Global HR & Payroll

Germany is the 4th largest economy in Europe, a key member of the EU, and is one of the most stable trading economies in the world. It offers a secure, and highly developed environment to build your company, and it has a deep commitment to innovation. 

Germany is an excellent option for companies to expand to due to its communications, energy, and manufacturing infrastructure, making it easy for your business to find what it needs.

While working in Germany can be a major step for your company, Germany presents significant hurdles due to the complex bureaucratic requirements. IRIS Global Workforce Management helps you streamline the process, ensuring you are registered with the local tax and trade offices as well as all necessary chambers of commerce, commercial registries,  professional and industry organizations. 

Employers in Germany must withhold income tax, solidarity tax, and social insurance which covers employees’ pensions, health insurance, unemployment insurance, and long-term care insurance. Additionally, German employees who are members of a church have to pay a church tax. 

An important part of German tax codes is ensuring each employee is identified in the correct tax bracket. Unlike other countries where tax brackets are determined by gross income, German tax brackets are determined by your marital/relationship status and family. For example, German tax bracket 2 only applies to single parents who are living alone, while tax bracket 3 is for widowed people in the year their spouse dies.

IRIS Global Workforce Management helps simplify the German tax code and ensures that payroll taxes are handled correctly and prompt every pay period. 

Germany has many strict laws around work benefits. These are mandatory laws in place that must be followed by all employers. 

The maximum number of working hours per day is 8 hours. Working on public holidays and/or Sundays is prohibited. After the workday, employees are entitled to a minimum of 11 hours of uninterrupted rest from their work. This means it is illegal to email, message, or call employees after they have clocked out.

Employees who work a full-time position are entitled to a minimum of 20 days of paid vacation per year. After an employee has worked for a minimum of 4 weeks, they are entitled to sick pay where you have to pay them their full salary for up to six weeks. If an employee falls sick again within the same year, but with a different illness, they’re still entitled to another full six weeks of fully-paid leave.

It is mandatory to offer 14 weeks of paid maternity leave, where the mother is entitled to their full salary. Both mothers and fathers are entitled to up to three years of parental leave (Elternzeit) where you are not required to pay the employee, but they can apply for paternal allowance (Eltengeld) where they earn 60-67% of their average salary for up to 14 months. 

IRIS Global Workforce Management makes managing German employee benefits easy. We help you not just meet the minimum standards of benefits, but  establish additional employee benefits to attract the talent you want for your German employees.

Berlin is Germany’s most international city, and a great place to expand your business. With a strong local and international economy, Berlin puts your company in the same city as major foreign investors, entrepreneurs, and politicians.

Berlin is perfect for your first expansion into the global market because it is Germany’s most prolific city for business, with a new start-up founding every 20 minutes. This is only possible with Berlin’s rich labor market, where you can find the talent and experience you’re looking for when you need it.

Hamburg is the largest non-capital EU city and has a long history as a major port and trading center. This has led Hamburg to become the economic center of Northern Europe. Because of its history with trade and shipping, Hamburg has a wide diversity of industries, with a major focus on materials and processes, mobility, transport, and logistics.

Hamburg has multiple universities and research institutions that directly infuse the labor market with highly educated and qualified employees. Additionally, Hamburg has a strong professional network of organizations that are ready to help both employers and employees, like the Handelskammer, Handwerkskammer, and Hamburger ExistenzgründungsInitiative (HEI).

Munich is known for having a strong, resilient economy that offers a high mix of industries, making it a major city for international business and trade. 86,000 companies call Munich home, with over 10,000 new businesses registered in 2022 alone.

Munich is growing as the tech center of Germany and has been recently growing with Google, creating a long-term partnership with the Technical University of Munich (TUM) directly funding research into artificial intelligence, robotics, and machine learning projects. Other tech companies that have headquarters in Munich include Microsoft, Intel, Adobe, Amazon, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, and Oracle, with many international players opening their own incubators, accelerators, and startup labs and investing directly in the local economy and talent.