Hire in Germany compliantly. Navigate 20-23% employer social contributions, mandatory works councils, the strongest dismissal protection in Europe and a public holiday system that varies across 16 federal states.
Capital
Berlin
Language
German
Average Salary
€4.500
Payroll Cycle
Monthly
Employer Cost
20-23%
Paid Leave
20 days
Public Holidays
9-13 days
Tax Rates
14-45%
In-depth guides on specific topics for employers hiring in Germany. Each guide is independently researched and updated for 2026.
Germany’s work permit system has undergone its most significant reform in decades. Under the Skilled Immigration Act, salary thresholds have been lowered, the EU Blue Card has been expanded, and entirely new pathways like the Opportunity Card and Recognition Partnership now allow professionals to enter the country more flexibly than ever before. This 2026 guide breaks down every major work permit Germany offers, including eligibility criteria, salary thresholds, employer obligations, permanent residency timelines, and how companies can hire compliantly through an Employer of Record if they do not yet have a German entity.
Read ArticleEvery person living in Germany must have health insurance from day one. There are no exceptions for expats. Beyond health insurance, Germany has a comprehensive system of mandatory and recommended insurance types that expats need to understand. This guide covers the full landscape: public vs. private health insurance, long-term care insurance, personal liability, household contents, car insurance, pension contributions, and the optional policies that most financial advisors recommend for expats settling in Germany.
Read ArticleNotice periods in Germany range from 2 weeks during probation to 7 months for employees with 20+ years of service. The system is asymmetric: an employee can resign with 4 weeks' notice at any point in their career, but terminating that same employee after 10 years requires 4 months' notice from the employer. This guide covers the statutory rules under Section 622 BGB, how the "15th or end of month" calculation works in practice, probation notice, extraordinary termination for gross misconduct, protected categories (pregnant employees, works council members, severely disabled), garden leave vs payment in lieu, termination agreements and the Sperrzeit risk, and what companies hiring through an EOR in Germany need to budget for.
Read ArticleIn Germany, employers pay 100% of salary for the first 6 weeks of sick leave, per illness, with no vacation days consumed. After 6 weeks, statutory health insurance pays Krankengeld at roughly 70% of gross for up to 78 weeks. This guide covers the Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz rules, the same-illness aggregation trap, the electronic sick note system (eAU), what happens when employees get sick during vacation (those days revert from holiday to sick leave), the near-impossibility of firing a long-term sick employee, child sick leave entitlements, the Umlage 2 reimbursement that most EOR clients do not know about, and what companies hiring through an EOR need to verify.
Read ArticleThis guide breaks down Germany’s minimum wage system for 2026, covering the current statutory hourly rate, sector-specific collective agreements, employer social security obligations, compliance requirements under German labour law, penalties for underpayment, and how minimum wage compares to living costs across major German cities.
Read Article
We independently rank EOR providers based on their actual performance in Germany. The Best EOR in Germany guide evaluates providers across pricing transparency, local entity ownership, onboarding speed, in-country support and contract compliance.
Germany is a high-regulation market. The EOR you choose here matters more than in most countries. Providers with their own GmbH consistently outperform those routing employment through third-party partners.
Dismissal protection kicks in after 6 months, works councils can form at 5 employees and employer notice periods scale to 7 months. Collective agreements often set higher standards than the statutory minimums below.
| Topic | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Wage | €13.90/hour | From January 2026. Increases to €14.60 in January 2027. |
| Probation Period | Up to 6 months | 2-week notice during probation. Dismissal protection (KSchG) does not apply until probation ends. |
| Standard Working Hours | 40 hours/week | Max 8 hours/day (extendable to 10 if averaged over 6 months). 11 hours minimum rest between days. |
| Paid Annual Leave | 20 days minimum | Based on 5-day week. Most employers offer 25 to 30 days. Collective agreements often mandate more. |
| Notice Period | 4 weeks to 7 months | Employee: always 4 weeks. Employer: scales with tenure up to 7 months at 20+ years. |
| 13th Salary | Not statutory | Common in practice. Many CBAs include Weihnachtsgeld (Christmas bonus) or Urlaubsgeld (holiday pay). |
| Sick Leave | 6 weeks full pay | Employer pays 100% for first 6 weeks per illness. Then health insurance pays ~70% (Krankengeld). |
| Maternity Leave | 14 weeks | 6 weeks before + 8 weeks after birth. Full salary paid (employer + health insurance split). Termination ban applies. |
Good to Know: Germany’s minimum wage rises to EUR 14.60/hour in January 2027, already legislated. Sick leave is uniquely generous: employers pay 100% of salary for the first 6 weeks per illness (not per year), and sick days during vacation revert to sick leave upon presenting a certificate. Probation is capped at 6 months with 2-week notice. After probation, the Kundigungsschutzgesetz requires a legally defensible reason for every dismissal in companies with 10+ employees. Maternity protection bans termination from pregnancy through 4 months after birth.
When you hire in Germany, employer contributions of 20-23% are moderate for Western Europe, but notice periods up to 7 months and mandatory 6-week sick pay push true employment cost well above the headline rate.
| Employer Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Contribution | Employer Rate |
| Pension (Rentenversicherung) | 9.3% |
| Health (Krankenversicherung) | 7.3% + ~1.45% avg supplementary |
| Unemployment (Arbeitslosenversicherung) | 1.3% |
| Long-term Care (Pflegeversicherung) | 1.8% |
| Accident Insurance (Unfallversicherung) | 1.2 to 3.0% |
| U1/U2/U3 Levies | ~2 to 3% |
| Total Employer Cost | ~20 to 23% of gross |
| Employee Taxes | |
|---|---|
| Tax / Contribution | Employee Rate |
| Income Tax (Lohnsteuer) | 0% to 45% |
| Solidarity Surcharge | 5.5% of income tax |
| Church Tax (Kirchensteuer) | 8% or 9% of income tax |
| Pension (employee share) | 9.3% |
| Health Insurance (employee share) | 7.3% + ~1.45% supplementary |
| Unemployment (employee share) | 1.3% |
| Long-term Care (employee share) | 1.8 to 2.4% |
Good to know: Total employer cost in Germany typically runs 1.20x to 1.23x of gross salary before bonuses, benefits or EOR fees. For a €60,000 gross salary, budget approximately €72,000 to €74,000 in total employer cost.
In-depth guides on specific topics for employers hiring in Germany. Each guide is independently researched and updated for 2026.
| TopicDate | Holiday |
|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year’s Day (Neujahr) |
| April 3 | Good Friday (Karfreitag) |
| April 6 | Easter Monday (Ostermontag) |
| May 1 | Labour Day (Tag der Arbeit) |
| May 14 | Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt) |
| May 25 | Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) |
| October 3 | German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit) |
| December 25 | Christmas Day (1. Weihnachtstag) |
| December 26 | St. Stephen’s Day (2. Weihnachtstag) |
Good to Know: Germany’s public holiday system varies by state, creating payroll complexity for distributed teams. Bavaria observes 13 holidays while Berlin observes only 9. Reformation Day (October 31) applies in 9 northern/eastern states but not Bavaria or Baden-Wurttemberg. International Women’s Day (March 8) is a holiday only in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In 2026, Ascension Day (May 14, Thursday) creates a popular Bruckentag where most employees take Friday off. Your payroll must apply the correct holiday calendar per employee’s state of work. Employees required to work on public holidays must receive a substitute day off within 8 weeks.
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