Employer of Record in Germany

The minimum wage is EUR 1,702.13 per month.

Both full-time and part-time employees are entitled to 20 days of paid time off (PTO) a year. Part-time employees working less than a 5 day work week get leave on a pro-rata. PTO accrues monthly at 1.67 days per full month of employment.

There is no maximum limit for paid sick leave in Germany. The employee will be paid 100% of their salary during sick leave. The first 6 weeks (42 days) of leave are paid by the employer, after which the health insurance company covers the leave.

To claim leave, the employee has to submit a sick note to the employer and health insurance company.

The employee has to work for a minimum of 4 weeks before being entitled to sick pay by the employer. If the employee falls sick in the first 4 weeks of employment, the leave will be covered by health insurance. To claim insurance, the employee has to apply and send a sick note to the health insurance company.

Employees can get 30 days of paid leave per parent if their child is sick. This payment is made by the health insurance company. To claim leave, the employee has to submit a sick note for the child and has to apply for it with the health insurance provider.

Pregnant employees are entitled to 14 weeks of paid leave. 6 weeks must be taken before the child's birth, and the remaining 8 weeks must be taken after the child's birth.

The employee will receive 100% of the average net salary of the last 3 months during this period. The employer and health insurance company are responsible to pay parts of the salary. However, the employer gets a 100% refund from the health insurance company during the "U2-process".

The employee is required to submit a medical certificate with the expected date of birth to the employer.

A special regulation applies to premature or multiple births as well as to children with disabilities, in which case there is maternity protection for as long as 12 weeks after the birth.

The employee cannot extend leave, however, they can take unpaid parental leave.

In Germany, no law specifically covers paternity leave. However, employees are entitled to parental leave.

Employees are entitled to a maximum of 3 years of parental leave per child, to be taken until the third birthday of the child. The employee will be given a minimum of EUR 300 and a maximum of EUR 1,800.

This payment will be made if the employee has worked before the parental leave, and will be calculated by “Elterngeldstelle” (state parental allowance fund) based on the last 12 months gross salary and after subtracting the flat rate for tax and health insurance.

The employee needs to provide a notice of 7 weeks before they intend to start parental leave.

Parental leave can't be extended.

Family Leave

Other Types of Leaves

The employer cost is generally estimated at 22.33% of the employee salary.

Retirement: 9.30%

Health insurance: 7.30%

Unemployment security: 1.20%

Long term insurance fee: 1.53%

Accident security: 2.0%

Maternity: 1.0%

The standard VAT rate in Germany is 19.00%.

Compliant terminations include:

EU Blue Card allows an employee to work in all European countries. To be granted an EU Blue Card, the applicant must have graduated from a university, have an employment contract with the employing company, and a lower salary threshold than 39,600 EUR (for IT specialists, mathematicians, and representatives of the engineering field) and 50,800 EUR for other applicants.

Permanent residence for valuable personnel. The condition applies to scientists known for their work, researchers, professors.

Permission for highly qualified specialists. Obtaining a work visa to Germany is possible if you have the appropriate skills and a salary of 86,400 EUR annually.

General employment. The most demanded type of German work permit. There are no strict requirements for education and specialty. Also, the profession must be in demand at the time of the request. To apply for a visa, you must confirm your qualifications and have an employment contract on hand.

For job search. As an option – obtaining a work visa to Germany for future employment. If approved, a person can stay in the country for six months, after which it is necessary to re-register or obtain a residence permit.