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A holiday job is a temporary job that pupils or students do during their holidays. In many cases, these are jobs that are in high demand during the seasonal peaks of summer and Christmas. During the summer break, for example, this includes jobs in beer gardens and at outdoor events. During the Christmas holidays, you will find more jobs in retail.
Due to the temporary nature of this work, many holiday jobs – like the ones at Zenjob – take place in the context of short-term employment. Please note that we do not offer continuous jobs for the entire holiday season, only individual shifts. Also, note that you must be at least 18 years old and a full-time student at an officially recognized university to register with Zenjob.
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Many summer jobs are on a short-term basis to limit the employment to the duration of the holidays. Broadly speaking, you have two options when looking for a summer job:
- You apply for a specific summer job with one employer. In this case, you usually work up to 5 days a week for the whole duration of your holidays.
- You use the Zenjob app. Once you’ve registered with Zenjob, you work an individual shift at one of our many partner companies when it suits you best. This makes you much more flexible and also allows you to enjoy your time off during the holidays.
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It depends on the type of employment. A minijob with an earnings limit (€520 minijob) is usually taxed at a flat rate of 2% of your income and covered by your employer. In other words, this type of summer job is essentially tax-free for you.
Short-term jobs, such as those offered by Zenjob, are subject to wage tax (Lohnsteuer). The amount depends on your tax bracket (Steuerklasse), child allowances (Kinderfreibeträge), church tax deductions (Kirchensteuer) and tax-free allowances (Freibeträge). If you have a short-term summer job and your total income at the end of the year is below the basic tax-free allowance (Grundfreibetrag), you can usually file a tax return to reclaim the income tax you paid.
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In principle, international students in Germany are allowed to work full-time during the semester break, regardless of their nationality. Nevertheless, there are some differences that you should be aware of.
If you come from the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you have the same rights and restrictions as a German student when it comes to working part-time alongside your studies. During the lecture period, you may work a maximum of 20 hours per week, and during the semester break, up to 40 hours per week.
If you come from a country other than those listed above, you may not work more than 120 full days or 240 half days per year.
Find Flexible Summer Jobs via App
Are you looking for a summer job during the semester break that doesn’t require you to speak German? In the Zenjob app, you can work part-time in English without having to sacrifice all your free time. We match you with summer jobs from a wide range of industries and you pick the shifts that suit you best. Without writing a single application!
The summer jobs at Zenjob take place within the framework of short-term employment. The advantage? There is no earnings limit and you decide when and how often you work.
Summer jobs for you
If you’re looking for English-speaking jobs in the summer or during the Christmas season, Zenjob is the right place for you. In our app, you’ll find a variety of summer jobs for all experience levels. Plus, to make sure you can spend the money you earn during the semester break, you’ll receive half of your gross wage as an advance payment a few days after you finish your shift.
Work in a kitchen
During seasonal peaks such as the summer holidays, the demand for temporary staff in the food service industry is particularly high. One of the most popular jobs for English-speaking students is working in kitchens. As a kitchen helper, you support the chefs and waiters by prepping food and keeping the kitchen clean.
Summer jobs at events
Summertime is the peak season for concerts, festivals, sporting events and conventions. Our partner companies rely on lots of temp staff to work as stagehands, cloakroom attendants, service staff and more. Looking for something fun to do during the semester break? How about earning money while seeing your favourite band live?
How do I find an English summer job in Germany?
If you search for English-speaking summer jobs in Germany, you won’t necessarily only find results where you don’t have to speak German at all. It is much more likely that you’ll find jobs that require you to speak both English and German. Not so with Zenjob.
In our job app, you can specify in your profile how good your German skills are. If you don’t want to work in German, we will only match you with jobs in English.
Please note that we offer short-term jobs which means you have to meet some requirements to use Zenjob.
- You must be over 18 years old.
- You need to have good English or German skills.
- You must be a full-time student at an officially recognized university.
- You need a valid German ID or passport with a work permit in Germany.
- You need a valid certificate of enrolment (Immatrikulationsbescheinigung).
- You must have a place of residence in Germany, a German social security number (Sozialversicherungsnummer), and European health insurance.