What insurance do chefs and waiting staff in Germany need?
In short
What insurance chefs and waiting staff in Germany need: first cover for your ability to work, as a guide 70 to 150 euros a month for a 1,200 euro disability pension at 30, or basic abilities insurance for less. Add personal liability and accident insurance. Note that tips do not count for sickness benefit, so the gap is bigger than your payslip suggests.
The last figure is a guide value from our quoting practice.
Your premium depends on duties, age, health and pension amount.
Worked example
Chef, 31, 2,600 euros gross, chronic hand eczema
After years of wet work and cleaning agents the eczema no longer heals. He may no longer work in a kitchen.
Accident insurance fund
occupational disease procedure, outcome open
Sickness benefit after six weeks
up to 78 weeks
Reduced earning capacity pension
none, as he can work in other jobs
Private disability cover, 1,200 euros
pays at 50 percent disability as a chef
Without private cover he depends on the outcome of the occupational disease procedure. With disability insurance he gets 1,200 euros a month regardless.
What puts chefs and waiting staff at risk
Chefs and waiting staff work under time pressure, with knives, hot pans and slippery floors. Add standing, carrying and wet hands. Insurers therefore put chefs and waiting staff into more expensive groups for disability and accident cover.
The biggest financial risk is not a single cut but a condition that ends your career: worn knees or back, hand eczema or an allergy. The state pension then only pays if you cannot work six hours a day in any job.
What the accident insurance fund covers and what not
Accidents in the kitchen, the dining room and on the direct way to work are accidents at work (section 8 SGB VII). The employer accident insurance fund (Berufsgenossenschaft) pays treatment, rehab and a pension for lasting harm.
Illness is only covered if it is recognised as an occupational disease. Severe or recurring skin disease is on the list, as are lumbar disc conditions from years of heavy lifting. Recognition is a high hurdle, so do not rely on it.
Event
Who pays
What is left
Deep cut to the hand at work
accident insurance fund
private accident insurance on top
Hand eczema from wet work
accident insurance fund only if recognised
usually sickness benefit, then private cover
Ski accident on your day off
health insurer for treatment
private accident insurance
Permanently unable to cook
pension insurance only for reduced earning capacity
disability pension only privately
Tips: the underrated gap
Tips from guests are tax free (section 3 number 51 Income Tax Act) and therefore not part of pay subject to contributions. For waiting staff this means sickness benefit, unemployment benefit and pension are calculated on wages without tips.
If you earn 300 euros a month in tips, you lose much more when ill than sickness benefit covers. Disability insurance can only be based on provable income, though. Plan an emergency fund as well.
Priorities for chefs and waiting staff
For chefs and waiting staff in Germany the order looks like this. If disability cover is too expensive or refused, basic abilities insurance (Grundfähigkeitsversicherung) is the obvious alternative.
Priority
Insurance
Typical premium
1
Disability or basic abilities insurance
guide value 70 to 150 euros a month for disability cover
2
Personal liability
about 40 to 120 euros a year
3
Private accident insurance
about 120 to 260 euros a year for physical work
4
Employment legal cover or union
about 250 euros a year privately
usually unnecessary
own business liability
the restaurant covers this
Liability in the kitchen and dining room
If a tray drops or plates break, that is usually slight negligence and you owe your employer nothing. If a waiter spills red wine on a guest, the guest claims against the restaurant, which answers for its staff (section 278 BGB).
If you carry your own cash wallet for payments, missing money follows the same rules as a till: liability only with fault or a valid shortfall agreement. If you open your own restaurant or catering business, you need business liability; we have separate pages on business types. Norman Nammert acts as an insurance broker; the commission is paid by the insurer.
Step by step
Describe your kitchen or service duties exactly in the application.
Request disability insurance and compare basic abilities cover if the premium is high.
Report skin problems early to the company doctor so they are documented.
Add private accident insurance with progression.
Build an emergency fund for the missing tips.
Checklist
Ability to work insured
Health questions complete, including skin and allergies
Accident insurance in the right risk group
Personal liability in place
Shortfall clause for your cash wallet read
Common mistakes
Counting on tips as if they continued during illness
Hiding skin problems because they have just healed
Having only accident insurance and overlooking illness
Buying business liability as an employee
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Do tips count for sickness benefit?
No.
Tips are tax free and not part of pay subject to contributions,
so they are not included in sickness benefit or pension.
Is a cut in the kitchen an accident at work?
Yes, injuries at work are covered by the accident insurance fund of your employer.
Do I have to pay for broken plates?
Usually not.
That is normally slight negligence, for which employees are not liable.
Why is disability insurance expensive for chefs?
Physical jobs are given up before retirement more often.
Basic abilities insurance usually costs much less.
Is a skin condition an occupational disease?
Severe or recurring skin disease is on the list of occupational diseases.
The accident insurance fund decides whether your case is recognised.
