In these times of uncertainty, it is important to feel a sense of stability in the employment. This undoubtedly also concerns the salary you receive – to ensure a decent life with everything you need for it. The employment contract brings such stability.
Why is it better to be employed on working contract rather than to work as a self-employed? What are the benefits and what can you get if you prefer to work as a carer in Germany on employment contract, and not as self-employed?
Employment contract offers more certainty
An employment contract offers several advantages. Admittedly, a self-employment has its advantages too, but it´s very individual. When working as a carer, an agency contract is more worthy due to the complexity of circumstances. Contracted work is generally more profitable, especially concerning long term perspective. As an employee, the contract gives you peace of mind that you are working legally and are not at risk of getting into trouble with the law. Other benefits of working on a contract include guaranteed pay and fixed payday.
Once you see a higher salary being offered for a self-trade job, it’s more tempting and seems much more lucrative at first glance, but in reality it’s not. After you pay your own contributions and taxes, you will be left with less in net income than if you were working on the employment contract.
Self-employment and the issue of illegal work
As a self-employed person who carries out a regularly recurring activity, you have to set up your trade in Germany. In Germany, only work carried out a few times a year can be dealt with via a Slovak trade licence. This is characterised as cross-border providing of services. So if you worked in Germany with Slovak self-trade, it would be illegal. If you choose to work as self-employed, you must work via German self-trade. In this case, however, you would needto have more than one client, i.e. at least two, which on the other hand is not so advantageous for the patients. If you were only working for one family only, German law would also see this as illegal work.
Employment contract and levies
If you have a working contract, you don’t have to worry about paying the contributions because your employer will take care of it. The agency that employs you and sends you abroad as a carer, pays the contributions for you. They will handle communication with the relevant authorities and register you for both health and social insurance. At the end of the annual accounting period, the employer will issue you documents needed for your tax return. If you were self-employed, you would have to pay tax on your own, keep your own books or hire an accountant. You also have to report sick leave yourself. Atena pays your social contributions for you even during the period when you are on a break from rotation.
You won’t be deprived of social benefits either, which include entitlement to sick pay, holiday pay, maternity pay, parental pay and,for the future, working on a contract pays off in terms of your pension, too. Although in the beginnings we usually don’t think about what will happen in few years. If you work on employment contract, your pension insurance flows without interruption. You will receive a credit document from the agency, which serves as proof of the duration of the employment. This will need to be submitted when you apply for your pension. In addition, if you worked in Germany as a self-employed carer, you cannot claim flat-rate expenses as you can in Slovakia. You would be obliged to state your real expenses, as German law states so, which is not advantageous for you.
Working on the employment contract is much simpler solution.
A contract of employment is a guarantee
If you work as self-employed, you cannot be sure that the family of the person you care for will pay you the money on time, or that you will get your pay at all. You don’t know what kind of family you’ll come into, how they’ll treat you. If you would like to leave, you will have to arrange everything yourself. You would need to arrange the transport on your own, but on the other hand while working on contract – Atena will arrange everything for you without any problems. As a self-employed, you need to pay fees to the German agency and also for setting up your self-trade. In a reliable agency – like Atena – that will employ you on a working contract, you pay no fees.
Atena will provide you with a working contract
It is worthy to be employed as a caregiver with us, because we will provide you with detailed information about the patient you will be caring for. You’ll learn all about their diagnosis, needs and where they live upfront. There is no way you will arrive in a completely different environment than you expected and were told. You can contact us at any time if you need anything and have any problem. We will assign you your personal consultant who will be happy to advise you if needed. We have an hotline emergency service at weekends. Should a patient die or be moved to a nursing home, we can find a new client if you wish and you do not have to pay for accommodation during the period before you are placed with a new family.
You can read about legal ways to get a job as a carer in this article. If you want to know more about retirement in the EU, follow this link.
