What you need to know for employing in Germany

Employee Contributions Retirement Pension Insurance (Rentenversicherung, abbreviated as RV)

9.3% of the employee's pensionable salary Effective for 2024, the standard pension insurance contribution ceiling in states of former West Germany is €7,550 per month or €90,600 per year and the standard pension insurance contribution ceiling in states of former East Germany is €7,450 per month or €89,400 per year.

Employees who are working in mini-jobs are subject to a different contribution rate from the standard. Health Insurance (Krankenversicherung, abbreviated as KV):

7.3% of the employee's salary

Effective for 2024, the health insurance contribution ceiling is €5,175 per month or €62,100 per year. Long-Term Care Insurance (Pflegeversicherung, abbreviated as PV)

1.7%

Employees who do not have children and are more than 23 years of age and born after 1939 are assessed a supplemental long-term care insurance rate of 0.6%

Effective for 2024, the long-term care insurance contribution ceiling is €5,175 per month or €62,100 per year. Unemployment Insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung, abbreviated as AV)

1.3%

Effective for 2024, the unemployment insurance contribution ceiling in states of former West Germany is €7,550 per month or €90,600 per year and the unemployment insurance contribution ceiling in states of former East Germany is €7,450 per month or €89,400 per year.

Maximum working hours are 48 hrs a week in line with the EU Working Hours Directive. This can’t be waived or extended permanently and set out in the employment contract but can be extended if the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for this. This would be agreed in a side letter on a case by case basis.

The law provides up to 6 weeks of sick leave and sick pay per illness. There is no overall maximum.

Employees must notify their employer immediately if they are sick. If they are off work for more than 3 days, they need to provide a medical certificate.

Maternity leave is a minimum of 6 weeks before and at least 8 weeks after birth on full pay. In addition there is parental leave of up to 24 months (taken by one parent) or 28 weeks (if the parents split it). There is no separate paternity leave.

In Germany the minimum annual leave is 20 working days (i.e. 4 weeks) excluding public holidays, for office workers.

There is no severance entitlement in Germany unless a court decides that a termination was not justified and holds that continued employment (reinstatement) is not reasonable.

Severance is usually offered to reach mutual terminations to avoid long court proceedings.

Employees can be terminated without cause during the first 6 months. After that a cause is required and must be "socially justified". This is extremely hard to prove so mutual settlement agreements are common.