Full Time Indefinite Term Employment Contract (Bilingual, Standard) (Germany) by Seedsummit

Open Legal LibraryUpdated 25 Oct 2025

The Seedsummit bilingual (German/English) Full Time Indefinite Term Employment Contract template comprehensively outlines the terms and conditions of employment, including job title, working hours, remuneration, vacation, non-compete obligations, confidentiality, and intellectual property. The template also includes provisions for termination and references relevant German labor laws.

Other names:Job ContractContract of EmploymentEmployment AgreementEmployee ContractStatement of Terms

Full Time Indefinite Term Employment Contract (Bilingual, Standard)

Important notice: This document is a template and cannot substitute proper legal, tax or other advice on a case-by-case basis. We advise its users to seek proper legal advice. Highlighted sections in this template may need to be completed, amended or deleted, as the case may be. Please remove this page before sending to the employee.

The content and documents on the website have been prepared for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Audience should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information which may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and nor intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your region.

Arbeitsvertrag / Employment Contract

zwischen / between

[company name], [company address], Deutschland / Germany

"Gesellschaft" / "Company" -

und / and

[employee name], [employee address], Deutschland / Germany

"Mitarbeiter" / "Employee" -

nachfolgend die Gesellschaft und der Mitarbeiter jeweils "Partei" und beide zusammen "Parteien" genannt / hereinafter the Company and the Employee each referred to as a "Party" and collectively the "Parties"

Aus Gründen der besseren Lesbarkeit wurde nur die männliche Form verwendet. Entsprechende Begriffe gelten für alle Geschlechter. Die verkürzte Sprachform hat nur redaktionelle Gründe und beinhaltet keine Wertung. / For better readability, only the masculine form has been used. Corresponding terms apply to all genders. The abbreviated form of language is for editorial reasons only and does not imply any valuation.

§ 1
Position, Arbeitsort

Section 1
Position, Place of Work

Der Mitarbeiter wird ab dem [effective date] als [job title] tätig. Der Arbeitsort des Mitarbeiters ist [workplace].

The job title should be as accurate as possible to satisfy requirements of the Documentation Act (Nachweisgesetz – NachwG).

The Employee will be employed as of [effective date] as [job title]. The Employee's place of work is [workplace].

The job title should be as accurate as possible to satisfy requirements of the Documentation Act (Nachweisgesetz – NachwG).

Die Gesellschaft kann dem Mitarbeiter jederzeit ein anderes, seinen Fähigkeiten und Qualifikationen entsprechendes, zumindest gleichwertiges Aufgaben- und Verantwortungsgebiet übertragen und ihn auch an einen anderen Ort versetzen, soweit ihm dies bei Abwägung seiner und der Interessen der Gesellschaft zumutbar ist.

The Company may at any time assign the Employee to a different, at least equivalent area of duties and responsibilities consistent with his abilities and qualifications and may also transfer him to another location, to the extent that this can reasonably be expected of him after weighing his interests and the Company's interests.

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About this template

What is this template?

This is a bilingual employment agreement for permanent staff in Germany that prioritizes the German text in legal disputes. It contains specific German regulatory features including statutory sick pay limits and the distinction between statutory and contractual vacation. It is not suitable for fixed-term roles or mini-jobs without amendment.

When should you use it?

Use this template when hiring permanent employees in Germany who require an English translation for clarity. Use a Fixed Term Employment Contract instead if the role has a defined end date.

What's inside

ClauseNameWhat it does
Section 1Position, Place of WorkDesignates the job title and workplace while allowing the Company to transfer the Employee to equivalent duties or different locations.
Section 2Working TimeSets regular weekly hours and provides two options for overtime compensation based on the contribution assessment limit for pension insurance.
Section 4Incapacity to WorkRequires a medical certificate after three days of sickness and entitles the Employee to six weeks of continued remuneration.
Section 5VacationCombines Statutory Vacation under the Federal Vacation Act with additional Contractually Agreed Vacation days that expire on March 31st annually.
Section 7Non-Competition, Non-SolicitationProhibits competing activities during employment and prevents enticing away employees or consultants for twelve months after the contract ends.
Section 9Work Results, Intellectual PropertyTransfers all rights in Work Results to the Company and waives the Employee's moral rights to the extent legally permissible.
Section 11Forfeiture of ClaimsImposes a three-month deadline for asserting claims in text form before they are legally lost, excluding intentional breaches and minimum wage.

Who it's for

  • a German company hiring a full-time employee on a permanent basis
  • international employers requiring a bilingual German-English contract for local compliance
  • startups needing standard IP assignment and non-compete clauses for staff
  • employers seeking to exclude Section 616 BGB regarding personal prevention payments

How long it runs and how it's signed

How long
Runs until someone ends it
Stated duration
indefinite term
Notice to end it
two weeks during probation; [notice period months] thereafter
Survives the end
Confidentiality, Non-Solicitation, Intellectual Property, Forfeiture of Claims
Signed by
Company, Employee
Witness
Not required
Notarisation
Not required
Also needed
wet-ink signature required for fixed-term variations; optional eSignature tool clause

Law it's drafted under

Refers to
Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB)
Refers to
Bundesurlaubsgesetz (BUrlG)
Refers to
Aktiengesetz (AktG)
Refers to
Arbeitnehmererfindungengesetz (ArbNErfG)
Refers to
Kündigungsschutzgesetz (KSchG)
Refers to
Mindestlohngesetz (MiLoG)
Jurisdiction
Germany
Source
Full Time Indefinite Term Employment Contract (Bilingual, Standard) (Germany) by Seedsummit
from Seedsummit
Document info
HTML document. Document created on Fri Sep 26th, 2025. Last updated on Sat Oct 25th, 2025.
This document is public
Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (Attribution).
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