Assistenzarzt Employment Contract Checklist for International Doctors

The direct answer: Before signing an Assistenzarzt employment contract in Germany, check the legal employer, start conditions, applicable collective agreement, pay group and step, working hours, on-call arrangements, contract duration, probation and notice. Alongside the employment terms, verify your medical permission and the department's specialty-training authorisation. A job offer, a licence and recognised Facharzt training answer different questions. Do not treat one as proof of the other two.

This guide is for international medical graduates, including Indian MBBS doctors, assessing a hospital offer. It is not a dental or nursing contract guide. German specialty training is paid medical work, not a classroom MD/MS seat. For the wider pathway, see our Medical PG in Germany support page.

01. Identify the employer and applicable rules

So first, check who is employing you. The hospital name on a website may not be the legal employer named in the contract. Read the employer's full name, your workplace, department and role. If the contract permits work at other sites, ask which locations that could involve.

Now find the Tarifvertrag, the collective agreement, if one applies. Do not assume that every German hospital follows one doctor pay scale. Marburger Bund's official collective-agreement collection separates municipal hospitals, university hospitals and several private groups. Ask HR for the exact agreement and current version applicable to your offer.

The Nachweisgesetz, section 2, lists essential employment conditions, including pay components, working time, leave, termination procedure and applicable collective or workplace agreements. Some details may be supplied through references to other rules. So collect the referenced documents as well as the main contract.

If there is no applicable collective agreement, ask which individual terms govern each issue. A phrase such as “based on the tariff” needs explaining: does the contract incorporate the agreement, or only use a particular salary figure? Have unclear wording checked rather than filling the gap with an assumption.

02. Match the start date to your permissions

An employment contract does not itself authorise medical practice. Federal Medical Practitioners' Act section 2 establishes the Approbation framework and the possibility of practice under a temporary or restricted permission. Under section 10, a temporary permission can be restricted to particular activities and employment locations.

Compare your proposed job with the permission you actually hold. Check the employer, location, duties, validity and any conditions. If you are still waiting for permission, ask what the contract says about a delayed start, pay commencement and any condition that must be met before employment begins.

Alongside medical permission, check your immigration permission. Residence Act section 4a distinguishes permitted employment from restricted employment. A hospital's willingness to hire you does not change a restriction printed on your residence document or supplementary sheet.

03. Read pay group, step and additional payments

Do not stop at the monthly figure. Ask which Entgeltgruppe, or pay group, and which Stufe, or step, HR has assigned. Then ask which pay table and effective period it used. An old screenshot cannot confirm the amount payable on your starting date.

Separate the base salary from payments for additional duties. The documentation framework in Nachweisgesetz section 2 includes overtime remuneration, supplements, allowances and other pay components. Ask which amounts are fixed, which depend on duties actually performed and when they are paid.

If you have medical work experience from India or another country, ask HR to assess it under the applicable agreement. Request a written decision on the proposed step and the evidence it requires. Do not assume that every year after MBBS automatically produces a higher step, or that earlier experience must always be ignored.

Check whether the quoted amount is for full-time employment and how your agreed working percentage affects it. A gross salary is not a guaranteed take-home amount. This contract checklist does not quote a universal salary because the employer, agreement, effective date, classification and duties must first be identified.

04. Check working time and on-call arrangements

Find the agreed regular working hours, shift arrangements and rules for ordering additional work. Ask for a representative rota, then compare that practical explanation with the contract and applicable agreement. A rota illustrates the department's arrangements; it does not replace the governing terms.

The general daily framework in Working Time Act section 3 is eight working hours, with extension to ten subject to the stated averaging conditions. However, section 7 permits specified collective-agreement variations, including arrangements involving on-call duty. Do not use the general daily rule alone to approve or reject a hospital rota.

Ask HR to explain Bereitschaftsdienst and Rufbereitschaft as they apply to your job: where you must be, how availability and actual work are recorded, and how each is compensated. Ask when a new doctor joins the duty rota, what supervision is available and who handles escalation.

Also check breaks, rest and overtime recording. Section 4 covers statutory breaks; section 5 sets out the general rest rule and hospital-related exceptions. If an opt-out or additional working-time consent is presented, have its legal basis and consequences explained before agreeing.

Our doctor working-hours guide provides the wider shift-work context. For this offer, obtain the actual recording, approval and compensation procedure in your department.

05. Verify the specialty-training position

Now look beyond the job title. If your aim is Facharzt training, ask who holds the Weiterbildungsbefugnis, the authorisation to supervise specialty training. Ask for the specialty, authorised training scope and location covered. Then check those details with the relevant Landesärztekammer, the state medical chamber.

The German Medical Association's work and specialty-training guidance explains that training takes place under authorised supervision and that the state chambers govern specialty-training matters. It directs doctors to the chambers' training regulations and authorised-institution lists. The employer's contract is therefore not the final authority on training credit.

Ask how the proposed role fits your training plan: who supervises you, which competencies are available, how progress is documented and how rotations are arranged. Separate confirmed arrangements from a department's future intentions. If only part of your intended training is available there, ask what happens next.

If you will start under a temporary medical permission, ask the chamber specifically how it treats that period in your circumstances. Do not assume that permission to practise means automatic credit towards your specialty. Our medical residency and Facharzt pathway explains the broader training route.

06. Understand duration, probation and notice

Check whether the contract is befristet, fixed-term, or unbefristet, indefinite. For a fixed-term contract, identify the end date or stated purpose and the basis given for the arrangement. A contract end date is not a promise that specialty training will be completed by then.

Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act section 15 distinguishes expiry from ordinary termination. A fixed-term contract is subject to ordinary termination only where this is agreed individually or in the applicable collective agreement. It also requires an agreed probation period to be proportionate to the expected fixed-term duration and type of work.

Do not treat “six months' probation and two weeks' notice” as a universal hospital rule. Civil Code section 622 provides a two-week notice framework during an agreed probation period, for no longer than six months, but permits differing collective-agreement rules. Check the rule actually applicable to your offer, including what changes after probation.

Termination also has form requirements. Under section 623, termination notices and agreements ending employment require written form; electronic form is excluded. Do not assume an ordinary email ends employment validly. Seek qualified advice promptly if a termination issue arises.

Finally, check annual leave on the correct working-week basis, plus any additional agreed leave. The statutory minimum-leave provision uses Werktage, not simply the number of days on a typical hospital rota. Compare like with like rather than comparing two bare totals.

07. Use the before-signing review matrix

For every row, record the answer, supporting document and unresolved question. “HR will clarify later” is an open item, not a completed check.

Ask for clarification of relocation, accommodation, course funding or repayment terms in the actual documents. If repayment or deductions could materially affect you, obtain independent employment-law advice. This checklist cannot determine whether an individual clause is enforceable.

08. India-specific notes and common mistakes

Keep your Indian internship and employment evidence ready when asking about experience assessment. Use dates and duties you can document. Translate unfamiliar contract terms before deciding, but do not treat an automated translation as a legal opinion.

09. How MedGermany helps

MedGermany can help you organise your licensing stage, documents, language preparation and pathway questions. Contract interpretation, enforceability and disputes need a qualified employment adviser; training recognition belongs to the medical chamber. Bring your unresolved questions to the right decision-maker.

Frequently asked questions

1. Is every Assistenzarzt contract covered by the same tariff?

No. Identify the legal employer and the applicable agreement or individual terms. Use the relevant current documents, not a salary table from a different hospital group.

2. Does my Indian experience automatically determine my pay step?

Do not assume automatic treatment either way. Ask HR to assess your documented experience under the applicable rules and confirm its proposed classification in writing.

3. Does a contract replace Approbation or Berufserlaubnis?

No. Your medical permission and any restrictions must match the clinical role. Your immigration employment permission is a separate check.

4. Does the Assistenzarzt title guarantee Facharzt training credit?

No. Verify the authorised supervisor, training scope and applicable chamber rules. Ask the chamber about uncertain periods before relying on them in your training plan.

5. Can I leave a fixed-term contract whenever I give notice?

Not automatically. Check whether ordinary termination is permitted by the individual contract or applicable collective agreement, then check notice and form requirements. Obtain advice before acting on an unclear clause.