Minijob hours: how many per week and per month?

No. Section 8 of Social Code IV (SGB IV) defines a minijob by earnings, not by working time. A job is a minijob as long as your regular monthly pay does not exceed the marginal-earnings limit, which is €603 in 2026. How many hours that means depends only on your hourly wage.

What counts is your regular pay averaged over the year: €603 a month equals €7,236 a year. If your pay varies from month to month, the yearly figure is what has to fit. Since October 2022 the limit has been tied to the minimum wage and set so that about 10 hours a week are always possible at the minimum wage.

The calculation is simple: limit divided by hourly wage. At the 2026 minimum wage that means €603 ÷ €13.90 = 43.3 hours a month. For the week, multiply the monthly hours by 12 and divide by 52 weeks, which gives about 10 hours. We round down to one decimal so the hour count never ends up just above the limit.

The table shows the maximum hours for typical hourly wages in both years. The minijob calculator works out your exact figure and your net pay.

On 1 January 2027 the minimum wage rises to €14.60 and the minijob limit automatically to €633. If you work at the minimum wage you can therefore keep working 43.3 hours a month, but you earn more for them. That is exactly what the coupling is for.

It is different if your hourly wage is above the minimum wage and stays the same. Then more hours fit under the higher limit in 2027: at €15 an hour, for example, 42.2 instead of 40.2 hours a month. Whether you actually work the extra hours is a matter for your employment contract; the higher limit alone does not change it.

Yes. Paid overtime increases your earnings and therefore counts toward the limit. The same goes for one-off payments such as a Christmas bonus if you are entitled to it, for example under your employment contract: it is spread over the year and counted.

Going over occasionally and unforeseeably is allowed, for instance when you step in at short notice for a sick colleague. This may happen in up to two calendar months within twelve months, and in those months your pay may reach at most twice the limit, so €1,206 in 2026. Plannable extra work does not qualify.

If you work more in some weeks and less in others, a working-time account can help: your pay is then paid out evenly while the hours vary. This should be agreed in writing.

Many minijobs run as on-call work: the employer contacts you when they need you. If the contract sets no weekly working time, section 12 of the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act (TzBfG) deems 20 hours a week to be agreed. At the minimum wage that would be about €1,205 a month, far above the limit.

For you this means: make sure the contract states a fixed number of weekly or monthly hours that fits your hourly wage and the limit. That protects both sides from unintended compulsory insurance and from back claims.

Yes. The Working Hours Act applies to minijobs too: as a rule at most eight hours a day, and a break of at least 30 minutes after more than six hours. If you also have a main job, the working time of both jobs is added up for these limits.

Commercial employers must also record the start, end and duration of a minijobber’s daily working time, by the seventh day afterwards at the latest, and keep the records for two years (section 17 of the Minimum Wage Act, MiLoG). This duty does not apply to minijobs in private households. A separate guide covers your rights on minimum wage, leave and sick pay.