Legal Working Conditions

Labor Law

For foreigners, working in Germany can take on a number of legal constellations - from being dispatched to the German subsidiary of the employee's mother company to being posted temporarily to a German customer or to acting as self-employed business people. These different employment situations entail different legal consequences regarding income taxation, social security, residential status, and the terms and conditions of a labor contract.

Many expatriates, who are dispatched to work in Germany, have signed ongoing labor contracts with their employer abroad. If the employee is only temporarily working in Germany, these contracts follow the national regulations of the home-country. Nevertheless, even if the laws and regulations of the country of origin apply to the employer-employee relationship, in some business branches statutory working conditions may have to be observed. For more information please refer to our chapter on the posting of workers.

If work is performed permanently or periodically in Germany, the employment relationship falls under German law. The ''Investment Guide to Germany'' provides a concise summary of German labor law. A detailed description is available on the pages of the international labor organization (ILO). Furthermore, the guide ''Social security at a glance'', which is published by Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, contains introductory information on German labor regulations.