“Non-standard” work in Germany: self-employed and “mini-jobs”

Abstract

The paper discusses two forms of “non-standard” work in Germany: self-employment and the so-called “Mini-Jobs”. While in the majority of EU countries the self-employed are systematically covered by social security schemes, compulsory social insurance in Germany is limited only to a few special groups of the self-employed. Another German “peculiarity” are the “mini-jobs”, which are treated differently than “regular jobs” under tax and social law. The paper first gives a brief overview of the German social security system, before discussing the social security situation of self-employed in Germany. Then, the so-called “Mini-Jobs” and their European dimension are described and discussed.