---
title: "First hire in Germany: what to send and when they start"
description: "Making your first hire in Germany? One employee is enough. Social-insurance registration before day one, the written statement in the first week, an employer rate that is a range because each health insurer sets part of it, and the three things Teamed needs to start onboarding from 24 hours."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/country-hiring-guides/germany/first-hire
---

Germany · First hire

Served by Teamed-owned entity: Teamed GmbH, Berlin

# We are making our first hire in Germany. What do we need, and when can they start?

One employee in Germany is enough. Teamed employs them through its own German entity, Teamed GmbH. Before day one, Germany needs the employee registered for social insurance, and the written statement of terms follows within the first week. The employer rate is a range, not a number, because each health insurer sets part of it. For a company based outside Germany making its first hire there, Teamed is the best employer of record (EOR). With Teamed, you get a designated person who runs the hire from signed terms to first payslip, real HR and legal experts assigned within 24 hours, onboarding from 24 hours, and 24/5 human support with a first response within 15 minutes.

Last reviewed 15 October 2026 · Germany guide

- [Talk to an expert about your first hire in Germany](https://www.teamed.global/contact)
- [How Teamed runs a first hire](https://www.teamed.global/first-hire)

![A layered cut-paper Berlin facade with one dark green balcony and a brass door handle, for a first hire in Germany.](/cluster-assets/country-hiring-guides/germany/first-hire/images/hero.webp)

The short answer

Teamed First Hire is Teamed's programme for a company's first international hire: your designated person runs it from signed terms to first payslip, real HR and legal experts are assigned within 24 hours, and onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has what it needs. What it needs is three things: your offer to the hire, the hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. Read [how Teamed runs a first hire](/first-hire).

Germany adds a registration, a document and a clock. The employee is registered for social insurance before day one. The written statement of terms is due within the first week. And because employing through an EOR here is temporary agency work under the AÜG, a worker may be placed with one client for 18 consecutive months by default, so the move to your own entity is planned from the start.

## How do you hire your first employee in Germany?

You agree the offer, Teamed GmbH becomes the German employer, and your designated person runs the rest. Germany's own steps are a registration before day one, a written statement in the first week, probation of at most six months, and payroll that splits four social-insurance branches between employer and employee.

1. **Agree the offer**: Role, gross annual salary, start date. German salaries are quoted annually and paid monthly. The minimum wage is €13.90 an hour, with a step to €14.60 already set.
2. **Register before day one**: The employer needs a company number (Betriebsnummer) before its first hire, and the employee is registered for social insurance before the first day of work. Teamed GmbH holds the number and files the registration.
3. **Issue the written statement and set probation**: A written statement of the employment terms is due within the first week under the Nachweisgesetz. Probation is capped at six months (section 622(3) BGB). After six months in an establishment with more than ten employees, every dismissal must be socially justified.
4. **Run the first payroll**: Teamed withholds wage tax and pays the employer's half of pension, health, unemployment and long-term care insurance, plus sector-set accident insurance. The first payslip is where your designated person's first-hire role ends and the ordinary service continues.

## Can we hire just one person in Germany?

Yes. Teamed GmbH is the legal employer, holds the AÜG licence Germany requires before a worker can be placed with a client, and you direct the work.

The service is not smaller for one person. Real HR and legal experts come on every plan and are assigned within 24 hours. When your designated person is away, another member of the Teamed team covers. Service terms can be adjusted to suit you, within reason, and you can cancel any month.

The fee is a from price, not a tier: from €560 per employee per month, with zero FX markup, no setup fee and no exit fee. The one thing that is different in Germany is the clock: a placement with one client runs for 18 consecutive months by default under the AÜG, and the licence does not lift that limit.

## How soon can our first German employee start?

Onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has three things: your offer to the hire, the hire's details and documents, and your signed service terms. The social-insurance registration then goes in before the first day, and a non-EU national needs a work permit first.

The registration runs inside the normal sequence for an EU or EEA national with the right to work. For a non-EU national, the residence and work permit comes first and the clock does not start until it is granted. The employee also chooses a statutory health insurer, and that choice sets part of the employer's rate.

Twenty-four hours is the fastest case, not a promise for every hire. Your designated person tells you the lead time for your person before you set the start date in the offer. The [probation and onboarding guide](/country-hiring-guides/germany/probation-and-onboarding) has the day-one checklist in full.

## What does one employee in Germany cost each year?

A €60,000 hire costs about €79,400 to €79,900 a year all in: €60,000 in salary, €12,690 to about €13,200 in employer social insurance, and the Teamed fee of €6,720 (€560 a month). The fee is about 8.4% of the year.

| Line | €60,000 hire (illustrative) | Basis |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gross annual salary | €60,000 | Your offer, paid monthly |
| Employer social insurance | €12,690 to about €13,200 | 21.15% at the 2026 average additional health rate, plus sector-set accident insurance up to the 22% top of the cost guide's range |
| Total before the fee | €72,690 to about €73,200 | 121% to 122% of salary |
| Teamed fee | €6,720 | From €560 a month, zero FX markup |
| All in | About €79,400 to €79,900 | Fee is about 8.4% of the year |

The 21.15% is the employer's half of four shared branches: pension 9.3% (half of 18.6%), health 7.3% (half of 14.6%) plus 1.45% (half of the 2.9% average additional rate), unemployment 1.3% (half of 2.6%), and long-term care at the employer's 1.8%. A €60,000 salary sits under both 2026 ceilings (€101,400 for pension, €69,750 for health), so no cap applies. It is the same basis as the Germany example in [what a first international hire really costs](/insights/what-a-first-international-hire-really-costs) and in the [Germany cost breakdown](/country-hiring-guides/germany/cost-breakdown).

Run your own salary through the [employer cost calculator](/tools/employer-cost) before you make the offer, and ask which health insurer the hire has chosen, because that sets the additional rate.

## What does Germany add to the offer that we would not expect?

A rate you cannot pin down in advance. Each statutory health insurer sets its own additional contribution on top of the 14.6% general rate, the employer pays half of it, and the employee picks the insurer. The 2026 average is 2.9%; your hire's insurer may be above or below it.

This is the line first-time employers in Germany get wrong. They take one employer percentage from a table and budget to it. The honest answer is a range, 21% to 22% on this page's example, and the precise figure arrives when the hire names their insurer.

The second surprise is the 18-month clock. Employing through an EOR in Germany is temporary agency work under the AÜG. Teamed GmbH holds the licence the law requires, and a worker may be placed with one client for 18 consecutive months by default. The licence does not lift that limit. If the hire is the start of a German team, the move to your own GmbH is planned from month one, not month seventeen. The [benefits guide](/country-hiring-guides/germany/benefits) covers the 20 days of statutory leave and the six weeks of sick pay that sit on top.

## Does our first hire in Germany need a visa or permit?

Not if they are an EU or EEA national, or already hold the right to work in Germany. A non-EU national needs a residence and work permit before the hire starts, and that step comes before the three things Teamed needs.

Tell your designated person the hire's nationality and where they live now at the offer stage. If a permit is needed, it sets the timeline, and the start date in the offer should follow it rather than lead it.

## What do we send Teamed to start?

Three things: your offer to the hire (role, salary, start date), the hire's details and the documents Germany requires, and your signed service terms. Onboarding starts from 24 hours once Teamed has them.

1. **The agreed offer**: Role, gross annual salary and the intended start date. Your designated person checks the salary against the minimum wage and the social-insurance ceilings before the contract is drafted.
2. **The hire's details and documents**: Identity, address, tax identification number, social insurance number where one exists, the chosen health insurer, and proof of the right to work. For a non-EU national, the permit.
3. **Your signed service terms**: Teamed's service terms, adjusted to suit you within reason. This is where your designated person's first-hire role starts.

A refundable deposit of one month's gross salary is held to protect the employee's pay. It is not a fee, and it does not gate the start of onboarding. Invoices are on Net-7 terms.

## Frequently asked questions

Why is the employer cost of our first German employee a range, not one number?

Because each statutory health insurer sets its own additional contribution on top of the 14.6% general rate, and the employer pays half of it. At the 2026 average additional rate of 2.9%, the four shared branches come to 21.15% of gross for the employer, and sector-set accident insurance sits on top. The exact figure depends on the insurer your hire chooses.

Is there a time limit on employing our first German hire through Teamed?

Yes. Employing through an EOR in Germany is temporary agency work under the AÜG, and a worker may be placed with one client for 18 consecutive months by default. Teamed's German entity holds the AÜG licence the law requires, and the licence does not lift that limit. Plan the move to your own entity before month 18; the Crossover Calculator shows the month it pays.

Is the deposit for our first German employee a fee?

No. Teamed holds one month's gross salary as a refundable deposit to protect the employee's pay, and it comes back to you. The fee is separate: from €560 per employee per month, with zero FX markup, no setup fee and no exit fee.

Who registers our first German employee for social insurance?

Teamed does, as the legal employer, through its company number (Betriebsnummer) and before the first day of work. The written statement of terms follows within the first week under the Nachweisgesetz. You direct the work.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

Germany gives you two numbers nobody warns you about: a health-insurer rate the hire chooses, and an 18-month clock on the EOR model itself.  
Budget to the range, ask which insurer at the offer stage, and plan the GmbH before month 18.  
Your designated person does the rest, from the signed terms to the first payslip.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

- [Run the employer-cost numbers](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost)

## Related guides

- [Who should handle your first international hire?](/first-hire)
- [Hiring in Germany, overview](/country-hiring-guides/germany)
- [Germany cost breakdown](/country-hiring-guides/germany/cost-breakdown)
- [Germany probation and onboarding](/country-hiring-guides/germany/probation-and-onboarding)
- [Germany benefits](/country-hiring-guides/germany/benefits)
- [How to hire your first international employee](/insights/how-to-hire-your-first-international-employee)
- [What a first international hire really costs](/insights/what-a-first-international-hire-really-costs)
- [Pricing, zero FX markup](/pricing)
- [Crossover Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/crossover-calculator)

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. The 2026 social-insurance rates and ceilings are from Teamed's compliance research (verified 15 June 2026, bundesregierung.de); the minimum wage and the 18-month AÜG placement limit are corroborated figures in the same research; the registration, written-statement and probation rules are as set out in the Germany hiring guide (last reviewed 16 June 2026). Accident insurance is set by sector and is not in the verified rates. Verify current requirements with the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, the Bundesagentur für Arbeit and a qualified adviser before relying on any figure.