Germany’s Surge in Multiple Minijobs Triggers Crackdown as Tax Rate Triples

The number of Germans holding more than one minor job has exploded from 270,000 in 2019 to 4.72 million by the end of 2025, according to the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). That sharp rise — concentrated among women, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) acknowledged — is now driving a legislative clampdown. The chancellor announced on July 3 in a television interview that such multi-minijob arrangements, which effectively split a potential full-time position into several tiny contracts, will no longer be allowed in the future. Separate rules are planned for school pupils, university students and pensioners.

The broader reform package, unveiled on July 2 as one of 34 measures in the coalition programme agreed by CDU, CSU and SPD, immediately raised the flat-rate tax on minijobs from 2 percent to 5 percent. With the monthly earnings ceiling fixed at €603, the employer’s levy jumps from €12.06 to €30.15. Approximately 6.8 million minijobbers are affected. Whether businesses absorb the extra cost or pass it on to workers remains unclear. Industry groups such as DEHOGA (the German Hotel and Restaurant Association) and the Federal Association of System Catering welcomed the survival of the minijob model but criticised the higher tax burden. Bavaria’s premier Markus Söder (CSU) called the compromise necessary to keep the system viable.

The flat-tax change emerged from a two-day coalition committee meeting on July 1 and 2. Yet the most contentious part of the reform may be the looming move against multiple mini-jobs — and the related push to end the exemption from mandatory pension insurance that currently 79 percent of minijobbers claim. Experts argue that permanent low-wage irregular work dramatically raises the risk of poverty in old age. In 2024 the average monthly pension for women was €961, for men €1,372. On June 23 the government’s pension commission had already recommended scrapping most social-security exemptions for minijobs, sparing only pupils. Economist Monika Schnitzer called the current model a dead end, while Andrea Nahles, chair of the Federal Employment Agency, warned it creates perverse incentives against taking up full social-insurance-covered jobs.

Since July 1, minijobbers have been allowed to revoke their opt-out from pension insurance only once. If full compulsory social insurance were introduced, a worker earning €603 would face total deductions of €130.73 per month, leaving a net income of around €472. The coalition plans to finalise the pension component of the reform by autumn 2026 and implement all its recommendations by the end of that year.

The 34-point coalition programme stretches far beyond minijobs. It envisions a comprehensive modernisation of labour law by the end of 2026, including:

• Sick leave: a doctor’s certificate is required from the first day of illness; telephone sick notes are scrapped.
• Fixed-term contracts: the permitted duration for contracts without a specific reason is extended to 48 months, with the rule expiring on December 31, 2030.
• Dismissal: conditions are eased for top earners as of January 1, 2027.
• Written form: the requirement for written contracts in fixed-term agreements is dropped at the start of 2027.

While sectors such as hospitality and agriculture argue that flexible minijob models are essential, the government is pressing ahead. The tax hike and the planned ban on multiple minor jobs represent the sharpest intervention in this labour market niche since its introduction, with consequences for millions of low-wage workers.

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