Minijob - worknow

Marginal Employment

The Mini Job (603 Euro)

In Germany, "Minijobs" are a specific category of marginal employment (geringfügige Beschäftigung). For international companies, managing these through a licensed provider ensures compliance with German labor law and social security regulations. worknow provides this service via a formal AÜ (Arbeitnehmerüberlassung) license.

Regulation 2026

The €603 Framework

The German Minijob limit is dynamically linked to the statutory minimum wage. For 2026, the threshold is €603/month. Employees are exempt from contributions to health, unemployment, and long-term care insurance.

Pension Opt-Out Automatic enrollment in pension insurance exists, but employees can request a full exemption to receive their gross salary as net pay.

Employer Burden

~32.8% Surcharges

While tax-free for the employee, the employer pays flat-rate contributions (Pauschalabgaben): Health (13%), Pension (15%), Tax (2%), and statutory levies (U1/U2 & Accident) totaling approx. 32.8%.

Total Cost Example A €603 salary results in a total employer cost of approx. €800 per month, covering all German social security obligations.

Compliance

AÜG Protection

Managed via our worknow AÜ license, we provide a legally secure tripartite relationship. This shields you from "Scheinselbstständigkeit" and ensures full alignment with the Minimum Wage Act (MiLoG).

Expert Model We are one of the few providers in Germany offering a specialized EoR framework specifically for marginal employment.

Flexibility

Supplementary Terms

Our employment contracts are designed for international scale. They explicitly allow for supplementary withdrawals up to the legal limit, accommodating varying workloads.

Admin Zero From registration at the Minijob-Zentrale to hour-tracking and payroll, worknow manages the entire administrative cycle.

Discuss your hiring setup

When an EoR is the better option

An EOR is usually the stronger option when speed, flexibility, and low operational overhead matter most.

01 Speed

You want to
hire quickly

If you need to employ someone in Germany without waiting for entity setup, an EOR is typically the fastest route.

02 Practicality

You are making
your first hires

An EOR is often the more practical choice when you are hiring one or a few employees before building a larger local presence.

03 Infrastructure

You want to
avoid overhead

Instead of managing payroll and compliance internally, an EOR lets you hire through an existing local employer structure.

When an GmbH is the better option

A GmbH is usually the better fit when Germany is a long-term strategic market and you plan to build a more permanent local operation.

Users-Three-Thin–Streamline-Phosphor-Thin

You are building a larger long-term team

If you expect to hire multiple employees in Germany over time, setting up your own entity may become the more scalable structure.

You want full local control

A GmbH gives you direct control over employment, payroll, contracts, and internal operations — but also means handling those responsibilities yourself..

User-Switch-Thin–Streamline-Phosphor-Thin

Committing to a permanent presence

If Germany is a core market and you plan to invest locally over the long term, building your own legal entity may be the right foundation.

For companies with a long-term expansion strategy, a GmbH can make sense — but it usually requires more time, cost, and internal setup than an EOR.

Need help choosing the right setup?

We help international companies determine whether an EOR, a GmbH, or another hiring structure makes the most sense for their Germany hiring plans.

Discuss your hiring setup

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Kontakt

worknow GmbH
Schlüterstraße 37
D-10629 Berlin

info@w-now.de