70 days regulation for short term employment

Short-term employment is commonly referred to as a short-term mini-job or 70 day job and the 3 month or 70 day rule applies. This means that an employee may work a maximum of 70 days per year (or a maximum of 3 months at a time) as a short-term employee.

Overview of the 70 days job

• Limited to 70 days
  An employee may work a maximum of 70 days per calendar year on short-term mini-jobs.
• Non-professional
  The short-term minijob must be of minor economic importance.
• No income limit
  There is no limit on the hourly wage or salary for short-term mini-jobs.
• No social security obligation
  Employees and employers do not have to pay social security contributions.
• Tax liability, but refund possible
  Employee works regularly on income tax card. However, he can reclaim his income tax at the end of the year if necessary in a tax return.

Details of the 70 day rule: holiday, illness, etc.

Both the three-month rule and the 70-day rule apply. If an employee works 5 days a week, he/she may be employed as a short-term employee for a maximum of 3 months at a time. From the 4th month onwards, he is no longer considered a short-term employee, regardless of whether the 70 days have been reached.

With regard to the 70-day rule, all days worked are added together. For example, if the short-term mini-job lasts for 2 weeks but is not worked at the weekend, the weekend days are not included in the 70 days.

Paid holidays, on the other hand, are counted towards the 70 days. This is because for each full month of employment an employee is entitled to leave amounting to one twelfth of the regular annual leave and these paid leave days count as working days under the 70-day rule. However, if an employee is employed for less than a full month, he or she is not entitled to leave.

A short-term employee is also entitled to continued payment of wages in the event of illness if he or she has been employed in the job for at least 4 weeks. These sick days are also considered working days in relation to the 70-day rule.

70 days regulation for several short-term minijobs

It is allowed to have several short-term jobs with one or more employers in one year. However, the total duration of short-term employment may not exceed 70 days per calendar year.

Independent of these short-term mini-jobs, the employee may also have an additional 538 Euro mini-job. Although both the short-term employment and the 538 Euro mini-job are marginal employment, they are different employment relationships, because the 538 euro mini-job is low paid and the short-term mini-job is of short duration independent of pay.

Further information

Model employment contract for short-term employment

Wage tax and social security contributions for short-term employment

Working as a short-term employee at InStaff

Book short-term employees temporary via InStaff