Unemployed persons can have a mini-job in addition to receiving benefits. This can, however, affect the amount of unemployment benefits. Find out why short-term mini-jobs are generally excluded for the unemployed and what else needs to be considered.
450-euro mini-jobs are intended to serve the unemployed as a bridge to the primary labor market. The short- to medium-term goal is more than marginal employment subject to social insurance contributions. If the income of the unemployed person exceeds certain allowances, the unemployment benefit is reduced.
Unemployed according to employment promotion regulations
Unemployed persons are persons who
- are temporarily not in an employment relationship (unemployed),
- seek employment subject to compulsory insurance and in doing so be available to the placement efforts of the Employment Agency and
- have registered as unemployed with the employment agency.
Unemployed persons are also persons who are employed but whose working hours are less than 15 hours per week. Occasional deviations of short duration are harmless. In this respect, employees who have a 450-euro mini-job can also be unemployed, because they usually work less than 15 hours a week, if only because of the statutory minimum wage.
Unemployment benefit and mini-job: allowances for unemployment benefit
The unemployed recipient of unemployment benefit I or unemployment benefit II (basic support for job seekers) is obliged to declare income earned on the side. However, allowances apply that are not counted towards the benefit. In principle, the following applies to recipients of Unemployment benefit I an allowance of 165 euros and for recipients of Unemployment benefit II an allowance of 100 Euro. The net income is decisive. Remuneration earned from employment in excess of this amount generally leads to benefit reductions.
No particularities for employers in case of an unemployed 450-Euro-Minijobber
If employers hire unemployed persons as 450-euro mini-jobbers, there are no special features to be observed with regard to registration and contribution law. The mini-jobber must be registered with person group 109 and the corresponding contribution group key at the mini-job center and the corresponding taxes must be paid monthly.
contribution group key
6 1 0 0 – Minijobber is subject to statutory health insurance + pension insurance
6 5 0 0 – mini-jobber is legally insured + exempt from compulsory social security contributions
If the remuneration exceeds the allowance applicable to the employee’s benefit, this has no effect on the minijob. This affects only the employee in his relationship with the employment agency.
Unemployed and short-term employment: Observe professional nature
Short-term minijobs are limited to a maximum of three months or 70 working days per calendar year. This second variant of the mini-job is generally only possible if the employment is not carried out professionally by the employee. However, professionalism is always to be assumed for unemployed persons, because for this group of persons every occupation is not of minor economic importance. This also applies to temporary workers who are registered with the employment agency as a trainee or jobseeker without receiving benefits. If the monthly remuneration does not exceed 450 euros, there is no need to consider occupational regularity.