Many schoolchildren and students want or need to work during the holidays in order to earn extra money or to make ends meet while studying. In so-called holiday jobs, you are exempt from compulsory social security – but there are also important legal regulations that must be observed.
Children and young people in Germany are allowed to work from the age of 13. There are a few things that need to be taken into account. In addition to the general rules for employing minors, there are additional regulations for holiday jobs. Pupils, students and employers need to know this.
A maximum of 20 working days per year
In holiday jobs exempt from social security, it is important that 13 and 14 year olds are allowed to work a maximum of two hours a day – between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. From the age of 15, young mini-jobbers are allowed to work up to eight hours a day between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Regardless of their age, minors are only allowed to work in certain industries on weekends: if possible, they should have Saturday and Sunday off. An example of an industry where work is permitted on weekends is the catering industry.
According to the Youth Employment Protection Act (JArbSchG), underage holiday jobbers are also allowed to work a maximum of 20 days a year or four weeks at a time. If 15-year-olds or older young people work longer, they are no longer exempt from social security contributions.
Minimum wage and registration as a mini-jobber
From the age of 18, holiday jobbers are allowed to work 50 days a year or two months at a time, as the publishing house for legal journalism explains on its website Arbeitvertrag.org. Here too, however, the employer’s obligations change and the obligation to pay social insurance applies if this number of hours is exceeded.
It is important for the employer to know that when hiring holiday jobbers, the duration of the contract must always be specified – and the planned working hours must be within the framework of the legal regulations mentioned above. The Munich Chamber of Industry and Commerce explains on its website that holiday jobbers must also be registered with the mini-job headquarters and, like all other employees, must be paid in compliance with the statutory minimum wage.
Editorial team finanzen.net