Issue and submit certificate of employment or certificate of secondary income

If your employees or the BA require a certificate of employment, you must send this to the BA. The same applies to a secondary income certificate if employees or persons working for you on a self-employed basis have applied for or are receiving current cash benefits.

Certificate of employment

As an employer, you are required to submit a certificate of employment to the BA at the request of your employee or the Federal Employment Agency (BA).

The certificate of employment contains, among other things

• on the type of activity,
• the beginning, end, interruption and reason for the termination of the employment relationship,
• the remuneration and other cash benefits received or to be claimed by the employee.

The certificate of employment is required

• for the decision on the entitlement to unemployment benefits and
• for the preparation of supporting documents for employees who have claimed or are claiming benefits from foreign institutions (employment certificate for purposes of supranational and intergovernmental law).

Secondary income certificate

You must also submit a secondary income certificate to the BA upon request for a person you employ or to whom you assign a self-employed activity, if that person receives

• Unemployment benefit,
• vocational training allowance,
• training allowance,
• transitional allowance or
• short-time allowance

has applied for or is receiving such benefits.

The secondary income certificate includes information on the type and duration of the employment, the amount of the salary or remuneration and the working hours.

This certificate is required because the secondary employment or the secondary income can affect the benefit entitlement and its amount.

If you do not submit the certificate of employment or the certificate of secondary income, you will be committing an administrative offense. A possible fine is up to EUR 2,000.

If the certificate contains false information, this may result in claims for damages and possibly even criminal consequences for you.

None

Forms available: Yes
Written form required: No
Informal application possible: Yes
Personal appearance required: No

• You must transmit the certificate of employment to the BA at the request of the employee or the BA.
• You must transmit the secondary income certificate to the BA at the request of the person who is employed or commissioned and has applied for or is receiving current cash benefits or at the request of the BA.

• Opposition

You must transmit the employment and secondary income certification electronically using BEA (Bescheinigung elektronisch annehmen).

Exception: If you prepare or transmit secondary income certificates for employment or self-employment in a private household, you may continue to use the Federal Employment Agency form.

• To transmit the data electronically to the Federal Employment Agency, you have two options:
  • via your payroll software, if it has a corresponding function, or
  • via the electronic completion aid "sv-net" - social insurance on the Internet.
• The certificates are stored in an electronic file.
• The employee will receive a printout of the transmitted data from the BA.

If you want to use the form of the Federal Employment Agency for employment or self-employment in the private household:

• Download the required form from the BA's website.
• You can only use the form provided by the BA.
• Fill out the form completely, print it out and sign it.
• Submit the documents to the Employment Agency in whose district the person entitled to benefits to whom the certificate relates resides.

If you have submitted the certificate directly to the Employment Agency, immediately prepare a record of the submitted data for the person for whom you have prepared the certificate.

If the employee requests the certificate of employment, please send it to the Federal Employment Agency in a timely manner.

If the certificate of employment is requested by the Federal Employment Agency, please observe the deadline stated in the letter.

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There are no costs involved.: Fee free of charge