Three kinds of involvement, one clean separation
Volunteering, instructor work and employment follow different rules. MetronHR keeps them apart so that neither contributions nor charitable status are put at risk.
- Employees, instructors and volunteers kept separate
- Allowances counted through the year instead of estimated
- Recording duty met where it applies
In short
In a club, volunteers, instructors and employees work side by side. The Working Time Act applies only to the last group, and the line between them determines contributions and charitable status.
Legal position
Who in a club falls under which rule
The decisive question is not what an activity is called but how it is actually arranged. Working time law, social security and tax all hang on that.
- Instructor allowance
- 3,300 euros a year
- Volunteer allowance
- 960 euros a year
- Mini-job threshold
- 603 euros a month
- Recording duty
- for employees
The instructor allowance: 3,300 euros a year
Income from secondary activities as an instructor, trainer, educator or carer, or from comparable secondary activities, is tax-free up to 3,300 euros a year.
Governed by section 3 no. 26 EStG. Secondary means no more than a third of the working time of a comparable full-time occupation. The allowance applies per person and year, not per club. Anyone active at two clubs shares the same amount between them.
The volunteer allowance: 960 euros a year
For other secondary activities in the charitable sector, such as board work, groundskeeping or treasury duties, income is tax-free up to 960 euros a year.
Set out in section 3 no. 26a EStG. The two allowances cannot be combined for the same activity, but they can for different activities of the same person. Paying board members additionally requires the statutes to permit it, otherwise it jeopardises charitable status.
Volunteering is not an employment relationship, until it becomes one
Anyone working under instructions, integrated into fixed processes and paid an amount clearly exceeding their expenses is an employee, regardless of the label.
The standard is section 7 (1) SGB IV. The allowances in section 3 EStG say nothing about whether someone is an employee; they only govern the taxation of the income. An instructor with a fixed timetable working under instructions can be an employee even if their pay stays below 3,300 euros.
For employees the recording duty applies without exception
If the club employs staff, it must record the start, end and duration of daily working time. There is no exception for small or charitable employers.
The duty follows from section 3 (2) no. 1 ArbSchG as interpreted by the Federal Labour Court (decision of 13 September 2022, 1 ABR 22/21). For marginally employed staff section 17 (1) MiLoG is added, with a seven-day deadline and two years of retention. The limits of the Working Time Act apply too, and a weekend tournament changes nothing about that.
Further reading:Section 3 no. 26 EStG, section 3 no. 26a EStG · Section 7 (1) SGB IV, section 8 (1a) SGB IV · Section 3 (2) no. 1 ArbSchG, section 17 (1) MiLoG · Federal Labour Court, decision of 13 September 2022, 1 ABR 22/21
As at:September 2026. This is not legal advice; for a specific case in your business it is better to ask someone with a licence to practise.
Everything runs through one list, and that list knows no distinctions
Many clubs keep everyone involved in a single spreadsheet. That works until an inspection asks which of them were employees.
Allowances get estimated
Whether someone has already used up the 3,300 euros or the 960 euros for the year is usually known only to the treasurer, who does the maths in December.
Employees end up in the same list as volunteers
For one group the recording duty applies, for the other it does not. In a shared spreadsheet both are documented wrongly.
Tournaments and holiday camps burst the limits
Ten hours a day are still ten hours at the summer fete. Without records nobody notices, and without compensation the breach stands.
Three status types, three sets of rules
Every person gets their status. For employees, recording runs with break and rest period checks; for instructors and volunteers the system counts the payments against the allowance.
The allowance as a running figure
In March the allowance balance is just as reliable a figure as in December.
Features for clubs and charitable organisations
Built for mixed teams, volunteer structures and thin administration.
Status per person
Employee, instructor or volunteer, recorded unambiguously
The status determines which rules apply: recording duty and working time limits for employees, allowance counting for the rest.
Allowances through the year
The balance is available at any time
Amounts paid out are counted against 3,300 euros or 960 euros respectively, with a warning before the allowance is exceeded.
Recording for employees
Duty met, even in a small club
Start, end and break per working day, with automatic break calculation under section 4 ArbZG and a rest period check.
Duties for events
Tournaments and festivals without paper chaos
Duties are posted, whoever takes one signs up themselves, and the staffing is visible at any time.
Holiday and absences for employees
Requests digitally instead of by word of mouth
Holiday entitlement, approval and remaining days run in the same system as time tracking.
For the board and everyone involved
Volunteer-run administration needs tools that cost little time.
Inspection-proof, without a post dedicated to it
The administration runs on the side. Allowances, contributions and working hours still have to add up.
Status, allowance balance and working time sit in one place, without anyone recalculating everything in December.
View your own times and amounts
How much of the allowance is left, and are my recorded hours right?
Your own balance is visible in the app, corrections go through approval and stay logged.
Frequently asked questions from clubs
What clubs ask about allowances, status and the recording duty.
The instructor allowance under section 3 no. 26 EStG is 3,300 euros a year, the volunteer allowance under section 3 no. 26a EStG is 960 euros a year. Both apply per person and year, not per club.
Not for the same activity. For different, clearly separated activities of the same person the combination is possible, for example running training sessions and keeping the accounts.
No, as long as they are not employees. The recording duty in section 3 (2) no. 1 ArbSchG attaches to the employment relationship. What matters is the actual arrangement under section 7 (1) SGB IV, not the label in the contract.
When the person works under instructions, is integrated into fixed processes and receives pay that clearly exceeds their actual expenses. The allowance under section 3 EStG changes nothing about that; it only governs taxation.
For employed staff yes, without exception. Eight hours per working day, ten with compensation within six calendar months or 24 weeks (section 3 ArbZG), plus breaks under section 4 and eleven hours of rest under section 5 ArbZG.
Question not answered here? Every step is explained in the help centre.
Other industries
Hospitality
Hospitality is named in section 2a SchwarzArbG. The seven-day deadline of section 17 MiLoG therefore applies to all employees, not just to mini-jobbers.
ViewCare
Care facilities are the only industry with two special routes on rest periods, and since the ECJ ruling standby duty counts in full as working time.
ViewHotels
Reception around the clock, housekeeping in the morning, breakfast from five. Three rhythms in one house, and accommodation falls under section 2a SchwarzArbG.
ViewVolunteering, instructing and employment cleanly separated
Allowances counted along the way, working time recorded where it has to be, and all of it in one place. Try it free for 14 days.
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