Here’s the deal
- "Round-the-clock care" does not mean one person works 24 hours a day. That would not be legal. It means a care worker who lives in your home.
- The most common legal model is posting: a foreign company acts as the employer and provides the worker, who holds an A1 certificate.
- Under the posting model, costs typically range from €2,200 to €3,500 per month. Offers significantly below this range are a red flag.
- German minimum wage and working time regulations apply here as well.
- Care allowances and relief benefits can help reduce your out-of-pocket costs.
"24-hour care" is a marketing term. Continuous home care is legally possible, but not in the way the name suggests. What it actually entails, what it costs, and what you need to watch out for is explained here, short and to the point.
What does 24-hour care really mean?
A caregiver who lives in the household of the person being cared for and provides support during the day, rather than someone who works 24 hours straight. That would not be permitted under the Working Time Act: on average, a maximum of eight hours per working day and 48 hours per week are permitted, plus mandatory rest periods.
True 24-hour care would require multiple people. Therefore, the term refers to presence and availability, not continuous work. How employing a worker from abroad generally works is covered in the post Domestic help from abroad.
Is 24-hour care legal?
Yes, through three models. The most common is posting: a foreign company remains the employer, deploys the worker in Germany, and provides an A1 certificate to prove they are covered by social insurance in their home country. Beyond that, there is direct employment in Germany and the self-employment model, which often leads to bogus self-employment—see the article Self-employed domestic helper.
In all cases, the German minimum wage applies. Under the posting model, you should always ask to see the A1 certificate and keep a copy. This protects you against accusations of undeclared work.
What does 24-hour care cost?
Under the posting model, it typically costs between €2,200 and €3,500 per month, depending on the worker's German language skills, qualifications, and the level of care required. About 60 to 70% of that goes toward the worker's wages, while the rest covers social contributions, insurance, and agency administration fees.
Be wary of "dumping" offers: anyone promising 24-hour care for €1,500 a month cannot be paying the minimum wage. Such offers are usually illegal.
What subsidies are available?
There are several options to reduce your out-of-pocket costs. If you have a recognized care level, you can use the care allowance and the relief amount, as well as funds from respite and short-term care. Depending on your situation, this can lower your monthly costs by several hundred euros.
In addition, these costs are partially tax-deductible, for example as household-related services. Which receipts you need for this is explained in the post Household-related services.
What does quitt take care of for me?
quitt is the simple way to hire a care or domestic worker directly in Germany. You enter the key details, and quitt handles the registration, payroll, contributions, and insurance in compliance with German law.
If the care is provided through a posting model, however, the foreign company is the employer, not quitt. With direct employment, you are on the safe side with quitt and remain the employer. You can find out how to get started in our blog post Hiring a domestic helper.
Found a worker you want to hire? Start the registration and quitt takes care of the rest. You can see our service costs on the pricing page.
quitt manages direct employment
If you employ a care worker in Germany, quitt handles the registration and manages all payroll, contributions, and insurance. You remain the employer, and we take care of the rest.
