Employment Contract in Germany — What You Need to Know

An employment contract (Arbeitsvertrag) regulates your rights and obligations. Since August 2022, the Nachweisgesetz law requires your employer to provide you in writing with the most important employment conditions (part on the first day, the rest within 7 days / month).

What MUST the contract contain?

✅ Employer and employee details ✅ Start date ✅ Workplace ✅ Job description
✅ Gross salary ✅ Working hours (usually 40h/week) ✅ Vacation ✅ Notice period ✅ Probation period (if applicable)

Minimum wage (Mindestlohn)

As of January 1, 2026, the statutory Mindestlohn is €13.90/hour (from 2027: €14.60). On a full-time basis, this is approximately €2,343 gross/month. Your employer cannot pay less. For casual work, see Minijob — the earnings limit from 2026 is €603/month.

Your gross and net salary differ by taxes and contributions — details in Lohnabrechnung.

Probezeit (Probation period)

• Maximum 6 months
• During this time, termination is only 2 weeks
• After Probezeit, Kündigungsschutz (employment protection) begins

Fixed-term contract (Befristung)

• Without stated reason (sachgrundlos): max. 2 years (with possibility of 3 renewals within this period)
• With justification (e.g., replacement): longer
• After exceeding the limit, the contract becomes permanent

Kündigungsschutz (Protection from dismissal)

After 6 months in a company with more than 10 employees (KSchG):
- Employer CANNOT dismiss without justified cause
- Must provide a reason and maintain written form
- You have 3 weeks to file a lawsuit at Arbeitsgericht (labor court) — after the deadline, dismissal becomes effective

Vacation

• Statutory minimum 20 days (on a 5-day week); most companies offer 25–30. Full rules: Urlaubsanspruch.

Termination (Kündigung) — §622 BGB

Termination MUST be in writing (email/SMS are not sufficient). If you become ill during the notice period, Krankschreibung still applies.

Arbeitszeugnis (Employment reference)

You have the RIGHT to a reference. Watch out for coded language:
- "stets zu unserer vollsten Zufriedenheit" = very good rating (1)
- "zu unserer vollen Zufriedenheit" = good (2)
- "zu unserer Zufriedenheit" = satisfactory/poor!