Labor Law

Employment Contract
No later than one month after the start of the employment relationship, employers must set forth the essential terms of the contract in writing, sign them, and provide them to the employees.
The employment contract must include:
- The names and addresses of both parties to the contract
- Start date and duration of the employment relationship
- For fixed-term employment: the duration of the employment relationship
- Nature of the work and a brief description of the duties
- Place of work or, if applicable, a statement that the employee may be assigned to work at multiple locations
- Amount and composition of compensation (usually gross salary), including bonuses, allowances, premiums, and special payments, as well as other components of compensation and their due dates
- Agreed working hours
- The duration of annual leave
- Notice periods for termination of the employment relationship
- Reference to collective bargaining agreements, company agreements, or service agreements applicable to the employment relationship.

An employment relationship may be permanent or fixed-term. A fixed-term employment contract does not end upon notice of termination, but “automatically” upon the expiration of the period for which it was entered into. This form of fixed-term employment is called “fixed-term by duration” because the contract ends on a specific date or at a specific time.
A fixed-term employment contract without an objective reason is permitted for up to two years. Up to this total duration of two years, a fixed-term employment contract may also be extended a maximum of three times.
A fixed-term contract is not permitted if a fixed-term or permanent employment relationship with the same employee has already existed previously.
Fixed-term employment contracts must always be agreed upon in writing. If an agreement on the fixed term is not made in writing (or in electronic form or notarized), it is not the entire employment contract that is invalid, but only the fixed term. The employment contract itself remains valid, specifically as an indefinite-term contract.

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Salary amounts are either specified in collective bargaining agreements or negotiated with employers. This also applies to special payments (e.g., a 13th month’s salary). 
The deadline for paying the salary is generally specified in the employment contract or the applicable collective bargaining agreement. If not, the salary is generally due on the first day of the following month, as required by law.
When salaries are paid on a regular basis, the employer must provide employees with a written statement detailing the amount of wages earned and any deductions made.
In Germany, there are mandatory minimum wages that employers must not fall below.
Currently, the statutory minimum wage is 13.90 euros per hour. As of January 1, 2027, it will increase to 14.60 euros. Exempt from the minimum wage are minors under the age of 18, some interns, apprentices, and long-term unemployed individuals registered in Germany.
In certain industries, specific collective bargaining minimum wages apply that are higher than the statutory minimum wage, such as in nursing care, building cleaning, or the construction industry.
Collective bargaining agreements that set wages below the statutory minimum wage are not permitted.

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The statutory vacation entitlement is at least 24 working days per year for a 6-day workweek and 20 days for a 5-day workweek. The vacation entitlement specified in collective bargaining agreements is generally significantly higher. Full vacation entitlement is first acquired after six months of employment.
Vacation must be requested from the employer, who may approve or deny the request. As a general rule, annual vacation must be taken during the current calendar year. In certain cases, it may be carried over to the first three months of the following year. A request to the employer is often required for such a carryover.
Vacation pay is calculated based on the average earnings from the last 13 weeks prior to the start of the vacation. The pay must be paid out before the vacation begins.

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All employees at a company in Germany are automatically covered by statutory accident insurance. This coverage applies to full-time and part-time employees, those in marginal employment, those in “minijob” positions, and interns. This applies regardless of income level, age, nationality, or place of residence. Even if an employee resides abroad, this does not affect coverage. Insurance coverage begins on the first day of employment.
The employer is required to insure employees with the employers’ liability insurance association and pays the premiums for this coverage. For temporary workers, the temporary staffing agency—not the client company—is responsible for registering them with the employers’ liability insurance association.
The insurance covers work-related accidents, commuting accidents, and occupational diseases.

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The working day may not exceed 8 hours, and the workweek may not exceed 48 hours. It may be extended to 10 hours if, on average over a period of 24 weeks or 6 months, the daily working time does not exceed 8 hours.
Collective bargaining agreements may specify different working hours depending on the industry.
For a workday of 6 to 9 hours, employees are entitled to a 30-minute break per day. If the workday exceeds 9 hours, the break is 45 minutes per day. Breaks may be divided into periods of at least 15 minutes each. Breaks are not counted as working time. Employees may not work for more than 6 consecutive hours without a rest break.
Overtime must be authorized and paid by employers. In some industries and under certain collective bargaining agreements, overtime premiums apply.

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The probationary period lasts no longer than 6 months after the start of the employment relationship. During the probationary period, a statutory notice period of 2 weeks applies. Trainees have a probationary period of at least one month and no more than four months, during which training contracts may be terminated without notice.
Working on a trial basis before signing an employment contract is called a trial period. It is common and permitted, but may not last longer than one week, and only minor tasks related to the future job may be performed.

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In the event of an inability to work, full pay is provided for 6 weeks. If the inability to work continues beyond that, the health insurance provider will pay sick pay starting after the 6th week, which amounts to 70 percent of gross earnings and no more than 90 percent of net earnings.
The employer must be notified of the inability to work immediately. If the inability to work lasts more than three calendar days, a doctor’s note must be submitted no later than the following day. However, the employer is entitled to request that the doctor’s note be submitted earlier.
Medical practices report sick leave digitally directly to the health insurance companies. Employers retrieve the sick leave report electronically from the health insurance companies.
Cross-border workers may also consult doctors in their country of residence. The sick note is accepted in the language of the country of residence; however, the doctor must include the diagnosis code. The certificate of incapacity for work must still be provided in paper form and in two copies: one for the employer and a second copy to be submitted to the health insurance provider within one week. If no certificate is submitted to the health insurance provider, the employee risks losing their entitlement to sick pay if the period of incapacity for work exceeds 6 weeks.

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A notice of termination must be in writing to be valid. This applies to both employers and employees. For the notice to take effect, the sole criterion is receipt of the notice at the address provided to the employer.
There are two types of termination: termination with notice (ordinary termination) and termination without notice (extraordinary termination).
In the case of termination with notice, both the employee and the employer must observe the applicable notice periods. The following notice periods apply under the law:
    During the probationary period – 2 weeks
    After the probationary period – 4 weeks, effective on the 15th or at the end of the calendar month
    After 2 years – 1 month to the end of a calendar month
    After 5 years – 2 months, effective at the end of a calendar month
    After 8 years – 3 months, effective at the end of a calendar month
    After 10 years – 4 months at the end of a calendar month
    After 12 years – 5 months at the end of a calendar month
    After 15 years and 6 months, as of the end of a calendar month
    After 20 years and 7 months, as of the end of a calendar month
The notice period begins only upon receipt of the notice of termination, not from the date it was issued or sent!
Termination without notice (extraordinary termination) may occur for good cause. Good cause exists when there are facts that make it unreasonable for the terminating party to continue the employment relationship (for employees—failure to pay wages, violations of occupational safety regulations, etc.; for employers—feigning an inability to work, refusal to work, disruption of workplace order, etc.).
The grounds for termination must be disclosed upon request. Extraordinary termination can only be issued within a two-week deadline and must be received within this period. Extraordinary termination must generally be preceded by a written warning in the event of a conduct violation.
You can contest an extraordinary termination. The deadline for filing a claim for protection against wrongful termination with the competent labor court is 3 weeks and begins to run upon service of the termination notice. After this deadline, the termination takes effect, regardless of whether its substance is correct or incorrect.

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