Self-employed in service, the kitchen or behind the bar?

Yes, from age 18 and if you genuinely work self-employed, meaning with a registered trade or as a freelancer, for example as a service professional or chef. In your profile you choose “Self-employed, on assignment”, optionally enter your hourly rate and whether you are available at short notice. You sign the contract directly with the business and invoice them yourself. No money goes through us, and it is free for you.

From 18 you can register a trade (Gewerbe), even alongside school or university: at the trade office, usually online, for about €15 to €65. Then you register with the tax office via ELSTER using the tax registration questionnaire and tick the small business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung, § 19 UStG): with no more than €25,000 turnover in the previous year and under €100,000 in the current year you do not charge VAT; in the first year the limit is €25,000. You only pay income tax above the basic allowance (2026: €12,348) and trade tax only above €24,500 profit. Important: anyone working to a roster like an employee is not self-employed. Everything step by step is in the guide at jobtresen.de/en/freelancer-werden. General information, not tax advice.

A registered trade or a freelance activity. You write your own invoices, pay tax on your income yourself and take care of your own insurance; we recommend business liability insurance. If you handle food, you also need the instruction under § 43 of the Infection Protection Act as a self-employed person. If you essentially have only one client in the long run and no employees of your own, you may be required to pay pension insurance (§ 2 sentence 1 no. 9 SGB VI). You can upload your trade registration and proof of insurance in the portal under “Documents”.

You employ casual staff, for example as a mini-job or short-term employment: you are the employer, set the roster and instructions and register the person. Freelancers take on an assignment on their own responsibility, with their own trade, their own invoice and their own price, without an employment contract. What matters is not the contract but how the work actually happens: anyone working to your roster like your employees is usually employed, even if they write an invoice. Good fits are, for example, a hired chef with several clients, event and catering service, a bartender for an event or cover for a head chef.

Only if the person genuinely works self-employed. Then there is no employment contract and no registration; you pay the invoice. If it is actually employment, for example a normal service shift to your roster, you are the employer with all obligations: social security contributions, even retroactively for up to four years (up to 30 years if intentional) plus late-payment surcharges, immediate notification and minimum wage. Withholding contributions is a criminal offence (§ 266a StGB), and hospitality is checked particularly closely for undeclared work. If in doubt, the status determination procedure of the German Pension Insurance (§ 7a SGB IV) clarifies the status. For spontaneous casual staff, the legal fast route is short-term employment: registering with immediate notification at the Minijob-Zentrale takes a few minutes online.