Short-term employment

Short-term employment is the term used for employment that is limited in advance to a total of 70 working days or no more than three months in a calendar year and that is not carried out on a professional basis, provided that the monthly remuneration exceeds EUR 538. Short-term employment must be limited either by contract or by the nature of the employment relationship. The latter applies, for example, to seasonal workers. Furthermore, neither employers nor employees are obliged to pay contributions to health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance for short-term employment. However, the employer is obliged to pay accident insurance contributions. Since January 1, 2022, employers of short-term employees must report the existence of health insurance cover to the Minijob-Zentrale. This notification includes information on whether private or statutory health insurance cover exists.

Short-term employment and mini-job

Short-term employment and mini-jobs are related in that short-term employment and mini-jobs may be carried out at the same time: As already mentioned at the beginning, short-term employment is subject to the condition that it does not exceed a salary of 538 euros per month. 538 is in turn the wage that a mini-job has been allowed to earn per month since January 2024. This is due to the fact that the earnings limit for short-term employment and mini-jobs has been dynamically linked to the increase in the minimum wage since October 2022. This means that short-term employment and a mini-job can be the same thing if the relevant criteria for the timing of the employment relationship are met.

Short-term employment: Record working time digitally

Short-term employment is also subject to the Working Hours Act and the statutory regulations on time recording, i.e. the mandatory recording of working hours. In order to comply with these, companies ideally rely on digital time recording systems, such as the practical software solution from Krutec, to record their employees' working hours. With the help of modern technology and digital tools, employers and employees can accurately document working hours and comply with legal requirements. The use of digital time recording systems enables transparent and efficient management of working hours, especially in dynamic working environments, as is often the case with short-term employment and mini-jobs. On the one hand, this contributes to compliance with legal regulations and, on the other, also facilitates billing and improves communication between the parties involved.