Students from Non-EU Countries

Students enrolled in a foreign university can work in Germany during their holidays (up to 90 days per year), provided they have prior approval from the Zentrale Auslands- und Fachvermittlung (ZAV), a visa, and health insurance.
Students enrolled in a German university may work without authorization, within a limit of 120 full-time days or 240 part-time days per year.

Studierende aus der Europäischen Union

Labour Law

Employment Contract

The Werkstudentenvertrag is a type of employment contract that allows university students to work in their field of study (such as marketing or management). It combines studies with professional experience and can lead to future employment. This contract is only valid as long as the student is enrolled at the university—it does not apply during academic leave or after graduation.

Working Hours

The Werkstudentenvertrag must last a minimum of 6 months. The legal working limit is 20 hours per week.

Rest / Vacation

Students are entitled to paid leave in proportion to their working time. However, they acquire vacation rights only after 6 months of employment in the company.

  • 5 working days per week: 20 days of vacation per year
  • 4 working days per week: 16 days of vacation per year

Salary

The hourly wage must be at least the minimum wage, which is €12.41 gross per hour (as of May 2025). A higher wage may apply if specified by a collective agreement.

Social Security

Even as a working student, you are required to pay social security contributions. However, due to the student worker privilege, your contributions are significantly lower than those of regular employees.
As a student, you do not pay additional contributions for health, long-term care, or unemployment insurance.
You are only required to contribute to pension insurance if you earn more than €556 per month. In that case, your employer pays a flat rate of 15% of your gross salary toward pension insurance, and you only pay the difference to the full contribution rate (18.6%), which is 3.6% of your salary.
However, you can also submit a written request for exemption from pension insurance to your employer.

Taxes

As a student employee, you are considered a regular employee under the law. This means you must pay taxes, including income tax and possibly church tax. The amount you pay depends on your salary as a student worker.
To find out exactly how much you will take home, it’s best to use a gross-to-net salary calculator.

As a student worker, you are entitled to a tax allowance of €12,096 (starting 2025). If you earn more than this in a year, you will be liable to pay income tax.

If you are subject to income tax as a student employee, you will generally fall under Tax Class 1.

For more information on student jobs in Germany on the website of our partner:
https://frontaliers-grandest.eu/accueil/etudiants/emploi-etudiant/lemploi-etudiant-en-allemagne/les-differents-types-de-contrat/

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