German hospitality sector warns mini-job abolition would threaten 1.1 million workers

The proposal

On Tuesday, the government-appointed pension commission officially handed over its 33 reform recommendations to Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas. Among the most contested is a plan to include mini-jobbers in statutory pension insurance without an opt-out option, effectively limiting the special status to pupils and students only. Mini-jobs are currently defined as employment relationships earning up to 603 euros per month, subject to only minimal social contributions and taxes. The proposals first became public on Saturday evening, triggering immediate backlash from employer associations.

Industry reaction

The German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) described the mini-job proposal as a catastrophe for the sector. Dehoga President Gereon Haumann called it a frontal attack on labor market flexibility and the sector's ability to employ staff.

The pension commission's proposals ignore operational reality and would be a catastrophe for the hospitality industry.

The association warned that mini-jobs are not a marginal phenomenon but central to workforce planning, particularly for covering evening hours, weekends, events, trade fairs, and seasonal peaks such as the current beer garden season. Nationwide, around 1.1 million people work in hospitality under mini-job arrangements. Dehoga argued that restricting the status to students overlooks the fact that many students are underage and legally unable to work the evening and weekend shifts most critical to the industry.

Regional warnings

In Lower Saxony, Dehoga state president Dirk Breuckmann said the proposed changes would massively burden hospitality businesses and worsen an already tight staffing situation. He warned of reduced opening hours, service cuts, and increased pressure on core staff rather than any transition to full social-insurance employment. The state has about 109,000 marginal employees in its hospitality sector.

Whoever believes that disappearing mini-jobs will be automatically replaced by jobs subject to social insurance misunderstands reality. Many of these roles involve only a few hours per week and cannot be converted into regular employment.

Broader reform package

The commission's 33 recommendations also include ending the early retirement at 63 scheme and introducing a statutory capital pension. Reception in North Rhine-Westphalia has been mixed: while skilled trades associations welcomed the end of early retirement, social associations criticized proposals to extend working hours. The official handover to Merz and Bas marks the start of what is expected to be a contentious political debate over the future of Germany's pension system.