How is the Werkstudent hour limit controlled?

There is no central system that tracks a Werkstudent's 20-hour limit day by day. The limit is a social-insurance rule: if you regularly work no more than 20 hours a week during the lecture period (hours at several employers are added together), you are exempt from health, long-term care and unemployment insurance in that job and only pay the employee share of pension insurance. You may exceed 20 hours for up to 26 weeks a year if the extra work is in the evening, at night, at weekends or during semester breaks.

#Who looks at what?

• Employer: registers you with social insurance and assesses your Werkstudent status based on your contract and working hours. Because hours are added up across jobs, tell your employers about your other jobs.
• Krankenkasse (health insurer): the place to ask about your insurance status. If the Werkstudent conditions are not met, you are insured like a regular employee.
• Ausländerbehörde: under residence law the limit is not weekly hours but 140 working days per year (§ 16b AufenthG, Arbeitstagekonto). A day of up to 4 hours counts as half a day; a lecture-period week with no more than 20 hours can count as 2.5 working days, and for each week the calculation more favourable to you applies. You may be asked for documents about your work when you extend your permit; check the details with your own Ausländerbehörde.

#What happens if you exceed 20 hours?

You can lose the Werkstudent social-insurance advantage; health, long-term care and unemployment insurance contributions are then calculated as for a regular employee. For your residence permit, what counts is the 140-working-day account; 20 hours a week on its own is not a residence-law limit.

#How much is student health insurance?

There is no single fixed amount for everyone. The student contribution is calculated from a statutory base amount, plus your Krankenkasse's additional contribution (Zusatzbeitrag) and the long-term care contribution. The amount therefore varies by insurer and personal situation (for example age or children); ask your own Krankenkasse for the current figure.

#Practical tips

• Keep your own record of the days and hours you work, and keep your payslips (Lohnabrechnung).
• If you have more than one job, track your total weekly hours and your 140-day account together.
• If in doubt, ask your employer and your Krankenkasse.

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