Everything you ever wanted to know about marginal employment (Geringfügige Beschäftigung)

There needs to be money in the till at the end of the month; unless of course, you’re a millionaire or your parents totally support you. Sometimes, it’s already enough to have a mini-job. Mini-jobs are categorized as part-time employment (Geringfügige Beschäftigung). However, there is a lot that you need to watch out for. We will clarify any ambiguous terms, so you can better find your way around somewhat bureaucratic German.

PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT (Geringfügige Beschäftigung)

Part-time employment is a type of employment that is subject to special social insurance and tax obligations. Part-time employment (Geringfügige Beschäftigung) according to labor law:

remuneration (Entgelt) may not exceed (Entgeltgeringüfigkeit) €450/month or
their employment is limited to a maximum of three months or 70 work days per calendar year (Zeitgeringfügigkeit)

It must be expressly stipulated in the employment contract which category this belongs to according to the respective case.

REMUNERATIVENESS (Entgeltgeringfügigkeit)

regulated in accordance to § 8 Sec. 1 No. 1 SGB IV
remuneration (Arbeitsentgelt) does not exceed €450/month (remuneration means a consistent income plus special payments like e.g. Christmas bonus)
fluctuating payments have to be estimated
those who are regularly paid more than €450/month are legally required to have insurance (this can be exceeded up to 3x/year without consequences)
This is considered regularity when the employment is recurring and takes place over months/years.

TERM EMPLOYMENT (Zeitgeringfügigkeit)

regulated in accordance to § 8 Sec. 1 No. 2 SGB IV
the activity must be limited to a specific time period
maximum of 3 months (carried out weekly with a min. of 5 days) or
70 work days (carried out weekly with less than 5 days)
you may not work professionally (“professionally” means the job represents secondary profitability for the employee)

PRIVATE HOUSEHOLD

Normally, part-time employment (Geringfügige Beschäftigung) can be practiced from home. This is the case when the activity is based on the private household. An additional possibility would be if the employment is already carried out by members of the household (child care, household help etc.). Finally, the work can be done from home if the employer is also a member of the household.

MULTIPLE JOBS SIMULTANEOUSLY

Multiple part-time jobs (mehrere geringfügige Beschäftigungen)

payments are aggregated
payment limit is €450/month
limited weekly work days: < 5x and > 5x/week –> max. 70 days min. 5x/week –> 3 months (if not a full month, then 90 days)

Permanent part-time employment (dauerhafte geringfügige Beschäftigung) and short-term employment (kurzfristige Beschäftigung)

each separate approaches
no aggregation

Main employment liable to insurance deductions and part-time work (Geringfügige Beschäftigung) from the same employer

aggregation
employment is considered a standard employment relationship

Main employment liable to insurance deductions (versicherungspflichtige Beschäftigung) and multiple part-time jobs (mehrere geringfügige Beschäftigungen)