Your Rights as an Apprentice
The BBiG protects you. Five numbers, five doors. Tap a card to read more.
Minimum pay 2026
Start in 2026: at least €724 in year 1. Below that is not a deal, it is against the law.
What it is: Section 17 BBiG sets a legal floor. If training starts in 2026: at least €724 in year 1, then €854, €977, €1,014 (BIBB / Federal Law Gazette 2025 I No. 235). Many trades pay more. A collective agreement can sit under the floor in a narrow case — ask IHK/HWK, do not guess.
How to do it: Open the contract and the pay slip. Compare with the numbers above. School travel, protective clothes and the occupational check-up are usually on the firm. Pay below the floor? Write it down, talk to the trainer, then IHK/HWK training advice or a union.
Watch out: ⚠️ “Year one is €400, it goes up later.” Cash and no slip. A cut for vocational-school days. Below the legal floor is not a normal deal.
Tip: 💡 Do not sign a side letter that cuts pay because “the company is struggling”. Ask your community or ChatGPT with the slip in hand. Take the original contract, not only the chat.
Read more: 🔗 BIBB — minimum training pay, 2026 notice. Those figures are for starts in 2026. Older cohorts may differ.
Paid leave
At least about four weeks. Public holidays do not count. School days are not leave.
What it is: The federal leave act gives adults at least 24 Werktage — about four weeks. On a five-day week that is 20 working days. Under 18, the Youth Labour Act gives more (25–30 days by age). Public holidays are not leave. Many contracts write 25–30 days.
How to do it: Read the leave clause. Apply in writing or in the company tool, wait for approval. Keep the mail. Sick on holiday: a doctor’s note usually saves those days. A vocational-school day is not leave.
Watch out: ⚠️ “Apprentices do not get summer leave.” Holiday work with no extra pay when the contract does not allow it. Leave must not be cut because you are at school. Do not sign a waiver you cannot read.
Tip: 💡 Apply early, especially for a trip to Vietnam. Tell the trainer before you buy the ticket. Call IHK or a union if requests sit forever. ChatGPT can draft a short German leave request.
Read more: 🔗 Federal Leave Act, DGB Jugend. If the contract gives more days, those days win.
School days count as work
No pay cut for vocational-school days. Blocking class puts the certificate at risk.
What it is: Vocational-school days count as working time. The firm must not cut pay because you sat in class. The BBiG and the chambers say the same: school is part of the training, not a day off you have to beg for.
How to do it: Give the timetable to your trainer at the start of the year. A full school day often means no return to the shop. Block weeks: warn early. Mid-term and final exams: get the time off, keep the invitation letter.
Watch out: ⚠️ “We are short today, skip school.” A night shift right before an exam. A pay cut for the school day. Skipping class because the boss called puts the certificate at risk.
Tip: 💡 Keep screenshots of the timetable and the exam letter. If they block school, confirm the order by email, then call IHK/HWK. Ask your community before you only obey the shop floor.
Read more: 🔗 Vocational Training Act, your chamber’s training advice. School-duty details still differ by state.
Kindergeld €259
From 2026: €259 per child per month, often to age 25 during training. File at the Familienkasse.
What it is: From 1 January 2026 Kindergeld is €259 per child per month. During a first training it often runs to age 25. Parents with a German residence usually receive it, sometimes the apprentice. Apply at the Familienkasse of the employment agency. It does not depend on how much the parents earn.
How to do it: Online via the agency or on paper. Birth certificate or passport, training contract, registration. Report changes: address, dropout, end of training. The money often hits a parent account — say at home who keeps it.
Watch out: ⚠️ A stranger “files Kindergeld for you, €200 fee”. Silence after you quit school. Claiming in two countries without asking. A wrong claim can mean paying the money back.
Tip: 💡 Ask your parents if the claim is still running — many forget the extension when the child moves to Germany. Check the Familienkasse portal yourself. Unsure of the papers? An advice centre or ChatGPT with the list, no ID scan in a random chat.
Read more: 🔗 Agentur für Arbeit — Kindergeld. €259 is the 2026 figure. The law can move; the agency page wins.
BAB, not BAföG
Dual training: ask for BAB at the employment agency. BAföG sits more with school or university.
What it is: On a dual / company apprenticeship the main extra money is usually BAB from the employment agency, not BAföG. BAföG sits more with school-only courses or university. Sparkasse puts it simply: pick the right door first, then think about housing benefit.
How to do it: File BAB online at arbeitsagentur.de. Contract, timetable, rent, income (your pay, often the parents’). The agency calculator gives a direction. BAföG: the state office if you are at a school, not in dual training.
Watch out: ⚠️ Offices that sell “€800 guaranteed” for a fee. Silence when your pay rises. No income papers means a dead claim or a claw-back.
Tip: 💡 File early, not when the account is empty. Ask Berufsberatung at the agency. Your community can read the decision letter. ChatGPT can translate it; the authority’s number is the real one.
Read more: 🔗 BA — BAB, bafög.de, DGB Jugend. Free advice: union, IHK, Jugendmigrationsdienst.