Minijob termination: template and tips for employers

A mini-job is a minor job that, according to mini-job headquarters, was carried out by around 7 million people in Germany at the end of 2023. For the employee, a mini-job is a good way to earn an additional income. But there are also certain advantages for the employer if they hirea an employee on a mini-job basis. However, even with minor employees such as mini-jobbers, the employer must take into account the employment law provisions that also apply to other employees, in particular if they wants to end the mini-job relationship.

In this article, we explain what a mini-job is, what is important in the event of a mini-job termination by the employer (+template) and what requirements a legally effective termination must meet.

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What is a mini job? 

A mini-job or minor employment is a regular employment relationship. Mini-jobbers therefore have the same rights and obligations as full-time employees. The classification as a mini-job is based on the social security classification of the employment relationship as well as the working hours and salary level.

Minor employment relationships are regulated primarily in the Fourth Social Code (SGB IV), in particular in sections 8 and 8a SGB IV, which define the legal framework for marginally paid and short-term employment. The employment relationship is generally free of social security contributions and employees take out the statutory health insurance themselves. A distinction is made between:

• Permanently marginally paid employment (section 8 (1) nr.1 SGB IV): The employee earns no more than 538 euros per month or 6,456 euros per year (as of March 2024).

• short-term mini-jobs (section 8 para. 1 nr. 2 SGB IV): The mini-jobber does not work permanently, but only for a limited period of time. The amount of earnings does not matter in this case, but the employee may not work longer than three months or a maximum of 70 days per calendar year. This is usually a temporary job or seasonal work.

The statutory minimum wage of 12.41 euros per hour also applies to mini-jobbers. In the case of a monthly income limit of 538 euros, mini-jobbers can work around 43 hours a month, provided that no higher hourly wage than the statutory minimum wage is paid. According to a ruling by the Federal Labour Court (BAG), minor employees are entitled to the same hourly wage as full-time employees with the same job and the same qualifications (Judgement of 18.1.2023, Ref.: 5 AZR 108/22). As long as the annual earnings limit of 6,456 euros is not exceeded, minor employees can also earn more than 538 euros per month in individual months.

Important: In the case of mini-jobs, a distinction is also made between commercial mini-jobs, where the employer is a company, and mini-jobs in private households (e.g. domestic help or childcare), where the employer is a private person. The explanations in this article relate primarily to commercial mini-jobs.

Note: Anyone who hires on a minor employment basis must notify  so the minijob center.

What requirements must be met by the employer for the termination of a mini-job?

Mini-jobs are generally subject to the same requirements as employment contracts subject to social security contributions. In order for the dismissal of a mini-jobber to be legally watertight and valid in court, the employer must meet the following obligations and requirements.

Check whether legal protection against dismissal applies in the case of a mini-job relationship

Mini-jobbers are also protected under employment law in the event of dismissal. Because if the minimum length of employment and number of employees is reached, the Dismissal Protection Act (KSchG) also applies to mini-jobs. In this respect, minor jobs are no different from full-time jobs. The general protection against dismissal applies:

• When a worker is employed longer than six months  consecutively in the company or company (section 1 (1) KSchG)
• Starting at a company size of more than ten regularly employed workers (Section 23 (1) Consumer Protection Act)

Before the employer terminates a minor employee, they must therefore always check whether the Dismissal Protection Act applies to the employment relationship. If this is the case and legal protection against dismissal applies, the termination must besocially justified. The employer can therefore only end the mini-job relationship effectively and in due time if they has an admissible reason (which they can prove) which socially justifies the dismissal in accordance with section 1 (2) KSchG. This is usually the case if the reasons lie in the person or behavior of the mini-jobber or if a dismissal for operational reasons is necessary.

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Important to know: Terminated mini-jobbers can file an action for protection against dismissal before the labor court if they do not consider the dismissal to be socially justified (section 4 KSchG). They have three weeks to do so after receipt of the letter of termination.

Observe special dismissal protection regulations

In addition to general protection against dismissal, certain groups of workers enjoy special protection against dismissal, which also applies to mini-job contracts. These include pregnant women, workers on parental or care leave, and severely disabled people. In these cases, the employer must comply with certain formalities when terminating a mini-job. For example, they can only properly dismiss a mini-jobber with special protection against dismissal if they have obtained the approval of the competent authority.

Hear the works council before giving notice of mini-job temination 

If a works council is elected in the company, the employer must properly hear it in accordance with section 102 Works Constitution Act (BetrVG) before dismissing a minor employee so that the dismissal is effective.

Comply with employment law requirements regarding form and deadline 

In order to legally terminate a minor employment relationship such as a mini-job, the employer must comply with the formal and time requirements of employment law. The formal requirements include:

• Written form: According to section 623 BGB, a termination of a mini-job relationship must always be in writing . If the employer violates this provision and submits the mini-job notice verbally, by e-mail or messenger, this is formally void in accordance with section 125 BGB and is therefore legally ineffective.
• Authorization to sign: The proper written form also includes that the letter of termination is signed by hand with a name signature by a person auhtorized to terminate (e.g. employer or a person with a. If this does not happen and a person who is not has signed the letter of termination, the terminated mini-jobber may reject the termination (Section 17 BGB). However, in the opinion of the Federal Labour Court, they must do so immediately, at the latest within one week.
• Name and address of both parties: To make it clear who is dismissing whom, both parties should be clearly named and addressed.
• Indication of the notice period and proper notice of termination: Since the termination of a mini-job relationship is a unilateral declaration, the employer must  that they wants to end the employment relationship. The letter of termination must therefore leave no room for interpretation or misunderstandings. It is therefore advisable to use the word “” in the subject line. The letter of termination must also clearly state that at what point in time (specific date) the employment relationship is to be terminated. The contractually agreed or above-mentioned statutory notice periods for mini-jobs must be taken into account (more on this in the next section). However, the employer should always terminate “with effect on the next possible date”, as there may be errors when calculating the deadline. The importance of clear and unambiguous wording in the letter of termination is also shown by a recent ruling by the Hamm LAG (Judgement of 16.6.2021, Ref.: 10 Sa 122/21).
• Note on remaining vacation: Since mini-jobbers are also entitled to paid vacation, the employer should also indicate the remaining vacation in the letter of termination and explain how this will be compensated.
• Receipt of notice: A mini-job termination by the employer is a declaration of intent that requires receipt. As a result, it only takes effect when it comes to the mini-jobber as an employee (section 130 (1) (1) BGB), i.e. when it comes into their sphere of influence and they have been able to become aware of it.

Important: Even though the employer can only properly terminate a mini-job relationship for good cause as soon as the Dismissal Protection Act applies to the employment relationship, they are not obliged to state a reason in the notice of termination. However, they must inform the mini-jobber in writing of the reason for the termination at the latter's request.

Notice periods: When can a mini-job be terminated? 

Unless otherwise contractually agreed, the statutory notice periods also apply to mini-jobs. In the event of an ordinary dismissal, the employer can usually dismiss a mini-jobber in the first two years of employment with a deadline of at least four weeks (28 days) to the 15th or the end of a calendar month. (section 622 BGB). By the way, this four-week period applies for a ordinary termination, unless other notice periods are agreed in the employment or collective agreement. However, the employer's notice period is gradually extended the longer they employ the mini-jobber.

Phased notice periods for mini-jobs in accordance with Section 622 (2) BGB

However, the employer can also agree on other termination dates in the employment contract, for example that a mini-job termination is only possible at the end of the quarter.

Important to know: The period of notice for mini-jobs only begins upon receipt of the letter of termination (provided that it is an ordinary termination of a minor employment relationship). Before issuing the notice, the employer should therefore consider at what time the affected employee should leave in order to determine the last legal day and also be able to plan the other termination modalities in due time.

What exceptions to the statutory notice periods are there for mini-job contracts?

Under certain conditions, the employer may deviate from the statutory notice periods when terminating a mini-job. They can lengthen notice periods by agreement, but only if the agreed period of notice for the employee is no longer than that for the employer (Section 622 (6) BGB). If the employment contract provides for a three-month notice period, this applies to both contracting parties.

A Shortening of the legal notice periods stipulated in section 622 (5) BGB is only possible in exceptional cases. For example, a shorter period can be agreed in the employment contract if:

• the mini-jobber is only temporarily employed as temporary help for a maximum of three months, or
• the employer regularly employs no more than 20 employees (except for those in vocational training) and the notice period is not less than four weeks.

Collective agreements can also allow for divergence from the statutory notice periods for mini-jobs: If the company is bound by collective agreements, then according to section 622 (4) BGB, longer and shorter notice periods for mini-jobs are possible for both the employer and the employee.

A further exception applies to termination during the trial period: If a trial period has been agreed, both the employer and the employee can terminate the mini-job on any day of the week with a shortened period of two weeks (section 622 (3) BGB).

What are the notice periods for short-term mini-jobs? 

Fixed-term mini-job contracts usually end at the end of the contractually agreed period. This means that the employer can only properly terminate a short-term minor employee if this is expressly agreed in the employment contract. In this case, the employer must comply with the agreed period of notice.

Can the employer terminate a mini-jobber without notice? 

An extraordinary (without notice) termination is, according to section 626 (1) BGB, only possible for important reasons. This means that there must be facts which make it unreasonable for the employer (or the employee), “taking into account all the circumstances of the individual case and weighing up the interests of both parties to the contract”, to continue the employment relationship until the actual notice period has expired. This regulation also applies to employment contracts with minor employees or mini-jobbers.

In principle, however, the termination must be given within two weeks of the important reason becoming known (section 626 (2) BGB). An important reason can be, for example, a serious breach of duty by the employee like stealing, insulting the employer, bullying, or refusing to work. If you would like to find out more about the reasons for termination and how to proceed in the event of immediate termination for behavioral reasons, you can also read our article about behavioural terminations .

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Letter of resignation for a mini job: Free template for employers

Legally secure termination includes a well-formulated letter of termination. This is because employees, including mini-jobbers, are comprehensively protected against ineffective dismissals in Germany. As already mentioned above, a number of important legal requirements must be met in order for an employer's termination of a mini-job relationship to be valid in the event of a dispute before the employment court.

When terminating a mini-job, HR managers or employers often use a template to formulate the notice of termination in a legally secure manner. However, this requires a certain amount of legal knowledge, as a template cannot easily be adopted, but must always be adapted to the individual case of the mini-jobber to be terminated. Here, the legal experts at Twinwin give valuable tips on how to end the employment relationship with the mini-jobber in a legally secure manner.

Twinwin also has a termination template for employers, which you can download free of charge and adapt to the specific individual case, for example the termination of a mini-job relationship. The template not only meets all legal requirements, but also includes explanatory comments to help you customize the content. This allows you to ensure that the letter of termination:

• is clearly and unambiguously formulated and leaves no room for misunderstandings
• meets legal requirements
• allows individual adjustments, e.g. with regard to the compensation of remaining vacation

Termination agreement — an alternative to mini-job termination by the employer?

Like other employment relationships, a mini-job can also be terminated with a termination agreement. In it, the employer and mini-jobber mutually agree that the employment relationship will be terminated early at a desired date. According to section 623 BGB, a termination agreement must also be made in writing and must be signed by both parties.

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Preparation of certificates for mini-jobbers: Does the employer have to issue an employment reference in the event of dismissal? 

According to section 630 BGB and section 109 Gewerbeordnung (GewO), employees — regardless of whether they work full time, part time or a mini-job — are entitled to a of a certificate certificate of employment. However, the employer only has to do so if the employee requests it.

The most important thing at a glance: termination of a mini-job by the employer

Here are the most important points for the procedure when terminating mini-jobbers in a nutshell:

• The same rules and obligations apply to minor employment contracts (mini-jobs) as to full-time employment contracts.
• The employer must comply with the employment contract, collective agreement or statutory notice periods, even in the case of mini-job relationships. If they agree to individual contractual notice periods with the mini-jobber, the mini-jobber's notice period may not be longer than that of the employer.
• The termination of the mini-job by the employer must always be issued in writing and sent to the employee as an original.
• After completing the mini-job, the employer must deregister the mini-job from the mini-job center, either with the next payslip or no later than six weeks after the employment relationship has ended.
• Practical support in preparing a letter of termination for mini-jobs by the employer offers legally secure templates, which, however, should always be adapted to the specific individual case.

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