Working in Germany
Finding work, what your contract means, and the rights that come with it.
German employment law sets statutory floors for notice, paid holiday and continued pay during sickness when the conditions are met. Contracts, collective agreements and the individual situation can add detail or better terms.
If your profession is regulated — healthcare, teaching, law and others — recognition of your qualification decides whether you can work at all, and it is worth starting before you move.
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Checked against the relevant official sources, with the date each figure was last verified.
Your German employment contract
What an Arbeitsvertrag must contain, which clauses matter most, and which common terms are unenforceable however confidently they are written. A German contract is usually shorter than its equivalent elsewhere, because statute fills the gaps.
10 min read · updated August 2026
Probezeit: the probation period
During Probezeit either side can end the employment on two weeks’ notice, without giving a reason. It is the most precarious phase of a German job, and it is also shorter and more bounded than people assume.
7 min read · updated August 2026
Working hours and rest periods
The Arbeitszeitgesetz sets daily maximums, mandatory breaks and a minimum rest between shifts. These are public-safety rules rather than contract terms, so neither you nor your employer can agree them away.
9 min read · updated August 2026
Overtime (Überstunden)
Whether overtime must be paid, whether a contract can absorb it into your salary, and what you need in order to be able to claim it. The evidence question decides most overtime disputes.
8 min read · updated August 2026
Holiday entitlement (Urlaub)
The statutory minimum is a floor almost no German employer stops at. What matters in practice is how entitlement is calculated for part-timers and mid-year starters, and the rules on carrying days into the next year.
9 min read · updated August 2026
Sick leave and sick pay
Germany treats sickness generously by international standards: six weeks on full pay from your employer, then a health insurance payment. The obligations on you are procedural and strict, and that is where problems arise.
9 min read · updated August 2026
How pay works in a German job
Reading a German payslip, understanding why the gap between Brutto and Netto is so large, and knowing what is negotiable. This is the employment side of pay; the tax detail is on our salary and tax pages.
10 min read · updated August 2026
Self-employment in Germany
The practical distinction between Freiberufler and Gewerbe, immigration permission, insurance, pension and false self-employment.
16 min read · updated August 2026
Freiberufler vs Gewerbe in Germany
How German tax classification differs from the everyday word freelancer, with registration and tax consequences.
12 min read · updated August 2026
How to start a business in Germany
A newcomer-friendly sequence from residence permission and classification through registration, tax, insurance, bookkeeping and compliant operations.
17 min read · updated August 2026
Business registration in Germany
The Gewerbeanmeldung route, Freiberufler distinction, chambers, permits and the handoff from municipal registration to tax setup.
13 min read · updated August 2026
Business structures in Germany
A plain-English comparison of Einzelunternehmen, GbR/eGbR, UG and GmbH—liability, capital, founders and formality.
14 min read · updated August 2026
Taxes for self-employed people in Germany
Income tax, VAT, the current Kleinunternehmer rules, trade tax, corporation tax, bookkeeping and 2026 e-invoicing transitions.
18 min read · updated August 2026
Business Tax Numbers in Germany: Steuer-ID, Steuernummer and VAT ID
Which German tax number a founder needs, how ELSTER and the Finanzamt issue it, and what belongs on an invoice.
14 min read · updated August 2026
Finding a job in Germany
Where German jobs are actually advertised, how much German you need for which sectors, and how qualification recognition can decide whether you are employable in your own profession at all.
10 min read · updated August 2026
German CVs and applications
A German application is a document set, not a CV and a story. It is shorter, more factual and more heavily evidenced than its English-language equivalent, and the conventions genuinely differ.
8 min read · updated August 2026
Dismissal and ending employment
German dismissal protection is strong, but it is protected by a deadline that is unforgiving: three weeks from receiving a dismissal to file at the labour court. Miss it and even a plainly unlawful dismissal usually stands.
11 min read · updated August 2026
Notice periods (Kündigungsfrist)
Statutory notice lengthens with your service, but only for the employer. Your own notice stays at four weeks unless the contract says otherwise, and that asymmetry is deliberate.
7 min read · updated August 2026
Arbeitszeugnis: your German reference
German employees are legally entitled to a written reference, and it must be benevolently worded. That requirement produced a coded vocabulary in which apparently positive phrases carry precise negative meanings.
8 min read · updated August 2026
Working as a student in Germany
Students get a favourable social insurance position and, if they are not EU citizens, a hard limit on how much they may work. Exceeding it is a residence permit breach rather than an administrative slip.
8 min read · updated August 2026
Minijobs and marginal employment
A Minijob is employment below a monthly earnings ceiling, almost free of deductions for the employee. The ceiling is tied to the minimum wage and moves with it, and a Minijob is still real employment with real rights.
8 min read · updated August 2026
Calculators for this topic
Processing time for qualification recognition depends on the profession, authority and whether the file is complete. If your profession is regulated, check the responsible body early.
Open the checklistOfficial resources
The authorities and portals that decide or publish the rules in this area.
Working in Germany
Federal Employment Agency
Official guidance on employment, jobseeking and the services the employment agency provides.
Visit official websiteWorking in Germany, opens in a new tabJob search
Federal Employment Agency
The largest official job database in Germany, free to search.
Visit official websiteJob search, opens in a new tabMake it in Germany
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
The federal government portal for skilled workers, students and trainees coming to Germany.
Visit official websiteMake it in Germany, opens in a new tabRecognition in Germany
Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB)
The official portal for having a foreign professional qualification recognised, including which body decides your profession.
Visit official websiteRecognition in Germany, opens in a new tabFederal business start-up portal
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
Official planning, registration, legal-form, finance and administration guidance for founders.
Visit official websiteFederal business start-up portal, opens in a new tabTax registration for founders
Federal business start-up portal
Official overview of the Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung and founder tax obligations.
Visit official websiteTax registration for founders, opens in a new tabFrequently asked questions
The Federal Employment Agency runs the largest official job database and it is free to search. Make it in Germany covers the routes for skilled workers arriving from abroad.
The statutory floor is 24 working days on a six-day week, which is 20 days on a five-day week. Contracts commonly grant more and can never grant less.
Only for regulated professions, where it decides whether you may practise. In other fields you can apply directly, though an assessment helps employers understand your qualification.