German Minijobbers Face New Time-Tracking Rules as Court Ruling Redefines Travel Time
19.06.2026 - 09:25:30 | boerse-global.de
A European Court of Justice decision from October 2025 is forcing German employers to rethink how they count working hours for mobile employees — especially minijobbers. The ruling (Case C-110/24) establishes that driving from a base to a customer in a company car counts as full working time. Any contract that flatly excludes these hours from paid time is void.
That has immediate bite for the roughly 7.5 million people in Germany who work in mini-jobs, the low-earning positions that remain exempt from social security contributions as long as monthly pay stays under €603 — a ceiling that rose at the start of 2026. Travel time, including traffic jams and detours, now pushes daily hours up and must be factored into both wage calculations and the minijob earnings cap.
For UK employers facing similar compliance demands, a comprehensive Health & Safety Toolkit offers ready-to-use risk assessments and checklists aligned with the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and other regulations. With over 37,000 UK businesses already using it, this free toolkit helps you stay on top of your duties – so you can focus on running your business. Download the free Health & Safety Toolkit
The same ruling tightens rest-period rules: the statutory 11-hour break begins only when the worker arrives back at the base or finishes the return trip. Employers who schedule mobile minijobbers without accounting for this risk violating both working-time law and the delicate boundaries that keep a job in mini-job status.
Electronic Recording Becomes Mandatory for All
Behind the travel-time case stands a broader overhaul of Germany’s Working Time Act. A draft bill published June 18 by the Labour Ministry requires every employer to log start, end and duration of daily work electronically. Trust-based working time remains legally possible, but companies must ensure they cannot inadvertently miss overtime or rest-period breaches.
The digital mandate hits minijobs particularly hard. Because the €603 threshold depends directly on hours worked at the minimum wage, sloppy recording can unintentionally push earnings above the limit, triggering full social security liability for both employer and employee. Experts describe the new system as more bureaucracy but also as greater legal certainty.
Politicians are split on the draft. Labour Minister Bas insists any flexibility must be tied to health protection. Employer representative Dulger has called for the bill to be withdrawn, calling it a heavy burden. Industry associations VDMA and Gesamtmetall object that the reform gives unionised firms a competitive advantage. Opposition politicians argue the government’s own coalition agreement promised flexibility for all workers, not just those in tariff-bound companies.
Collective Bargaining Partners Get Weekly-Hours Option
One innovation in the June draft lets collective bargaining parties agree on a weekly maximum working time instead of the traditional daily eight-hour limit, with an extension to ten hours possible. In non-unionised workplaces, the daily eight-hour ceiling remains mandatory.
For minijobbers without a collective agreement, this means the daily cap stays rigid. Yet the interplay with the new travel-time ruling creates fresh complexity: a mobile mini-job worker may reach the daily limit purely through driving, leaving no room for actual work.
Multiple Minijobs Add Layers of Risk
Workers who hold several minijobs without a main job must watch the combined income. If the total exceeds €603, each position becomes subject to social security contributions. For employees with a primary job, only one minijob can be handled on a flat-rate basis; any additional side job is offset against the main employment and fully liable.
Just as German employers must track minijob income to avoid compliance errors, UK employers face their own hidden risks under the Health & Safety at Work Act. A free expert toolkit reveals the most common compliance gaps and provides ready-to-use checklists and risk assessments to protect your business. Download the free Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 Toolkit
Employers are now asking more frequently about other jobs to avoid contribution errors. Mistakes can quickly draw scrutiny from social insurance agencies. Another trap: work-on-demand contracts that lack a fixed weekly hour count default by law to 20 hours per week. For a minijobber, that number can mathematically blow past the earnings ceiling. Labour lawyers advise writing clear weekly-hour clauses and giving at least four days’ notice for each assignment.
