What matters for you is:
- from what age and
- for what type of work you wish to employ a pupil willing to work.
Children may
- from the age of 13
- with the consent of their legal guardians
- for a maximum of 2 hours per day
- between 8:00 and 18:00
- carry out light work (running errands, delivering newspapers, etc.).
Exception: In agricultural businesses, employment of up to a maximum of 3 hours is permitted.
Young people (between 15 and 18 years of age) are also considered children insofar as they are subject to full-time compulsory schooling.
EXCEPTION: School Holiday Regulation
Young people may be employed during school holidays
- for a maximum of 4 weeks per calendar year
- 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week
Exception: In agricultural businesses during the harvest season, young people over 16 may be employed for up to 9 hours per day, but not more than 85 hours in any two-week period.
You may register pupils either as short-term employees (kurzfristig Beschäftigte) or as mini-job workers earning up to 450 euros per month.
Short-Term Employment
- Employment is restricted to a maximum of 70 working days or 3 months within a calendar year
- Exempt from social security contributions
- Taxation is applied according to the wage tax card (Lohnsteuerkarte) or at a flat rate of 25% of the remuneration plus solidarity surcharge and church tax, subject to the following conditions:
- The employee is employed for no more than 18 consecutive working days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, sick days and holiday days).
- The average hourly wage does not exceed 12 euros.
- The wage does not exceed an average of 62 euros per working day throughout the entire period of employment.
Since pupils usually earn only a modest income, their income is either tax-free anyway or they receive the tax deducted back via their income tax return. For this reason, settlement via the wage tax card (Lohnsteuerkarte) is usually the most sensible approach.
Low-Pay Employment (450 Euro Job)
- Employment is carried out on a regular basis
- Employment does not exceed 450 euros per month
- Subject to a flat-rate tax liability of 2% of the wage
- Subject to flat-rate social security contributions:
- Pension insurance (Rentenversicherung) at 15% of the wage
- Health insurance (Krankenversicherung) at 13% of the wage
- Mini-jobs in the home: The contribution to pension and health insurance is reduced to 5% each of the wage
For any potential wage tax or social security audit, you must ensure the completeness of the following documents:
- School enrolment certificates
- Evidence of low-pay employment:
- Records of actual hours worked
- Regular weekly working hours
- Confirmation of whether or not any further employment exists