Mini-jobs in 2026: records, the earnings limit and employment law

The limit and where it comes from

Since 2022 the marginal earnings threshold has been tied to the statutory minimum wage. It is calculated as 130 times the minimum wage divided by three, rounded up to whole euros (section 8(1a) SGB IV). The legislature wanted to ensure that a rise in the minimum wage does not force hours to be cut.

At a minimum wage of 13.90 euros since 01/01/2026 that gives 602.33 euros, rounded up to 603 euros. That corresponds to around 43 working hours a month or about ten hours a week.

What matters is the regular pay over the year, not the individual month. Fluctuating hours are unproblematic as long as the annual figure of 7,236 euros is not exceeded.

Exceeding it: occasionally yes, as a matter of course no

Occasional and unforeseeable exceeding is permitted, as a rule in up to two calendar months within a twelve-month period, with earnings in those months not exceeding twice the limit.

Exceeding it as a matter of course, by contrast, leads to compulsory insurance. Between 603.01 euros and 2,000 euros lies the transitional band, colloquially the midi-job, with reduced employee contributions.

A record-keeping duty without exception

For marginally employed people, section 17(1) MiLoG applies regardless of the industry. The start, the end and the duration of daily working time have to be recorded by the end of the seventh calendar day following the day of work at the latest, and kept for at least two years.

Only mini-jobs in private households are exempt. Checks are carried out by the customs authority's undeclared work enforcement unit; missing or late records carry fines of up to 30,000 euros (section 21 MiLoG).

Alongside that, the general recording duty from the Federal Labour Court order has applied since 2022. It changes little for mini-jobs, because section 17 MiLoG is stricter anyway.

In employment law terms a mini-job is ordinary employment

Marginally employed people are employees with all the rights: paid recreational leave under the Federal Leave Act, continued pay in case of illness for up to six weeks, continued pay on public holidays, the statutory notice periods and protection against dismissal under the general rules.

The leave entitlement depends on the number of working days per week. Someone working two days is legally entitled to two sixths of 24 working days, that is eight days of leave.

Disadvantageous treatment because of part-time work is impermissible under section 4 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act. The hourly rate has to be the same as for comparable full-time staff.

• Leave by working days per week, not by hours.
• Continued pay in case of illness for up to six weeks.
• Public holiday pay where the holiday falls on a working day.
• The same hourly rate as full-time staff doing the same work.