Notice for an employer seeking to terminate an employment relationship ranges from 4 weeks for employees with less than 2 years of service to 7 months for employees with more than 20 years of service. Notice must be given in writing. Termination without notice can only be given if there is good cause.
An employee may terminate the employment relationship with a notice period of 4 weeks to the fifteenth or the end of a calendar month. In case of termination during the probationary period, the notice period is 2 weeks. Collective bargaining agreements can provide for shorter notice periods.
Citizens of the European Union, EEA, the United States, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Korea can apply for their residence permit for work purposes after entering Germany without a visa. Citizens of other countries must apply for and obtain a visa for work purposes before entering the country. After the application has been approved by the Aliens’ Office and the Work Office, the Embassy will issue a residence permit in the form of a visa, including an authorization permitting work in Germany. There is no need for an extra work permit after arriving in Germany.
For Non-EU Nationals, there are 3 residence permits for work purposes:
Employees in Germany are entitled to a minimum of 24 working days of leave per year. This number is based on a 6-day workweek and can further be amended by collective agreements or employment contracts. Leave is granted continuously but can be divided for operational or personal reasons, such that at least one of the leave allotments lasts 12 consecutive days. Annual leave can be transferred to the following year for personal or business reasons but must be taken before March 31 of that following year. Home workers are also entitled to the same benefits unless otherwise stated in their contracts. While annual leave should be taken the same year that it has accrued, the statute of limitations for unclaimed vacation leave is 3 years.
Employees are entitled to one-twelfth of the annual leave for each full month of employment and acquire full leave entitlement after six months of work. The right to annual leave does not exist if a previous employer has granted the employee the same type of leave in a calendar year. If the vacation can no longer be granted in whole or in part due to the termination of the employment relationship, the employee must be compensated.
The Hours of Work Act regulates the working hours, which states that a regular, full-time workday may not exceed 8 hours. There is a 10-hour limit, including overtime, as long as an 8-hour average is maintained over 6 calendar months. Employees must have an uninterrupted rest period of at least eleven hours after the end of daily working hours. Young people under 18 cannot be employed more than 8 hours a day and not more than 40 hours a week. They must have a daily rest of at least 12 hours.
These limits can be extended in emergencies when work cannot be postponed, in extraordinary circumstances, or if agreed upon in collective agreements.
According to the German Maternity Protection Act, female employees are entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave: 6 weeks of prenatal and 8 weeks of postnatal leave. The postnatal leave may be extended to 12 weeks if the female worker gives birth to a child with a disability, or in the case of premature birth or multiple births. Employers cannot terminate the employment contract of a female employee during her pregnancy.
Effective June 1, 2025, maternity regulations apply to female employees who suffer miscarriages from the 13th week of pregnancy.
Female workers, even if unemployed, are entitled to paid maternity leave for the 6 weeks of prenatal leave, the day of the delivery, and the 8 weeks of postnatal leave (12 in case of multiple or premature births). The paid maternity leave is calculated at a rate of 100% of the average regular net wages over the last three months before the prenatal maternity leave period. This benefit - up to EUR 13 (euros) per day - is paid by the mother’s health insurance and the employer, who covers the difference between the money provided by the health insurance and the mother’s previous earnings.
The employer pays the benefits directly to the mother, who can then apply for reimbursement from the relevant health insurance institution. Benefits for mothers with an income below EUR 390 per month are paid by the mother's health insurance alone and match their prior income.
The German government has increased the nationwide minimum wage to EUR 13.90 per hour from January 1, 2026. Collective bargaining agreements with wages below the minimum wage are no longer permissible as of January 2025, unless they are exempt. Effective January 1, 2027, the minimum wage will be increased to at least EUR 14.60 gross per hour.
Sectoral minimum wages may be higher than the statutory minimum wage and are adjusted in accordance with the Basic Collective Agreements Act (Basis Tarifvertragsgesetz), the Posting of Workers Act (Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz), and the Act on the Provision of Temporary Workers (Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz).
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