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WORKING IN GERMANY

Which public holidays are coming up in Germany?

Now that summer is over, many people will be wondering when the next holidays are coming up. Depending on where you live in Germany, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Published: 13 September 2022 17:26 CEST
Updated: 19 September 2022 10:53 CEST
An angel figure in the West Cemetery in Munich on November 1st, 2021.
An angel figure in the West Cemetery in Munich on November 1st, 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sven Hoppe

World Children’s Day – Tuesday, September 20th

Where: Thuringia

If you live in the state of Thuringia, you can look forward to a day off work or school next week.  

Established by the United Nations in 1954, World Children’s Day honours children as the future of society and is intended to draw attention to the rights of children, focus on their individual needs and make political demands on their behalf.

Children hold up banners in front of the Reichstag with their demands on World Children’s Day, 2020. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Jörg Carstensen

The state of Thuringia decided to make Weltkindertag a public holiday in 2019, hoping that the day off would draw attention to the needs of children and families, and encourage parents to spend more time with their children.

As the holiday falls on a Tuesday, if you’re living in Thuringia, why not take a Brückentag (bridge day) and enjoy a four-day weekend?

READ ALSO: German word of the day: Der Brückentag

Useful vocabulary for this holiday: 

Family time – (die) Familienzeit

Child rights – (die) Kinderrechte

German Unity Day – Monday, October 3rd

Where: Nationwide

The next nationwide public holiday to put in your calendar is October 3rd, when the country celebrates German Unity Day.

Tag der deutschen Einheit – German Unity Day – celebrates the date that the GDR officially ceased to exist as a sovereign state and rejoined the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990. Since then, Germany has been reunited as the Bundesrepublik and the date is celebrated every year with a holiday in every federal state.

This year it lands on a Monday meaning that many people will get a long weekend. 

Useful vocabulary for this holiday: 

Reunification – (die) Wiedervereinigung

Fall of the Berlin Wall – (der) Mauerfall

All Saints’ Day – Tuesday, November 1st

Where: Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland

The history of All Saints’ Day goes right back to the birth of Christianity, as it was originally a day of commemoration for martyrs who were killed because of their Christian faith when it was introduced in the 4th century.

Nowadays, in Germany, the feast day is celebrated every year on November 1st, with masses and remembrance services in cemeteries to remember the dead.

Two roses and a candle on a grave in the West Cemetery in Munich on November 1st, 2021. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sven Hoppe

On All Saints’ Day, it’s customary to decorate graves of the deceased with flowers, candles and even food and drink.

While the day is recognised as a religious feast day throughout Germany, only the more traditionally Catholic states of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland offer a public holiday. 

Useful vocabulary for this holiday: 

To commemorate someone/something – jemaden/etwas gedenken

Grave – (die) Grabe

Day of Prayer and Repentance – Wednesday, November 16th

Where: Saxony and Bavaria (for school children)

READ ALSO: Saxony public holiday: What’s the history behind ‘Buß und Bettag’?

Every year, the Wednesday before Totensonntag  (the Sunday of the dead – this year November 20th) – is known as the Day of Prayer and Repentance.

Historically, Buß und Bettag was a call to the nation to pray together and confess sins, in the hope that this would prevent future disasters.

Today, the holiday is used for reflection on individual and social issues and many Protestant congregations hold services on this day for this purpose.

Up until 1995, the religious holiday was a national holiday, but now it is only a day off for everyone in Saxony and for school children in Bavaria.

Useful vocabulary for this holiday: 

To pray – beten

To confess sins – die Sünde bekennen

Christmas Day – Sunday, December 25th

Where: Nationwide

One of the most important days in the Christian calendar, the celebration which commemorates the birth of Jesus is always a nationwide public holiday in Germany.

Candles decorate a Christmas tree in a living room. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand

But, unlike, for example, in the UK, if it falls on a weekend, it’s not compensated for with a free weekday in the following week. That’s sadly the case this year, as the 25th will fall on a Sunday.  

READ ALSO: Should Germany ensure workers get a day off for every public holiday?

Useful vocabulary for this holiday: 

Christmas day – der erste Weihnachtstag

Boxing Day – Monday, December 26th 

Boxing day – or as it’s known in Germany, der zweite Weihnachtstag (the second Christmas day) is also always a nationwide holiday. 

In Germany, the 26th is traditionally a day to spend visiting grandparents or godparents. 

Luckily, this year, the 26th falls on a Monday, which means everyone in Germany will enjoy a day off for the last public holiday of the year. 

Useful vocabulary for this holiday: 

To visit – besuchen

What about 2023?

2023 doesn’t get off to a great start in terms of public holidays, as January 1st – New Year’s Day – like Christmas Day, falls on a Sunday, meaning that most Germans will miss out on a free day off work.

But, for the rest of the year, all of the other major holidays will fall on weekdays, so those in employment will get the most out of them. We’ll make sure to round them all up for you soon so you can plan your time off for next year. 

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WORKING IN GERMANY

EXPLAINED: The legal steps for starting a business in Germany

Whether it's a small start-up or a much bigger venture, there's obviously legal steps to bear in mind when starting up a for-profit business in Germany.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:52 CEST
Updated: 15 June 2024 09:07 CEST
EXPLAINED: The legal steps for starting a business in Germany

Starting up a for-profit company in Germany follows different procedures than either forming a non-profit foundation (a Verein) or registering as self-employed.

If you need to register as a corporation, the first step is to figure out which of two general company types your venture would fall into in Germany. The first is a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), which is a limited liability company. This is by far the most common option. Another is an Aktiengesellschaft (AG) – or a joint stock company or corporation. While these two tend to be the most common, there are a few others as well.

EXPLAINED: How to start up your own verein in Germany

Setting up a GmbH

A GmbH is very common in Germany – and under it shareholders in the company aren’t personally responsible for the firms debts. You can set up a GmbH with only one person or shareholder. If you have more than one, you’ll need to draw up a notarised agreement between them.

A GmbH must also appoint at least one Managing Director (Geschäftsführer). The Managing Director is allowed to have shares in the company and is entitled to represent the company legally, whereas other board members are ordinarily not able to.

Shares in a GmbH are ordinarily only represented in notarised documents. There are no certificates which confirm that you have shares and those shares cannot be listed on stock exchanges. Shares, however, can be transferred through notarised documents.

The minimum start-up capital needed to form a GmbH in Germany is €25,000. If founders don’t have this, they can start up as an Unternehmergesellschaft – or entrepreneurial company – for €1. However, these are considered as vehicles to get to the financial capital of a GmbH. As such, UG’s are expected to set aside at least 25 percent of any annual surplus as savings. Once they hit the €25,000 mark, they need to change to a GmbH.

A GmbH is generally the most common type of corporation in Germany because the capital and administrative requirements tend to be less onerous – making it suited for small enterprises, for example. As soon as a GmbH enters the Commercial Register (Handelsregister), it legally exists as a company.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about becoming a freelancer in Germany

Grounding an AG

A German AG is a company at a different level – and tends to be more for mid-sized to larger-sized business ventures.

In contrast to a GmbH – which needs only one member – an AG needs to have a minimum of five members.

The capital requirements are also twice as much as for setting up a GmbH. You’ll need €50,000 for an AG. These shares can be listed on stock exchanges – although they don’t have to be.

Choosing which legal model of company for your business in Germany depends on its size, your available capital – and how much liability you’re comfortable with. Photo: Getty Images

You’ll need articles of association, authenticated by a notary, to set one up too. As with a GmbH, an AG legally exists when it enters the commercial register.

An AG must also have a managing board (Vorstand). Members are officers of the company and make its day-to-day decisions. They do, however, answer to a supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat). They must also hold general meetings (Hauptversammlungen) to allow for shareholders to exercise control over overall policy.

READ ALSO: What’s the outlook for the German job market in 2024?

Other types of German companies

In general, GmbH and AG companies are the most common ones you’re going to see in Germany. But other – mostly more complex models – exist.

These include an Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG), or General Partnership. This would often be for a company of two partners who had each contributed half the capital. They would share in half the profits but also each be liable for the firm’s debts – to an unlimited amount. You may find that certain family-run businesses use this model. The risk here is that the partners would be personally liable – down to their own assets – for the firms debts.

A variation of this is a Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) – or a limited partnership. This happens when one partner is entirely liable for the firms debts – down to their personal assets, while the other one is not. The limited liability partner would still be liable for the firm’s debts up to and including the amount they had invested in the company itself though. This model might be common for family-owned businesses that bring in outside experts to run day-to-day administration – for example.

Another complex arrangement is a combination of a GmbH and a KG – to a GmbH & Co. KG. Essentially this joins a GmbH and a KG together in a partnership agreement. While very complex and not often used, this kind of partnership may serve as a way to limit the recourse a company creditor has to go after a company member’s personal assets – with more liabilities tied up in the GmbH, which has limited liability.

More complex arrangements are available too for companies that want to have a presence in Germany but their head office might be abroad. These include a subsidiary (Töchtergesellschaft) and Zweigniederlassung – or a branch office. If you’re dealing with these kinds of entities, it’s recommended you seek tax and compliance advice to confirm which one is necessary. In general though, a subsidiary will manage many of its own affairs apart from its parent company. A branch office is likely to have only a small presence in Germany while the bulk of administrative tasks are handled elsewhere.

Knowing which one is applicable is important as it helps establish whether you need to make an entry in the commercial register or not – and what taxes will have to be paid.

Articles in The Local are not meant to replace professional legal or tax advice. We recommend speaking to an appropriated professional in case of further questions.

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