Details of employment for children over 18

After completing initial vocational training or first degree studies, adult children can be considered during further training, provided they are not in full-time employment. The following activities are permissible:

• Part-time employment up to 20 hours per week
  A contractually agreed regular weekly working time of a maximum of 20 hours is allowed. A training service relationship is also not considered employment.
• Marginal employment (Minijob)
  Marginal employment is permissible if the earnings from several Minijobs do not exceed the marginal earnings limit of 538 Euro per month in total. The number of monthly work assignments and weekly working hours do not matter.
• Short-term employment
  Short-term employment is permissible if it is limited to a maximum of 3 months or 70 working days in the calendar year and is not carried out on a professional basis. If the work is carried out on at least 5 days per week, the 3-month limit applies. For fewer working days, the limit is 70 days. There is no wage limit. Important: The 20-hour week limit must not be exceeded in total.

Conditions for the child allowance

The child allowance can still be claimed if the child:

• is in further training,
• is in a transition period of up to four months between two training phases or between training and voluntary service,
• was unable to start or continue vocational training due to a lack of training places,
• has completed a voluntary social or ecological year, a European or development policy voluntary service, a voluntary service for all generations, an International Youth Voluntary Service, a Federal Voluntary Service or a similar service abroad (§ 5 Federal Voluntary Service Act).

Important note

According to the Federal Fiscal Court, the training and not the employment must be the main focus in order to continue to be entitled to child benefit or the child allowance. This is particularly relevant in the case of multi-stage vocational training, such as postgraduate studies.