Employment contracts contain essential information about jobs, including salary, holidays, working hours and notice periods. Make sure to understand everything before signing.
Disclaimer: Hamburg.com cannot provide legal advice on employment law issues; this is merely an overview of important points relating to employment contracts. If in doubt, please consult an expert in labour law and/or the trade union (German: Gewerkschaft) responsible for your profession.
Employment Contracts in Germany
If you have received a job offer that you intend to accept, you will usually be asked to sign an employment contract (German: Arbeitsvertrag). Technically, an employment agreement can also be sealed with a handshake. To avoid any misunderstandings, however, you should always insist on a written contract.
Employment contracts are legal documents that define the rights and obligations between an employee and employer for the duration of their employment relationship. For example, employees are obliged to carry out the work specified in the contract, follow the employer's instructions, and not disclose any company secrets. The employer, in turn, must pay wages and social security contributions (including sick leave), and grant leave. Putting these provisions in writing enables the employee to refer to them later in the event of a dispute.
Contents of an Employment Contract
Before signing the employment contract and returning a copy to the employer, you should check carefully to ensure that the contract contains the following details:
German: Stellenbezeichnung/Stellenbeschreibung
This specifies and defines your tasks at the company. If your employer asks you to add other tasks to your roster (either before employment begins or after you have already begun work for the company), these new duties should be negotiated and added to your employment contract in writing.
Both your name and address and that of your employer must be stated.
The contract should state from what date you are an official employee of the company. If your employment with the company is set to end at a certain time, this end date should be included as well. If it is not explicitly stated that your position is temporary (German: befristet), then your contract is permanent (unbefristet) until either you or your employer terminate it.
(German: Arbeitszeit)
A full-time job in Germany usually covers no more than 40 hours per week. It is also possible to work part-time. An employment contract should also state whether you are expected to work in shifts or if you have flexible working hours, and what (and how many) days per week you are expected to work.
A daily working time of up to 8 hours per day is permitted in Germany. You may also work up to 10 hours per day for a brief time. You must be compensated for any additional hours with extra free time within six months, but you may also choose to be paid for overtime. Rules for overtime compensation should be stated in your contract.
German: Probezeit
Many employment contracts include a maximum probationary period of six months. During this period, both you and the company can terminate the contract on short notice, meaning that the usual notice period does not apply.
German: Kündigungsfrist
If you wish to terminate an employment contract, you must inform your employer in advance of your intended end date. How far in advance must be stipulated in the employment contract. The same applies to your employer, which adds to the employee's security. The notice period is usually four weeks, but it is often extended to several months, depending on how long an employee has been working for a company.
If you’d like to find more information specifically about employment contract termination, Handbookgermany.deis a great starting point.
German: Gehalt/Lohn
Your employment contract is your key reference for how much money you will earn for your work. Usually, the salary is agreed upon as gross remuneration. Taxes and charges for social insurance such as health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance are deducted from this amount.
Your employer may also pay bonuses on top of your normal pay, for example at Christmas, for night shifts, or work on weekends. You should check whether your employer pays you at least the hourly minimum wageand at what time of the month you get your well-earned money transferred to your bank account.
German: Urlaub
Your employment contract must state how many days of paid leave can you take each year. If you work five days a week, you are entitled to at least 20 days of leave per year. This means that your employer must grant you 20 days' paid vacation. You have a right to this. Mini-jobbers are also entitled to the statutory minimum of 20 holidays.
German: Tarifverträge
Depending on your field of work, special regulations often apply in addition to the employment contract. For example, employers' organisations and trade unions (German: Gewerkschaften) may have collective agreements in place in many sectors. Collective agreements can, for example, regulate wages, bonuses or entitlements surrounding paid leave.
Companies can also sign contracts with their works council (German: Betriebsrat) as employee representatives. These are called works agreements (Betriebsvereinbarungen). Whether such contracts apply to you may have to do with your employment contract.
German Krankheit / Krankschreibung
If you fall ill and cannot work, you must report this to your employer immediately. If your illness lasts for more a certain amount of time, you must submit a doctor's note to your employer; this period of time (generally 1–3 days) should be stated in your contract.
Your employer will pay your full salary for six weeks. After those six weeks, your health insurance will pay 70 percent of your salary if you have public health insurance. There are different rules if you have private health insurance. In this case, please ask your health insurance company directly.
If you’re looking for more information about sick leave, please see our Sick Leavearticle.
Useful Terminology
DE
EN
Arbeitsvertrag
employment contract
Arbeitszeit
working hours
befristet/unbefristet
temporary/permanent
Betriebsrat
works council (representative organ for employees within the company)
Betriebsvereinbarung
works agreement
ganztags/halbtags
full time / part time
Gehalt/Lohn
salary/wage
Gewerkschaft
trade union
Krankheit/Krankschreibung
illness / sick leave
Probezeit
probationary period
Schicht(-betrieb)
shift / work in shifts
Stellenbeschreibung
job description
Stellenbezeichnung
job title
Tarifvertrag
collective agreement
Urlaub
leave / holiday (BrE) / vacation (AmE)
Ask the Hamburg Welcome Center
If in doubt or overwhelmed by German technical language, please feel free to have your employment contract checked at the Hamburg Welcome Center before signing it. You can always take the employment contract home with you to look at in peace. It’s only natural to be excited about a new job, but don't rush into anything without doing your due diligence.
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