Ask for your doctor pay step
When a German hospital makes you an offer, ask which collective agreement and pay step apply. Those two details tell you where to look for the base salary.
Ahmed Quteishat
Assistenzarzt, Innere Medizin (Berlin) · Founder of Klaro
When a German hospital makes you an offer, ask which collective agreement and pay step apply. Those two details tell you where to look for the base salary.
Open the VKA hospital collective agreements
What to ask HR
- Which collective agreement applies to this contract?
- Which pay group and step would I start in?
- Which previous clinical experience has been counted for that step?
Use the employer's written answer to find the right row and effective date. The VKA agreement is one example for municipal hospitals. Ask a university, private or church hospital for the agreement it actually uses.
Compare like with like
Record the base gross salary separately from any allowance for duties, overtime or shifts. Check contracted hours before comparing two offers. For more tables, see the Marburger Bund collective agreements.
Stand: 2026-11-09. This is a guide, not legal advice. Every German state has its own rules, and rules change. Check with your state's medical chamber (Landesärztekammer) before you act.
Ahmed Quteishat — Assistenzarzt, Innere Medizin (Berlin) · Founder of Klaro
Ahmed built Klaro after watching how much of a doctor's move to Germany gets lost in paperwork rather than medicine.
