Surprisingly, better of Germans seem to have a flexible understanding of the law when it comes to their own four walls. According to data from the Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft - IW (Institute for German Economy), which spread through German media yesterday, August 1, 2016 after being published first by Rheinische Post newspaper, some 80% of domestic helpers are employed without a proper contract. Some 83% of domestic helpers are women and they are mostly employed as cleaners and helpers for the elderly.

To get an idea of how huge the number behind the 80%, the institute published that in 2015 there were about 3.6 million of aids working in German households! Compared to 2005, the number of such illegal employment has dropped, since the Institute counted 95% such employer-Worker relationships. The number is the more shocking as the German so-called Mini-Jobs offer a fairly inexpensive way of legalising help at home.

Nevertheless, most households aren’t taking advantage of this fact, even though the costs can in some cases even be deducted from taxes. The risk of employing someone illegally can lead to a fine of up to €5,000 for private persons.