Work rights in Germany

A contract (Arbeitsvertrag) should state your role, salary, working hours, holiday, notice period, and whether it is fixed-term or permanent. Read the probation and notice terms carefully.

If your residence permit is tied to this job, changes to the contract can matter for your status, so keep a copy and understand what you signed.

Probation is usually up to six months, with a shorter notice period, often two weeks, on both sides.

An employer cannot simply extend probation by saying so after it ends. The terms are set in your contract and the law, so if you are told your probation was extended verbally, ask for the basis in writing.

A termination (Kündigung) must be in the strict written form to be valid: a paper letter signed by hand (§ 623 BGB). An email, a text message, a WhatsApp, or a scan does not count, so a termination sent only that way is invalid. Statutory notice periods apply. After six months in larger companies, dismissal protection (Kündigungsschutz) often applies, so the employer needs a valid reason.

If you receive a termination, note the date at once.

• A hand-signed paper letter is required. An email, text, or scan is not valid (§ 623 BGB).
• Statutory or contractual notice periods apply.
• You generally have three weeks to challenge a dismissal in the labour court.

If you cannot work because you are ill, you are entitled to your full pay for up to six weeks (Entgeltfortzahlung, § 3 EFZG), once you have been employed for at least four weeks. Being sick is not, by itself, a lawful reason for dismissal, though long or frequent illness has its own strict rules.

How it works in practice:

• Tell your employer on the first day, before your normal start time, that you are ill and roughly how long you expect to be out. Do this even before you have a certificate.
• By law you need a doctor's certificate (Krankschreibung, or Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) from the fourth day (§ 5 EFZG), but many contracts require it from the first day, so check yours and see a doctor early to be safe.
• If you are publicly insured, the doctor sends the certificate electronically (eAU) to your Krankenkasse and your employer retrieves it, so you usually do not hand in a paper copy. Privately insured employees still get a paper certificate.
• Plan to see a doctor rather than relying on a phone-only sick note, which is not something to count on.
• If you are still ill after six weeks with the same illness, your Krankenkasse pays sick pay (Krankengeld), about 70 percent of your gross salary (capped, and no more than 90 percent of your net), for up to 78 weeks within three years.
• If your child is ill, you can take child-sick days and receive Kinderkrankengeld from your Krankenkasse: in 2026, 15 days per parent for each child, or 30 days for single parents.
• If you fall ill during your holiday and get a certificate, those days are not counted as vacation and go back to your leave balance (§ 9 BUrlG).
• You can be dismissed while on sick leave. Being ill does not block a dismissal by itself, but a dismissal based on illness (krankheitsbedingte Kündigung) must meet strict conditions.

Non-EU students can work 140 full days or 280 half-days per calendar year, or up to about 20 hours a week during the lecture period, without approval from the Agentur für Arbeit. Working more than this can breach your visa.

• How days count: a day of more than four hours is a full day, and a day of up to four hours is a half day, so 140 full days is the same allowance as 280 half-days.
• During the lecture period (Vorlesungszeit): keep to around 20 hours a week. If you regularly work more than that, you can lose the Werkstudent status and its reduced social-insurance contributions.
• During semester breaks (Semesterferien): you can usually work full time, but those days still count toward your 140-day allowance.
• A Minijob (a small monthly-pay job) is not a separate quota, the days still count toward your allowance.
• Jobs as a student or academic assistant (studentische or wissenschaftliche Hilfskraft) at your own university are often not counted toward the 140 days, but confirm this with your Ausländerbehörde.
• Freelance or self-employed work as a student is restricted and usually needs separate permission from the Ausländerbehörde.
• Keep records of the days you worked. If you think you went over, get advice and keep proof of your actual days and hours.

If your pay is late, your hours are not recorded, or conditions breach your contract, you have options. Keep written proof and raise the issue in writing first.

Where to turn:

• A works council (Betriebsrat), if your company has one.
• A trade union, through the DGB (the German Trade Union Confederation).
• Faire Integration: free advice on labour and social law for migrant workers, available in several languages.
• Faire Mobilität: free advice for workers from other EU countries on fair pay and working conditions.
• A lawyer for employment law (Arbeitsrecht). Legal insurance (Rechtsschutzversicherung) can cover this if you held the policy before the problem started.

Working as a freelancer mainly for one company can be treated as disguised employment (Scheinselbstständigkeit). What matters is not what your contract calls you, but how you actually work. If it is reclassified, it creates back-payment and tax problems for both you and the client.

What the authorities (the Deutsche Rentenversicherung) look at:

• More than about 83 percent (five-sixths) of your income comes from a single client.
• The client directs your work, for example your hours, your place of work, or how you do the job.
• You are integrated into the company, such as using their office, equipment, or email, or being listed on their website or team.
• You carry no real business risk, have no other clients, and employ no one.

A classic example is a freelance developer who works full time for one company, uses their laptop, joins their daily standups, and has no other clients.

If it is reclassified as employment, the client, as the real employer, usually has to pay back social-security contributions, generally for up to four years (both the employer and employee shares, roughly 40 percent of the pay), plus possible penalties. Your freelance status and invoicing, including VAT, are unwound, and you can face tax corrections.

How to protect yourself:

• Keep more than one client, and set your own hours and methods where you can.
• If you are unsure, you or the client can ask the Deutsche Rentenversicherung for a status determination (Statusfeststellungsverfahren, § 7a SGB IV). It is free, takes about three months, and gives a binding decision.