Germany

• New Year's Day (National)
• Epiphany (BW, BY & ST)
• International Women's Day (BE)
• Good Friday (National)
• Easter Sunday (BB)
• Easter Monday (National)
• Labour Day (National)
• Ascension Day (National)
• Whit Sunday (BB)
• Whit Monday (National)
• Corpus Christi (BW, BY, HE, NW, RP, SL, SN & TH)
• Assumption Day (BY & SL)
• Day of German Unity (National)
• Reformation Day (BB, HH, MV, NI, SH, SN, ST & TH)
• All Saints' Day (BW, BY, NW, RP & SL)
• Repentance Day (SN)
• Christmas Day (National)

Working Hours

Employees can work up to 48 hours per week. It is generally forbidden to work on Sundays and public holidays.

Minimum Wage

EUR 12 per hour, though this may not apply to people who need a blue card to legally work in Germany.

Employee Tax

Annual income*	Tax rate
Up to EUR 9,984	0%
EUR 9,985 - 58,596	14%
EUR 58,597 - 277,825	42%
More than EUR 277,826	45%
Health insurance contribution (KV)	7.9%
Additional TK health insurance contribution	0.6%
Pension insurance (RV)	9.3%
Unemployment insurance (AV)	1.2%
Long-term care insurance (PV)	1.525%
Church tax**	0% - 9%

*Based on a single person’s income. Tax bands may be different for married couples.

**Based on declared religion and region of residence.

Bonuses

There are no statutory bonus schemes in Germany, but a 13th month salary is contracted in many collective bargaining agreements.

Employees may also be entitled to contractual bonuses or discretionary bonuses.

Employment contracts in Germany should be written in German. They should include:

• Employer and employee details
• Start date
• Job title and responsibilities
• Workplace
• Working hours
• Salary and leave entitlement
• Contract length (if applicable)
• Notice period

Both indefinite and fixed-term contracts are permitted in Germany.

Annual Leave

Minimum of 20 days' paid holiday per year for those with a five-day work week, or 24 days for those with a six-day work week.

Sick Leave

Up to 6 weeks' paid sick leave per illness.

Parental Leave

• Maternity leave: at least 14 weeks' fully paid leave, taken six weeks before the birth and a compulsory eight-week period taken afterwards.
• Paternity leave: none.
• Parental leave: mothers and fathers can take up to 3 years' unpaid leave per child.

Termination Process

Employers and employees in Germany can terminate a contract provided they give notice and/or compensation in line with legal requirements.

Other grounds for termination include:

• Mutual consent
• Contract expiry
• Misconduct
• Redundancy

Employees can also end a contract by giving at least one month's notice.

Severance Pay

Severance pay is usually equal to the employee's gross monthly salary multiplied by years of service multiplied by factor X.

X is generally between 0.5 and 1.5 but may be lower or higher, depending on the circumstances.

Under a Mauve Group Employer of Record solution, clients and workers can reap the benefits of Mauve’s Global Master Insurance Programme – a market-leading unified corporate insurance programme that connects all Mauve entities to its two preferred providers.

The insurance provides coverage in overseas locations through a combination of the master policy and its linked local policies, where required by law in certain jurisdictions.  The policies include:

• Employer’s Liability and Public Liability - £10,000,000 combined limit.
• Professional Indemnity - £5,000,000 limit.
• Worker’s Compensation – Limit is dependent on location of work.

For specific information about statutory and recommended insurances in your chosen country, get in touch with Mauve.