von Pflichtbeitragsgrenzen. Ich habe die Hinweise auf dem „Merkblatt über die möglichen Folgen einer Befreiung von der Rentenversicherungspflicht“ zur Kenntnis genommen.

Mir ist bekannt, dass der Befreiungsantrag für alle von mir zeitgleich ausgeübten geringfügig entlohnten Beschäftigungen gilt und für die Dauer der Beschäftigungen bindend ist; eine Rücknahme ist nicht möglich. Ich verpflichte mich, alle weiteren Arbeitgeber, bei denen ich eine geringfügig entlohnte Beschäftigung ausübe, über diesen Befreiungsantrag zu informieren.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

[First and last name]

[Date, Place, Signature]

Health and long-term care insurance

If you have a mini-job, also called a temporary job, you are not automatically covered by health and long-term care insurance through your employer. If you are not in part-time or full-time employment alongside your part-time job, or if you are insured as a student, pupil or trainee via the family insurance scheme, you must take care of your insurance cover yourself. Otherwise, you are not covered in case of illness and have to pay all contributions yourself.

Labour law for a mini-job

You are entitled to the same protection under labour law for a part-time job as for all other forms of employment. You have the same protection against dismissal, the right to continued payment of wages in case of illness or illness of a child, as well as the minimum leave stipulated in the employment contract. The minimum wage applies to mini-jobbers, and you should not and do not have to work below it. Upon request, employers must provide you with a reference and certify your activities.

Employment contract

You will get an employment contract for a part-time job just like in any other form of employment. Sometimes, a mini-job also comes with a short form of employment contract, a so-called written proof of the essential working conditions, in which the most important agreements and obligations are laid down. This contract regulates when you start work, your holiday days and all other formalities, such as notice periods, conduct and behaviour in case of illness.

If your future employer does not want to give you written proof or an employment contract, you should become sceptical, insist on a written agreement and otherwise not take up the job. Only with a valid employment contract or agreement are you covered in case your salary is not paid on time or there are other problems.

Holiday entitlement

The holiday entitlement for a mini-job varies depending on the area in which you work as a mini-jobber. The minimum holiday entitlement for a five-day week with working hours from Monday to Friday is 20 working days, for a six-day week, where you also work at weekends, 24 working days. This corresponds to at least 4 weeks.

As a rule, however, you have at least 5 or even 6 weeks of holiday per year. After the age of 40 at the latest, you are legally entitled to a full 6 weeks of annual leave. If you have a five-day week, you have 30 days of holiday, calculated with 6 working days (e.g. in retail trade) this is 36 days of holiday.

Cancellation period

Even if you have a mini-job, you must adhere to the notice period agreed in the employment contract. This is often 14 days or one month in the case of marginal employment. If you do not comply with the notice period, you may be subject to penalties (usually monetary payments for the loss of work), which are specified in the employment contract or in the written agreement.

How many mini-jobs are you allowed to have?

In principle, you may have several mini-jobs at the same time without any other employment relationship, provided that you do not earn more than the maximum amount allowed for a mini-job per month in all of them. If you exceed this amount, all jobs become fully liable to insurance – and are therefore no longer mini-jobs. As soon as you have a full-time or part-time job, i.e. a main job, you may have a maximum of one additional mini-job.