The 2026 numbers at a glance

NEW in 2026: your employer must tell you where to get help (§45c AufenthG)

Since January 1, 2026, employers hiring third-country nationals recruited from abroad (you lived abroad when the contract was signed; the job is in Germany) must — at the latest on your first day of work, in text form — inform you about the free, multilingual "Faire Integration" counseling service for labor-law and social-law questions, including the contact details of the nearest counseling office. If you were already living in Germany when hired, the duty doesn't apply to your case.

Two things worth knowing about this rule:

• There is currently no fine attached to violating §45c — so in practice many employers will simply not know about it. The counseling service itself exists either way and is free: search "Faire Integration Beratungsstelle" plus your city.
• The "€30,000 fine" you may read about belongs to a different law. §22 Abs. 2 Arbeitszeitgesetz (working-time act) carries fines up to €30,000 — for working-time violations, not for the information duty. And the much-discussed mandatory electronic time-recording reform was still not enacted law as of our verification date; treat claims that "e-recording is mandatory since 2026" as pending, not fact.

Your contract terms, in writing: the Nachweisgesetz

The employer must document the essential terms of your employment — 15 items (§2 NachwG) — on a fixed schedule:

1. 1

   Day 1

   Names and addresses of both parties, pay and its composition, working hours.

2. 2

   Day 7

   Most remaining items — start date, workplace, job description, and more.

3. 3

   1 month

   Vacation, company pension, training entitlement, termination procedure, any applicable Tarifvertrag.

Since 2025, text form (email/PDF) suffices if it's saveable and printable and you acknowledge receipt — except in sectors prone to undeclared work (construction, gastronomy, logistics and others under §2a SchwarzArbG), where wet-ink writing remains mandatory. Violations cost the employer up to €2,000 per violation per employee (§4 NachwG) — not €30,000; that figure belongs to the working-time act, as above.

Wages: the floor and the mini-job line

• Minimum wage 2026: €13.90/hour (up from €12.82 in 2025), rising to €14.60 on January 1, 2027 — set by the Mindestlohnkommission, enacted by regulation. It applies to virtually all employees, including foreign workers and most internships.
• Minijob ceiling 2026: €603/month (€7,236/year) — the ceiling is dynamically coupled to the minimum wage. A one-off, unforeseen exceedance up to double (€1,206 in a month) doesn't kill Minijob status. Above that, the Midijob band runs to €2,000/month with reduced employee contributions.
• Students on §16b permits: your visa's working-hour limits and these wage rules stack — both apply.

If you're dismissed: the three checks

1. Form: a Kündigung is only valid wet-ink signed on paper (§623 BGB). Email, PDF, WhatsApp — void.
2. Notice period: the base is 4 weeks to the 15th or month-end (§622 BGB). During an agreed Probezeit: 2 weeks, any day. With tenure, the employer's notice extends:

3. Protection: the Kündigungsschutzgesetz applies when both hold: you've been employed more than 6 months, and the establishment regularly has more than 10 employees (part-timers count fractionally). Then a dismissal needs social justification — person-, conduct- or business-related with a proper social selection.

Non-EU workers: a dismissal also starts residence-permit clocks — you must inform the Ausländerbehörde of the job loss, and your permit type determines your window to find new work. Details in Probezeit, explained.

Vacation: use it or (mostly) lose the excuse

Statutory minimum: 24 Werktage on the legal 6-day-week basis = 20 working days on a 5-day week (§3 BUrlG), pro-rated for part-time weekly patterns. The full year's entitlement vests after 6 months (§4 BUrlG); before that you accrue 1/12 per month. Most employers grant 25–30 contractually. Vacation is for recovery — your employer approves timing, but may not simply refuse to let you take it, and untaken statutory leave must be paid out when the job ends.

Sick pay: the two-phase system

• Weeks 1–6: your employer pays 100% of your pay (Entgeltfortzahlung, §3 EFZG) — eligibility starts after 4 weeks of employment; the 6-week clock runs per illness and restarts for a genuinely new illness.
• From week 7: your Krankenkasse pays Krankengeld — 70% of gross, capped at 90% of net (§47 SGB V), for up to 78 weeks within 3 years per illness (the 6 employer weeks count toward this). There's also an absolute daily cap tied to the contribution-assessment ceiling (2026: about €135/day gross before your own social contributions — treat the exact figure as approximate; your Kasse publishes the binding number).
• Your duty: the AU-Bescheinigung (sick note, now electronic — the employer retrieves the eAU) is legally required from day 4, or from day 1 if your employer demands it. What the sick-note process looks like in practice: Krankmeldung & AU explained.

Quick facts that save newcomers real money

• Working time: max 8 h/day, extendable to 10 h only with 6-month averaging back to 8 (§3 ArbZG); at least 11 hours' daily rest (§5); Sunday work is generally banned (§9). Systematic unpaid overtime beyond this isn't "startup culture", it's a fine-able offense (that's where the €30k lives).
• Fixed-term contracts without a reason (sachgrundlose Befristung): max 2 years and 3 renewals — and banned entirely if you were ever previously employed by the same employer (§14 Abs. 2 TzBfG).
• Your Arbeitszeugnis at the end of any job is a legal entitlement (§109 GewO) — and it's written in a grade code. Decode yours with the Arbeitszeugnis decoder before you use it in applications.

Keine Rechtsberatung — this guide is general information verified against the statutes and official sources as of the date above, not legal advice for your individual case. For binding advice: Fachanwältin/Fachanwalt für Arbeitsrecht or the free Faire-Integration counseling.