German Students Get Summer Job Reprieve Under Proposed Minijob Reform, but Age-Based Work Limits Remain Tight

Navigating Germany’s summer job market is a puzzle of age brackets, time restrictions, and ever-shifting rules. While many teenagers look forward to earning pocket money during the holidays, the legal framework governing their employment depends heavily on how old they are — and a proposed overhaul of the mini-job system could change the landscape for adults while leaving students untouched.

Children under 13 are barred from any paid work. Once they turn 13, light tasks such as delivering newspapers, tutoring younger pupils, or babysitting become permissible, but only with parental consent. The law caps their daily hours at two — or three if the job is in agriculture — and confines work to the window between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.

The rules relax considerably at age 15. Teenagers in that bracket may work up to eight hours a day and 40 hours a week, with the permitted span extending from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Even so, the total duration of such holiday employment is capped at four weeks per calendar year.

Pay falls short of the adult standard

A common misconception among young job seekers concerns wages. Germany’s statutory minimum wage of €13.90 per hour applies only to adults. Minors who have not completed vocational training are not entitled to that rate, leaving many summer positions paying significantly less. Regardless of age, employment experts advise both parents and students to insist on a written contract to document the agreed terms.

Meanwhile, families planning for the post-school phase face a separate hurdle involving child benefit (Kindergeld). The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) ruled in March that merely stating an intention to pursue vocational training is insufficient. Parents must provide objective evidence — such as concrete application documents — to keep receiving the benefit once the child finishes school.

Mini-job reform targets pension contributions — but spares pupils

A more sweeping change is on the horizon for Germany’s 6.8 million marginal part-time workers, known as mini-jobbers. In mid-July, the Old-Age Security Commission proposed eliminating the option to opt out of pension insurance contributions. Currently, mini-jobbers in commercial settings pay 3.6 percent of their earnings toward retirement unless they apply for an exemption. According to data from the first quarter of 2026, only 20.9 percent of all mini-jobbers were subject to mandatory pension insurance — a figure the commission argues undermines long-term social protection.

The reform aims to make coverage automatic, but students working during the holidays would be explicitly excluded from the new compulsory contributions. That exemption has drawn criticism from business associations such as DEHOGA, the German Hotel and Restaurant Association. They argue that limiting the carve-out solely to students places an unfair burden on other groups of workers in sectors heavily reliant on mini-jobs.

Digital alternative: FSJ pilot in Thuringia

Alongside traditional summer jobs, new formats are emerging. Thuringia will launch a pilot project in September offering a "voluntary social year" (FSJ) focused on digital skills. The programme places young people in media education roles where they can build digital competencies. Fifteen spots are available for the first cohort.

For the thousands of students who simply want to earn money during the holidays, the message remains: know your age bracket, check your hours, and keep paperwork — because the rules change again next year.

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