Getting household help in Germany
Here are some suggestions on how to find someone reliable to help you with household work, and some practicalities that you need to keep in mind while getting household help in Germany.
In many countries it’s quite common to have help in the house, for example for cleaning, cooking or help with the children. In Germany it’s not that common. Nevertheless, around two-thirds of people in Germany have a "cleaning lady". But unfortunately, 90% of them work illegally without registration and insurance. That can be a big problem, if the person who works at your place has an accident. Therefore it is necessary to register and insure your cleaner. With quitt the correct registration, administration and accounting is easily possible.
Household work can take a lot of time and it can be really stressful too, especially if you are busy at work or with the family. Arguments over tidying up and cleaning can be really exhausting for relationships too, so it can be really helpful to look for support for your household.
But how can you find a qualified and reliable person, who you can trust? And how much do you have to pay for her/him, including insurance?
Let’s have a look at how this works in Germany.
Where to find the right person
It’s always good to find someone you somehow know. Maybe family friends have someone trustworthy they can recommend. You could ask in your neighborhood or maybe at the school or kindergarten of your children, if anybody knows someone.
If that’s not the case, there are a couple of reliable websites, you can use to find a helping hand.
This website connects households with a cleaner.
You can pick how often you need cleaning, at what time and how big your apartment is. Afterwards you get a couple of recommendations of cleaners, including the names, the hourly wage, a rating and professional experience.
Another possibility is
This website is not only to find cleaning assistance, but also for childcare, au-pairs, animal care and help for the elderly. Otherwise it works quite similar to Helpling. You look for help in your living area and choose the kind of help you are looking for.
Then you can see different profiles of domestic helpers with pictures, rating, price etc.
Here are some other trustworthy websites:
BOOK A TIGER
This service provides every kind of help you might need at home. Besides cleaning, and tidying, this company also provides more special services, such as post service, ironing, watering plants and organizing your wardrobe.
Most of these websites work quite similar to one another. Most of the times you also make the payment on the websites, any kind of costs, also insurance, included.
What is the difference between „Putzhilfe“ (cleaner) and „Haushaltshilfe“ (household help)?
Most of the times, Germans hire a „Putzhilfe“ or „Putzfrau“. That means, they pay someone to clean the apartment, basically the floors, the bathrooms, the kitchen and maybe sometimes special stuff like cleaning the windows, the insides of cupboards and so on. She or he comes one time a week and stays for 2-3 hours, maybe longer, depending on the size of your flat or your house. Most of the times the cleaner even comes, when the family is not at home, for example in the morning, when everybody is at work or at school.
If you want or need more help, for example, also with the children, with the dishes, laundry, cooking, shopping groceries, you should hire a „Haushaltshilfe“. This person can come everyday for a couple of hours and you can arrange the working tasks with her or him directly.
How much does domestic help cost?
In Germany, there is a thing, called the „Mindestlohn“. That is the minimum wage a person should earn and it’s 12 Euros per hour. So you can’t pay less than that in any circumstances.
In fact, the common salary for cleaners or home help is between 13-25 euros per hour.
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