Your first weeks of employment are mostly about feeding HR the right numbers:

1. Steuer-ID (tax ID) — from the letter that arrived after your Anmeldung. Without it you land in the emergency tax class (VI) and overpay until corrected.

2. Sozialversicherungsnummer (social security number) — usually your employer requests it for you when registering you with a Krankenkasse; the confirmation letter arrives by post from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung. Keep it forever. (If you need it proactively, your Krankenkasse can tell you the number.)

3. Your IBAN — German account for salary.

Understand your payslip (Gehaltsabrechnung): the gap between gross (brutto) and net (netto) is real — income tax, health, pension, unemployment and care insurance take roughly 30–40%. Online brutto-netto calculators show what to expect so your first payslip isn't a shock.

Know your paper rights: German law (Nachweisgesetz) requires your employer to give you the essential contract terms in writing — a serious employer does this unprompted. Standard probation (Probezeit) is up to 6 months with a 2-week notice period.

Also in the starter kit: ask HR about the company pension scheme (betriebliche Altersvorsorge), capital-forming benefits (vermögenswirksame Leistungen — free money at some employers), and your exact probation terms.

Red flags:

Working before your visa or permit allows it — even "just helping out unpaid for a week" can count as illegal employment and poison every future application.
Your first payslip shows Steuerklasse VI: HR is missing your Steuer-ID. Fix it the same day — the difference is hundreds of euros a month (refundable, but slowly).
"We'll register you with the Krankenkasse next month" — social-insurance registration is due when employment starts. The delay is the employer's offence but your risk; ask for your SV-number confirmation.
No written terms after repeated asking, salary paid cash, or hours that don't match the contract — textbook signs of an employer you should already be leaving.
Signing a long apartment lease against a job still in probation — keep your fixed costs flexible for six months if you can.

Your first weeks of employment are mostly about feeding HR the right numbers:

1. Steuer-ID (tax ID) — from the letter that arrived after your Anmeldung. Without it you land in the emergency tax class (VI) and overpay until corrected.

3. Your IBAN — German account for salary.

Red flags:

Working before your visa or permit allows it — even "just helping out unpaid for a week" can count as illegal employment and poison every future application.
Your first payslip shows Steuerklasse VI: HR is missing your Steuer-ID. Fix it the same day — the difference is hundreds of euros a month (refundable, but slowly).
"We'll register you with the Krankenkasse next month" — social-insurance registration is due when employment starts. The delay is the employer's offence but your risk; ask for your SV-number confirmation.
No written terms after repeated asking, salary paid cash, or hours that don't match the contract — textbook signs of an employer you should already be leaving.
Signing a long apartment lease against a job still in probation — keep your fixed costs flexible for six months if you can.

Start your job properly

Start your job properly