Your employment First steps towards your first employment with Smart Before employment Employment conditions You will receive an employment contract for a job at Smart. The prerequisites for this are membership of the cooperative and orders that cover your employment costs . Of course, formal employment law conditions must also be met.  Your membership of Smart does not mean that you are automatically employed by Smart. You must actively inform Smart of your employment request and submit orders. Your employment is only confirmed once you have received the employment contract from us by e-mail and then signed this contract and sent it back to us by e-mail. Requirements for employment Ordinary residence in Germany You must have orders that can be invoiced by Smart. For employment subject to social security contributions, your income must be at least €760 net on average per month. The standard duration of a first employment contract is four months. To be covered by health insurance through employment with Smart, the income from employment with Smart must make up the majority of your total income (if you are self-employed at the same time) Non-EU nationals must have a valid residence permit that allows employment (gainful employment). An employment contract has to start on the 1st day of the month. Deadline Any request regarding an employment contract for the following month must be communicated to us by the last day of the current month at the latest. For example, if you want to change your salary for February, you must let us know by January 31st. Are you interested in a Minijob? Please read more here . Submit an employment request in the Smart Portal Would you like to be employed by Smart and you already have orders? Then go ahead and submit a new employment request in the Smart Portal. Do you already have a contract with Smart and want to prolong it or make a change? Then read further how to  request a change . 1) Select the budget for your employment. Here you can choose between the Smart eG and the Smart Bildungswerk, depending on the acitivities you are processing. Please note that your budget will be generated only after first order has been confirmed through Smart. Only afterwards will it be possible to create an employment request. You can find out more about creating an order here . Smart eG and Smart Bildungswerk are two separate legal entities. Orders processed via one entitity can only be used to be employed by that company. If you process some orders via Smart eG and other via Smart Bildungswerk, you can request two separate employment contracts to pay out your budget. 2) Choose the start and end date of your employment. 3) Describe the job title as it should appear in your employment contract. 4) Choose a service category that comes closest to your profession. 5) Choose an employment category . Here you can see the name of the employment category and the total employment costs per month. 6) The working hours per week is a maximum value to guarantee the minimum wage. Make sure that you do not exceed the weekly number of hours. If your working hours per week differ, you can enter this in the comments. Send your employment request. You will receive a notification by e-mail as soon as we have processed your request. Employment categories Employment categories Smart eG Here you will find the salary categories that can be selected for the employment contract with Smart eG . If you are employed by Smart Bildungswerk , please refer to the employment categories of Smart Bildungswerk . *Important : All amounts in the table are rounded in € and refer to calculations based on the following: Year of validity 2026, tax class 1, without church tax, without child allowance, health insurance contribution 17,29% (Techniker Krankenkasse), pension insurance exemption for Minijob. As your personal characteristics may differ from this calculation, the exact total cost of employment will be adjusted monthly in your budget. Minor differences are possible. In the Smart Portal, you can select the employment category in the employment form . In the dropdown list you will be able to see the category number and the total employment costs including social security contributions and tax. 1. Employment categories with access to social security system In the table below you can find further information on the gross wage and number of working hours that will be shown in your employment contract, projected net salary as well as the minimum turnover needed to request the category. Cat. Total employment costs incl. Taxes and contributions  Gross Wage amount in your employment contract in € Net sum to be transferred to your bank account* in € Required monthly net turnover (Total employment costs + Smart Fee) in € 1 776 605 601 852 2 788 615 608 866 3 877 690 660 964 4 966 765 712 1.062 5 1.061 845 768 1.166 6 1.150 920 819 1.264 7 1.245 1.000 875 1.368 8 1.334 1.075 927 1.466 9 1.424 1.150 979 1.565 10 1.516 1.228 1.033 1.666 11 1.608 1.305 1.086 1.767 12 1.697 1.380 1.138 1.865 13 1.792 1.460 1.189 1.969 14 1.881 1.535 1.231 2.067 15 1.975 1.615 1.277 2.170 16 2.065 1.690 1.317 2.269 17 2.154 1.765 1.357 2.367 18 2.249 1.845 1.400 2.471 19 2.338 1.920 1.438 2.569 20 2.427 1.995 1.475 2.667 21 2.524 2.075 1.522 2.774 22 2.616 2.150 1.566 2.875 23 2.707 2.225 1.610 2.975 24 2.804 2.305 1.657 3.081 25 3.035 2.495 1.767 3.335 26 3.266 2.685 1.877 3.589 27 3.504 2.880 1.988 3.851 28 3.735 3.070 2.096 4.104 29 3.954 3.250 2.197 4.345 30 4.203 3.455 2.310 4.619 31 4.671 3.840 2.521 5.133 32 4.866 4.000 2.608 5.347 33 5.170 4.250 2.742 5.681 34 5.474 4.500 2.874 6.015 3 5 5.626 4.625 2.939 6.182 36 5.778 4.750 3.004 6.349 37 6.082 5.000 3.133 6.684 38 6.484 5.330 3.300 7.125 39 6.603 5.428 3.350 7.256 40 6.980 5.738 3.504 7.670 41 7.146 5.880 3.578 7.853 42 7.279 6.000 3.645 8.000 43 7.648 6.332 3.827 8.404 44 8.032 6.677 4.013 8.826 45 8.151 6.784 4.069 8.957 46 8.391 7.000 4.183 9.221 47 8.653 7.236 4.305 9.509 48 8.947 7.500 4.440 9.832 49 9.174 7.703 4.544 10.081 50 9.333 7.847 4.611 10.256 51 9503 8.000 4.683 10.443 52 9.729 8.203 4.778 10.691 53 10.033 8.480 4.909 11.025 54 10.256 8.703 5.027 11.270 55 10.633 9.080 5.227 11.685 56 11.053   9.500   5.450   12.146 57 11.553     10.000     5.715     12.696   58 14.053     12.500   7.074   15.443 59 16.580 15.027   8.481 18.220   60 21.553 20.000   11.251 23.685   61 26.553   25.000 14.025 29.179 100 0 0 0 0 2. Minijob categories (without access to health and unemployment insurance) The calculations of the total costs are based on a Minijob that is exempt from pension insurance. If no exemption is desired, the net payment amount is reduced. You can find out more about exemption and Minijobs here . You can choose the Minijob category as well as set the pension insurance preference in the employment form: Category Total employment costs incl. Taxes and contributions  Gross Wage amount in your employment contract in € Netto- sum to be transferred to your bank account* in € Required monthly net turnover (Total employment costs + Smart Fee) in € M1 93 71 71 102 M2 131 100 100 144 M3 215 165 165 236 M4 280 215 215 308 M5 373 286 286 410 M6 467 358 358 513 M7 560 430 430 615 M8 587 450 450 645 M9 622 480 480 684 M10 678 520 520 745 M11 704 540 540 774 M12 757 580 580 832 M13 787 603 603 865 Employment categories Smart Bildungswerk Here you will find the salary categories that can be selected for the employment contract with Smart Bildungswerk. *Important : All amounts in the table are rounded in € and refer to calculations based on the following: Year of validity 2026, tax class 1, without church tax, without child allowance, health insurance contribution 17,29% (Techniker Krankenkasse), pension insurance exemption for Minijob. As your personal characteristics may differ from this calculation, the exact total cost of employment will be adjusted monthly in your budget. Minor differences are possible. In the Smart Portal, you can select the employment category in the employment form . In the dropdown list you will be able to see the category number and the total employment costs including social security contributions and tax. 1. Employment categories with access to social security system In the table below you can find further information on the  gross wage  and number of  working hours  that will be shown in your employment contract, projected  net salary  as well as the  minimum turnover needed to request the category. Category Total employment costs incl. Taxes and contributions  Gross Wage amount in your employment contract in € Net- sum  transferred to your bank account* in € Required monthly net turnover (Total employment costs + Smart Fee) in € 1 787 605 601 865 2 799 615 608 878 3 890 690 660 978 4 980 765 712 1.077 5 1.077 845 768 1.183 6 1.167 920 819 1.282 7 1.264 1.000 875 1.388 8 1.354 1.075 927 1.488 9 1.445 1.150 979 1.588 10 1.539 1.228 1.033 1.691 11 1.632 1.305 1.086 1.794 12 1.723 1.380 1.138 1.893 13 1.819 1.460 1.189 2.000 14 1.909 1.535 1.231 2.098 15 2.005 1.615 1.277 2.203 16 2.096 1.690 1.317 2.304 17 2.187 1.765 1.357 2.403 18 2.283 1.845 1.400 2.509 19 2.374 1.920 1.438 2.608 20 2.464 1.995 1.475 2.708 21 2.562 2.075 1.522 2.816 22 2.656 2.150 1.566 2.918 23 2.748 2.225 1.610 3.020 24 2.847 2.305 1.657 3.128 25 3.081 2.495 1.767 3.386 26 3.316 2.685 1.877 3.644 27 3.557 2.880 1.989 3.909 28 3.792 3.070 2.096 4.167 29 4.014 3.250 2.197 4.411 30 4.267 3.455 2.310 4.689 31 4.742 3.840 2.521 5.211 32 4.940 4.000 2.608 5.429 33 5.249 4.250 2.742 5.768 34 5.557 4.500 2.874 6.107 35 5.712 4.625 2.939 6.276 36 5.866 4.750 3.004 6.446 37 6.175 5.000 3.133 6.785 38 6.583 5.330 3.301 7.234 39 6.703 5.428 3.350 7.366 40 7.086 5.738 3.504 7.787 41 7.255 5.880 3.578 7.972 42 7.390 6.000 3.645 8.121 43 7.765 6.332 3.827 8.533 44 8.156 6.677 4.013 8.962 45 8.277 6.784 4.069 9.095 46 8.521 7.000 4.183 9.363 47 8.787 7.236 4.305 9.656 48 9.086 7.500 4.440 9.984 49 9.317   7.704   4.544   10.238 50 9.478   7.847   4.611   10.416 51 9.651   8.000   4.683   10.605 52 9.881   8.203   4.778   10.858 53 10.190   8.480   4.909   11.198 54 10.417   8.703   5.027   11.447 55 10.801   9.080   5.227   11.869 56 11.229   9.500   5.450   12.339 57 11.738   10.000   5.715   12.899 58 14.284   12.500   7.074   15.697 59 16.858   15.027   8.481   18.525 60 21.923   20.000   11.251   24.091 61 27.016   25.000   14.025   29.687 100 0 0 0 0 2. Minijob categories (without access to health and unemployment insurance) The calculations of the total costs are based on a Minijob that is exempt from pension insurance. If no exemption is desired, the net payment amount is reduced. You can find out more about exemption and Minijobs  here . You can choose the Minijob category as well as set the pension insurance preference in the employment form: Category Total employment costs incl. Taxes and contributions BW Gross Wage amount in your employment contract in € Net- sum  transferred to your bank account* in € Required monthly net turnover (Total employment costs + Smart Fee) in € M1 93 71 71 102 M2 131 100 100 144 M3 215 165 165 236 M4 280 215 215 308 M5 373 286 286 410 M6 467 358 358 513 M7 560 430 430 615 M8 587 450 450 645 M9 622 480 480 684 M10 685 520 520 745 M11 704 540 540 774 M12 760 580 580 835 M13 790 603 603 868 Social security contributions If you are employed (for the duration of the employment contract), social security contributions and income tax will be deducted from your earnings and paid by the cooperative.  Both the employer and employee contributions are paid by the member. How much income per month is invested in an employment can be freely decided on the basis of employment categories.  The social security contributions are made up as follows: Public health insurance 14.6% plus additional contribution Long-term care insurance 3.05 - 3.4%, with/ without child Pension insurance 18.6% Unemployment insurance 2.4% Additional employer costs contributions variable between 0.5% and 3.5% Income tax  progressive, depending on income The basic tax-free allowance for income tax ( Grundfreibetrag ) changes every year and depends on your personal characteristics. Use the income tax calculator on the website of the Ministry of Finance to accurately calculate how much income tax you may need to pay. Gross, Net and Turnover When you are employed as a member at Smart, you encounter different figures: net salary, gross salary, employer gross, and turnover . Net turnover: This is the amount Smart invoices to your clients. From this amount, the 9% Smart fee is also deducted. What remains goes into your budget. Employer gross (total employment costs): Also called employment costs or total costs. This is the total amount needed to finance your employment for one month in your chosen category. This amount includes your net salary, social security contributions, and income tax. From the employer gross, a first part of the social security contributions is deducted, resulting in the gross salary. Gross salary (employee gross): This is the amount stated in your employment contract. It is calculated as the employer gross minus a portion of the social security contributions (at least half). From the gross salary, the second part of the social security contributions as well as the wage tax are deducted, resulting in the net salary. Net salary (employee net): This is the amount you receive in your bank account at the end of the month. It is calculated as the gross salary minus the remaining social security contributions and income tax. Social security contributions and income tax are paid by Smart directly to the relevant authorities. Managing your employment View your employment and find documents List of employments In the list of employments you will see all your current and past employment contracts with Smart.  View of employment and documents An employment can be opened from the employment list. The overview shows the start and end date of the employment, the employment category, the profession as given in the contract and the weekly working hours. Your  current contract, your pay slips and all other relevant documents regarding this employment can be found under Documents . Please choose the correct category from the drop-down list. If you have several employments at Smart (e.g. at Smart eG and Smart Bildungswerk, or if you had a longer break between two jobs, you will find the relevant documents in the respective contract period in the list) Employment contract after you sign your employment contract it will appear here you can view a template of an employment contract with Smart here . For legal reasons the employment contract is only available in German. Addendum Amendments to the employment contract After the Smart confirmation of your employment change, you can find and download your addendum in the portal: You can upload the signed contract directly in the portal: Pay slips Monthly pay slips Correction statements, if applicable Payslips are official documents stating your income. Please find out more under Payroll. Other Social security registrations and deregistrations Confirmations of employment for other authorities (e.g. Arbeitsbescheinigung , Entgeltbescheinigung ) Sickness notifications Other documents Requesting changes If you would like to make changes to your employment contract, you can do so by clicking on the "Request change" button in the employment detail view. Click the checkmark in front of the respective change type to enter the desired data. Finally, you must send the form to the Smart Team by clicking the "Send" button. If the change is approved, you will receive an updated payslip with the corresponding changes with the next monthly payslip. The payslip is considered delivered when it is uploaded to the portal. You can view the adjusted changes in your budget overview immediately after confirmation. You can make following requests: Prolong employment contract or change end date Choose the new end date and you will receive an addendum to your contract after confirmation by Smart. Please always prolong your contract via the Portal BEFORE it's end date. Change salary / employment category Once you have selected the category, please write in the comment field, when you would like to introduce this change. Please note that changes for the next month are only possible until the last day of the previous month.  You can find the employment categories here: Employment categories Register a leave Following interruptions in your employment are possible. Please remeber to submit a relevant proof. Add special payment A special payment will be paid out with the next payroll, provided there is enough budget available. If you choose the 'Sachbezug' benefit (e.g. Urban Sports membership or Jobticket), then please write in the comment from when the benefit should be settled. Request correction to a previous month   Ending your employment If you want to terminate your contract (for example, because there is no budget or you have another job), a formal notice of termination with the following details is required: Date of the letter (at least two weeks before the end of the desired contract end date) Sentence "I hereby terminate my employment contract with effect from" (date: the last day of the last month of employment) Your registration address, first and last name and membership number Address of the cooperative: SMartDe eG or Smart Bildungswerk gGmbH, Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, 10243 Berlin Signature (digital or original) The original signed notice of termination can be sent to us by post plus e-mail or only by e-mail. The date of termination must be before the desired termination date. Example: The employment contract runs until March 31. The employment contract is to be terminated in February. The notice of termination must be submitted two weeks before February 1. If your employment with Smart ends, you must ensure that you continue to have health insurance yourself. If you have any questions, you can of course contact us. Don't have any new orders? Contact us, we will try to find an individual solution. For example, we can reduce your salary or offer you unpaid leave. Do you still have budget left after payment of the last salary? Please let us know in time, if you want to get your total budget out till the end of your employment. Terminating your employment contract does not mean terminating your membership with Smart. We recommend that you retain your membership of the cooperative so that you have the flexibility to resume your employment when you need to.