Hiring employees in Germany: Your employer checklist

Apply for an employer business number

Before you can hire employees, your company must obtain an employer business number 💬Betriebsnummer from the Federal Employment Agency. This number is required for all health insurance reporting duties, including registering and deregistering employees and reporting changes in employment. You can apply online at bno.arbeitsagentur.de.

What is an employer business number?

The employer business number is a unique identifier assigned to companies in Germany. It is used by public authorities — especially health insurance funds — to process employee registrations, employment changes and contribution reporting. Without it, you cannot legally employ staff.

How to apply

Employers or authorised representatives can apply online through the Federal Employment Agency 💬Bundesagentur für Arbeit. Mining and maritime businesses must apply through the Knappschaft-Bahn-See pension fund instead. The application requires:

• Business name
• Business address
• Type of business activity
• Contact person

Once processed, you will receive written confirmation with your new employer business number. If you employ household workers privately (e.g., cleaners or carers) under the Haushaltsscheck procedure, you only need to submit a form to the Minijob centre—no employer business number is required.

Contact address:

Bundesagentur für Arbeit
Eschberger Weg 68
66121 Saarbrücken
Tel: 0800 4 5555-20
Fax: 0681 988429-1300
betriebsnummernservice@arbeitsagentur.de 

Record the relevant employee data

Once you have selected a candidate, you must collect all required personal and employment-related information. These documents ensure correct registration with authorities and proper payroll processing.

• Completed personnel questionnaire (personal details, employment details, tax information)
• Identity card (copy or original)
• Pension insurance number (letter from the pension insurance authority)
• Health insurance certificate
• Tax identification number
• ELStAM data (electronic wage tax deduction details retrieved via the tax authority’s system)
• Holiday certificate from the previous employer (if applicable)
• Documents for capital-forming benefits (if available)
• Work and residence permit for foreign employees
• Disability certificate (if applicable)
• Sector-specific certificates (e.g. health certificate in care professions, driving licence for professional drivers)
• Proof of additional qualifications (e.g. forklift licence, welding certificate, REFA certificate)

Draw up an employment contract

An employment contract defines the employee’s duties, working conditions and compensation. It establishes the legal framework of the employment relationship and is essential for resolving disputes or clarifying obligations.

The contract must be in writing

While employment can begin without a written contract, the law requires that all essential terms be documented in writing and handed to the employee within one month of starting work.

Required elements of a valid employment contract

• Employer’s name and address
• Employee’s name and address
• Place of work
• Job description
• Start date of employment
• Probation period (if agreed, maximum six months)
• Duration of employment (for fixed-term contracts)
• Working hours
• Annual leave entitlement (minimum 24 working days)
• Notice periods for termination
• Salary—amount and full breakdown of components

The contract becomes legally effective once both parties sign it in person. If you are hiring for the first time, consulting an employment lawyer is highly recommended to avoid errors that could later lead to compensation claims or legal disputes.

Register new employees

When hiring staff, you must register each new employee with the relevant authorities to ensure proper social security, tax and insurance coverage.

Where to register

New employees must be registered with the following institutions:

• Social insurance – registration via the employee’s health insurance fund
• Statutory accident insurance – employers’ liability insurance association 💬Berufsgenossenschaft
• Tax office – automatic via ELStAM when retrieving the employee’s tax data
• Health authority 💬Gesundheitsamt – only if required for specific professions, e.g. in food handling

Social security registration

In Germany, employees are generally covered by the statutory social security system, which includes:

• Health insurance
• Long-term care insurance
• Pension insurance
• Unemployment insurance

Only a few occupational groups are exempt from mandatory coverage. For specific cases, health insurance providers can give detailed guidance. See here for information on health insurance for the self employed with a side job.

As an employer, you must report key information to the social security authorities (Sozialversicherungsträger). One of the first steps when hiring a new employee is to register them with their health insurance fund. This ensures that social security contributions can be collected from day one.

For minijobbers (low-income, part-time workers), registration and fixed contributions are handled by the Minijob centre. Failing to register employees—or providing false or incomplete information — is a legal offence and can result in significant fines.

Who must be registered?

In general, all employees must be registered with their health insurance fund, including:

• Employees with compulsory insurance (health, long-term care, unemployment, pension)
• Employees exempt from statutory insurance due to exceeding the annual earnings limit
• Part-time workers
• Employees in partial retirement
• Employees aged 65 and above

When in doubt, contact the employee’s health insurance fund to confirm whether registration is required.

Industries requiring immediate registration

Some industries must report new hires no later than the employee’s first working day. Immediate registration applies to the following sectors:

• Construction and fairground/carnival businesses
• Building cleaning
• Hotels and restaurants
• Passenger transport, freight and logistics
• Meat processing industry
• Forestry

If you’re unsure whether you fall under the immediate reporting requirement, your Sozialversicherungsträger can advise you.

Do I need the employee’s membership certificate?

Yes. You must receive the employee’s membership certificate from their health insurance fund within two weeks of employment starting. If the certificate is not available in time, you may temporarily register the employee with their previous health insurance provider. The employee is legally required to provide this information.

If the employee was not previously insured in Germany, they must choose a health insurance provider.

What is a membership certificate?

The membership certificate contains the employee’s personal details and their social security number (pension insurance number). This information is required for correct social security registration.

Social security contribution and reporting process

All reporting in the contributions and notification process (Beitrags- und Meldeverfahren) must be carried out via secure, encrypted data transmission. Only certified payroll software or approved automated tools may be used. Paper forms and physical data carriers are no longer permitted.

Statutory accident insurance

Employers must register every new employee with the relevant employers’ liability insurance association 💬Berufsgenossenschaft. This applies to all types of workers — trainees, employees and service providers alike.

Contributions to statutory accident insurance are paid entirely by the employer; employees do not contribute. Just like social security reporting, all payroll data must be transmitted digitally to the responsible Berufsgenossenschaft or Unfallkasse.

Tax office

When you hire a new employee, you must register them with the tax office via ELSTER, the official online portal. This activates their ELStAM (electronic wage tax deduction data) so that the correct income tax can be processed.

To complete the registration, you need the employee’s date of birth and tax identification number (Steuer-ID). You must also indicate whether the role is the employee’s main job (tax classes 1–5) or a secondary job (tax class 6).

If the employee does not yet have a Steuer-ID, it can be requested online from the Federal Central Tax Office. For correct tax deductions and tax class selection, it’s advisable to consult a tax adviser.

Registering employees with the health authorities

Businesses that handle food — such as restaurants, catering services, bakeries or butcher shops — must register their employees with the Gesundheitsamt (health authority). Before starting work, each employee needs a certificate from an Amtsarzt (public health medical officer) confirming they are medically fit to perform food-related tasks safely.