As in many areas of life, there is often confusion about the short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers in Germany.

Short-time work and the money paid out with it are a valuable help for both businesses and employees in many situations, such as now during the Covid pandemic.
Below we explain whether short-time work allowance can be applied for as a mini-jobber and what you need to keep in mind.

What is a mini-jobber?

Short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers

A marginal employment, also called a mini-job, describes an employment relationship in which the employee may earn at most 450 euros per month. The statutory minimum wage must be paid just as for part-time or full-time workers. In addition, the same employment rights generally apply as for part-time and full-time work. That means every mini-jobber has the right to continued pay in case of illness, pay for work on Sundays and public holidays, vacation entitlement and maternity benefit.

Short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers – nice to know

If a company is currently facing a poor order situation or has to scale back operations because of a pandemic, or even shut down entirely for a time, the so-called short-time work allowance can be applied for on behalf of the company's employees.
Whether this also applies to marginally employed people and whether there is short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers can be explained by the following guidelines.

  • Mini-jobbers pay no contributions at all into unemployment insurance
  • Mini-jobbers have no entitlement to unemployment benefit if they lose their job
  • Claiming short-time work allowance as a mini-jobber is not possible, because no contributions are paid into unemployment insurance.

Extra income from a mini-job

There is no entitlement to short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers if only the mini-job is held. The situation is different when a part-time or full-time job is supplemented by a side job on a marginal basis.

The following points should be kept in mind:

Short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers
  • Side job held before applying for short-time work allowance: the side job may continue to be held. The income earned is not counted against the short-time work allowance.
  • After applying for short-time work allowance: anyone who takes on a mini-job after applying for short-time work allowance must be aware that the income earned is counted against the short-time work allowance.
  • Exemption for special cases: during the Covid pandemic an exemption was agreed. It states that the recipient of short-time work allowance may take on a side activity. This allows income to be topped up to the original level of net income. In addition, mini-jobs earning up to 450 euros are exempt from offsetting until December 31, 2020.

Short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers

If you are affected by short-time work yourself, you should get more information about these exemptions beforehand. They should definitely be checked and considered before taking on marginal employment. Take the rules into account when starting a mini-job.
Information is provided by the Agentur für Arbeit (the German employment agency) or the Minijob-Zentrale (the German mini-job service center). Both are the right point of contact for this.

Short-time work allowance for mini-jobbers is not possible, because they do not pay into statutory unemployment insurance. Only those who pay into this fund are entitled to short-time work allowance. Topping up your own income through marginal employment during short-time work is generally possible. However, a number of rules and exemptions must be observed.