Your Employee Rights in Germany

Permanent vs. fixed-term

An unbefristeter Vertrag is permanent. A befristeter Vertrag is fixed-term — allowed for up to 2 years without a specific reason. A permanent contract is stronger for visa extensions and PR.

Probation period (Probezeit)

Usually up to 6 months. During it, either side can end the contract with a short notice of just 2 weeks. Your full rights (like dismissal protection) mostly start after it.

Written key terms

Employers must give you the essential working conditions in writing (Nachweisgesetz) — role, pay, hours, holiday, notice. Keep this document.

Salary — gross vs. net

Contracts state your gross (Brutto) salary. Your take-home (Netto) is lower after tax and social contributions. Estimate it with our salary calculator.

Notice period in the contract

Check the Kündigungsfrist. It often becomes longer with years of service and must be equal for both sides (an employer cannot give itself a shorter notice than you).

Maximum hours

Normal limit is 8 hours a day (48/week). It can rise to 10 hours a day only if the average stays at 8 over six months. Sundays and public holidays are generally work-free.

Rest breaks

At least 30 minutes break for a 6–9 hour day, 45 minutes beyond 9 hours, and at least 11 hours of rest between two working days.

Overtime (Überstunden)

Only owed if your contract or a collective agreement provides for it. It is often compensated with time off in lieu rather than extra pay. Blanket "overtime included" clauses have limits.

Minimum wage (Mindestlohn)

A statutory hourly minimum applies to nearly all jobs and rises periodically. Some sectors have higher collectively-agreed minimums.

Payslip (Lohnabrechnung)

You must receive a monthly payslip showing gross pay, deductions (tax, health, pension, unemployment, care insurance) and net pay.

Public holidays

You get paid public holidays on top of your annual leave. The number varies by federal state (Bavaria has the most).

Sick pay — first 6 weeks

After 4 weeks in the job, if you fall ill your employer keeps paying your FULL salary for up to 6 weeks per illness (Entgeltfortzahlung). You do not use up holiday to be sick.

Sick pay — after 6 weeks

From week 7, your statutory health insurer pays Krankengeld (around 70% of gross, capped) for the same illness for up to 78 weeks.

The sick note (AU)

You must report sick immediately. A doctor's certificate (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) is usually required from day 3 — or earlier if your contract says so. It is now mostly sent electronically.

Sick during holiday

If you fall ill on booked holiday and have a sick note, those days are credited back as sick days, not lost holiday.

Maternity protection (Mutterschutz)

Expecting mothers are protected from 6 weeks before to at least 8 weeks after birth, with pay, and cannot normally be dismissed during pregnancy and for months after.

Parental leave (Elternzeit)

Each parent can take up to 3 years of job-protected leave per child. Your job is held for you and you cannot be dismissed during it (with rare exceptions).

Parental allowance (Elterngeld)

Income replacement (roughly 65% of prior net, within limits) while you take time off — available to both parents. Estimate it with our tool.

Child benefit (Kindergeld)

A monthly payment per child regardless of income, available to most residents legally working in Germany.

Time off for a sick child

Parents get paid days off (Kinderkrankentage) via health insurance to care for a sick child under 12.

It must be in writing

A dismissal (Kündigung) is only valid on paper with a signature. An email, WhatsApp or verbal "you're fired" is legally void.

Notice periods

The statutory minimum notice from the employer grows with your tenure (from 4 weeks up to 7 months for long service). During probation it is just 2 weeks either way.

If you want to quit

You give notice in writing respecting your contractual Kündigungsfrist (commonly 4 weeks to the 15th or end of a month, or longer). You cannot usually just leave overnight.

Challenge an unfair dismissal fast

You have only 3 WEEKS from receiving a written dismissal to file a claim (Kündigungsschutzklage) at the labour court. Miss it and the dismissal generally stands. Act immediately.

Severance (Abfindung)

There is no automatic right to severance, but it is very commonly negotiated when an employer wants to avoid a court case over a weak dismissal.

Reference letter (Arbeitszeugnis)

You are entitled to a written job reference. It must be truthful but benevolently worded — beware coded phrases. See our CV & references guidance.