Working Life > Modes of Working > Minijob

The Minijob = Marginal Employment = 400-Euro Job

Minijobs are marginal employment where the earnings level does not exceed 400 euros. This kind of employment is tax-free and non-accessible for the employee. For this reason they are well-liked as a secondary job. The employer pays a lump sum of 30 % (health insurance 13, pension fund 15, income tax 2 percent as of 1^st July 2006) or 12 percent in the case of domestic help for the pension fund and health insurance to the Knappschaft Bahn See (insurance association). A minijob can also be carried out during the six weeks of maternity leave prior to giving birth and during parental leave. However, the parent taking parental leave is not allowed to work more than 30 hours a week.

Christmas bonuses or holiday pay may mean the 400-euro limit is exceeded. In this case, the employer has to pay tax on this income.

Pursuing a minijob is also a way of moving from unemployment into a permanent job. Some employees and employers regard a minijob as a way of getting to know each other before a placement follows. Earnings from a minijob are added on to unemployment benefit. A maximum of 20 percent of the unemployment benefit received can be earned in addition without there being a deduction. Unemployment benefit is no longer paid in the case of working more than 15 hours a week, as the recipient is no longer unemployed.

If the total monthly income is between € 400 and € 800, then these are so-called low-wage jobs that are treated in a different way concerning taxes and national insurance. Several low-waged jobs are totalised.

New regulation since 1^st July 2006:

On this date, the flat-rate contributions to health insurance were increased from11 to 13 percent and to the pension fund from 12 to 15 percent. The flat-rate tax rate remains unaltered; it stays at two percent.

Minijobs in households are exempt from the increase in contributions, by which a 400-euro job increases from 500 to 520 euros. With this alteration, the government wants to prevent companies from changing jobs that are liable to the full social security contributions into minijobs.