Private Child Care Providers

Private caregivers offer very flexible care schedules and are particularly well-suited for covering off-peak hours, such as early in the morning, late at night, on weekends, or for shift work. Childcare takes place in your own home and is provided exclusively for your child or children.

Upon request, additional household tasks can be handled, such as preparing meals. The scope and nature of these activities should be clearly defined in the contract and must not interfere with the duty of supervision.

Private caregivers often work between 6 and 30 hours per week and are frequently employed in part-time jobs related to household services. In this case, they are covered through their registration with the State Accident Insurance Fund. As an employer, you are required to continue paying wages even if an employee is sick. In return, you can claim 20 percent of the wage costs—up to a maximum of 4,000 euros per year—as a tax deduction. Details on tax deductibility, a sample contract for part-time employment, and further information on household-related mini-jobs can be found here on the Minijob-Zentrale website.

If you want to employ your caregiver on more than just a part-time basis, but still within the low-wage range of the sliding scale, a so-called “midi-job” may be an option. In this case , you do not need to register the caregiver with the Minijob-Zentrale; instead, you must register them with the health insurance provider. To do this, you’ll need a company number, which you can apply for online through the Federal Employment Agency’s company number assignment service. You must submit social security contributions to the health insurance provider via the Social Security Reporting Portal or a certified payroll program. The German Pension Insurance Agency provides more information on this topic in a special brochure.

Qualifications & Support

There are no uniform national regulations governing the qualifications of private childcare providers. This makes it all the more important to clarify in advance exactly what training, experience, and knowledge the caregiver has in child care. In any case, it is recommended that you take a current first-aid course for children.

In some cities and municipalities, caregivers may also be recognized by the youth welfare office. In these cases, financial assistance is often available, so parents do not have to cover the full cost of childcare themselves. Therefore, during the introductory interview, be sure to specifically ask about such recognition.

You can find more suggestions for the conversation in our fact sheet on choosing a childcare provider.

Babysitter (male or female)

Babysitters are best suited for hourly childcare. These are often high school or college students without teaching training who can be scheduled flexibly, for example, to cover overtime or evening appointments. Make sure that the caregiver already has experience with children in the appropriate age group and is up to date on first aid .

Au pair

An au pair helps families with their daily lives on a reciprocal basis. Young adults from abroad are generally between the ages of 18 and 24 and are responsible for caring for the children and performing light household chores. In return, they receive room and board and an allowance. An au pair can help cover occasional childcare needs outside of the usual hours. However, this model is not intended to be the sole or comprehensive form of care.

awo lifebalance works exclusively with agencies that hold the “Au-pair” seal of quality. We advise against using unsecured online platforms, as quality, motivation, and legal frameworks are often not adequately verified on these platforms.

Please also note that au pairs should have the opportunity to learn German. The everyday language spoken at home should therefore be German. An au pair is not intended to provide targeted foreign language instruction to children.

We have compiled comprehensive information on the rights and responsibilities of the au pair and of you as a host family in our fact sheet “Childcare by Au Pairs.”

Legal Basis

Private childcare providers with monthly earnings of up to 538 euros (as of January 2024) are considered to be in marginal employment (minijob) in a private household. If the caregiver performs tasks that would normally be handled by family members, this is legally considered a “household-related service.”

Parents are required to register the caregiver as a part-time worker. This is important for clearly defining insurance coverage and liability issues. Registration is handled by the Minijob-Zentrale, which is responsible nationwide for registrations, contribution calculations, and payments.

Registration is carried out through the so-called ” household check” procedure. You will register and deregister the caregiver; separate proof of payment is not required. Exception: The caregiver works independently and issues invoices. In this case, it is important to carefully assess whether the individual is engaged in bogus self-employment.

The contributions to be paid by parents consist, among other things, of flat-rate contributions to health and pension insurance (5 percent each), contributions for sickness and maternity, contributions to statutory accident insurance, and, if applicable, a flat-rate tax. The caregiver pays their own contribution to the pension insurance program.