Service Finder
Employment of young people during school vacations
Service Description
With a vacation job, you can gain your first impressions of the working world as a student from the age of 15 and establish contacts with potential employers.
Vacation jobs in the non-commercial sector, for example in the home, for churches or clubs, and on farms, are possible as early as age 13.
Special legal regulations apply to protect children and young people from excessive demands, overstraining and their dangers in the workplace.
- With regard to the duration of work, a vacation job is limited to a maximum of 50 working days per year or 2 months at a time with a 5-day week.
- The Youth Employment Protection Act applies, for young people who are required to attend school full-time in conjunction with the Child Labor Protection Ordinance.
- Those who are at least 18 years old are not subject to any special restrictions with regard to the type of activity and working hours. The Working Hours Act applies.
Process flow
You arrange a vacation job directly with your employer.
Who should I contact?
Contact your employer directly.
The citizens' hotline of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs will advise you on legal questions concerning vacation jobs.
Service hours:
Mon 08:00 - 20:00
Tue 08:00 - 20:00
Wed 08:00 - 20:00
Thu 08:00 - 20:00
Contact options:
Phone: +49 30 221911-004 (Citizens' Helpline)
E-mail: info@bmas.bund.de
Internet: https://www.bmas.de/DE/Service/Kontakt/inhalt.html
Accessibility:
Sign telephone via IP: gebaerdentelefon@sip.bmas.buergerservice-bund.de
Sign telephone via ISDN Videophone:
+49 30 188080-805
Writing telephone for the deaf and hearing-impaired: +49 30 221911-016 (video)
Fax: +49 30 221911-017
E-mail: info.gehoerlos@bmas.bund.de
Competent authority
For exceptions: the trade supervisory authorities
Requirements
Minimum age: 13 years
from 13 years, but not yet 15 years (children):
- Parental consent to employment
- Employment only in the non-commercial sector
- only light activities, such as delivering newspapers, babysitting, tutoring
- Working hours:
- in the period from 08.00 o'clock to 18.00 o'clock
- maximum 2 hours per day
at least 15 years, but not yet 18 years (youth):
- no piecework, night work or weekend work (exceptions apply e.g. in the restaurant trade, bakeries and sales outlets in supermarkets)
- Working time:
- from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. (exceptions apply in certain industries)
- maximum 8 hours per day and 5 days per week (maximum 40 hours per week; exceptions apply in agriculture)
- if you are a young person who is obliged to attend school full time, you may work for a maximum of 4 weeks in a calendar year during school vacations
from the age of 18
- no special restrictions
Legal basis
What else should I know?
- Parents lose their entitlement to child benefit if the child earns more than 8,354.00 euros per year (as of 2014).
- Exemptions for working hours, duration of work and activity to be performed are possible. Please contact your regionally responsible trade supervisory office.
- The vacation job is exempt from social security contributions if:
- it does not last more than two months or
- it is limited to a total of 50 working days per calendar year.
Author
The text was automatically translated based on the German content per DeepL.
Technically approved by
Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS)
Source: Zuständigkeitsfinder Thüringen (Linie6PLus)
