The Federal Voluntary Service or the Voluntary Social Year is a voluntary commitment in social, cultural, ecological or other public welfare-oriented Facilities or Institutions.

In principle, anyone who has completed compulsory full-time education can do voluntary service. Gender, nationality or the type of school leaving certificate are irrelevant.

The Federal Voluntary Service has no age limit. The Voluntary Social Year, on the other hand, can only be completed up to the age of 27.
Our federal volunteers also complete the political education seminar at an educational center. We can conduct this seminar ourselves for volunteers in the FSJ.
This form of service has no effect on recognition at schools or universities. The activities and pocket money are also identical.

Voluntary service usually lasts for twelve consecutive months, with a minimum of six and a maximum of eighteen months.

To be able to do voluntary service with us, you must be at least 16 years old. In some areas, being of legal age is a prerequisite for volunteering.
If you do not have German or EU citizenship, you must present your current residence permit to us.
Depending on the area of assignment, there are various vaccinations that are mandatory. Here is an overview:

• Two vaccinations against measles or proven immunity (mandatory in all areas)
• double vaccination against mumps and rubella or proven immunity (in the pediatric clinic and childcare)
• Triple vaccination protection + possible booster vaccination against hepatitis B (in areas with an increased risk of infection)

 

Please submit your application via our online application portal. If there are any problems with the online application, you can also submit your application documents to us by e-mail or post.

There is no application deadline to apply for a regular voluntary service with us.

Once we have received all the necessary application documents, you will be invited to an interview. This round is about getting to know each other and discussing wishes, expectations and opportunities. We will then look at which volunteer positions might be suitable for you. After the round of introductions, you will introduce yourself in person in one or more possible areas of work and spend some time there. In this way, we will find the area that suits you best and, after receiving positive feedback from both sides, we can offer you a place in the voluntary service at the MHH.

You can find our job opportunities on the following page. We will discuss which places are currently available in a personal interview after your application.

Voluntary service with us is generally full-time with 38.5 hours, 5 days a week. If you are over 27 years old or can provide evidence of special reasons, it is also possible to volunteer part-time for at least 21 hours a week. Special reasons for part-time voluntary service include, for example, health restrictions, looking after your own children or Nursing.
The specific working hours are determined by each area of assignment. You can therefore have regular working hours from Monday to Friday or work in shifts. You will not be deployed on night duty. As part of the voluntary service, it is also possible to work up to two weekends per month and on public holidays.

You will receive an induction in your area of work. The duration of the induction varies depending on the field of work.

On the one hand, you will have a supervisor at your place of work who you can contact if you have any questions about day-to-day work processes. On the other hand, the team at the Volunteer Services Office is available to answer any questions you may have about the volunteer service.

If you work for twelve months, you are entitled to 30 days' vacation.

As the voluntary service is a voluntary commitment, there is no salary in the usual sense. In recognition of your commitment, you will receive pocket money of between €214.00 and €600.00. We will be happy to discuss how much pocket money is paid in which area during your interview.

The general legal entitlement (age limit) to child benefit also exists during voluntary service.

Secondary employment is possible, but you must apply for and obtain approval from us. The scope of a part-time job may not exceed 8 hours per week and the daily working time including the voluntary service of 10 hours.

In principle, it is possible for you to apply for housing benefit. The payment of housing benefit depends, among other things, on the amount of rent and disposable income. You should clarify whether you qualify for housing benefit with the housing benefit authority in good time before you start your voluntary service.

Unfortunately, accommodation cannot be provided by the MHH. In exceptional cases, it is possible to apply for a place in student accommodation. Unfortunately, due to the small number of rooms and the high demand, only a fraction of our applicants can be allocated a room. Rooms are allocated according to the distance from the current place of residence.

If you are accepted for a room, you will have to pay a monthly fee of approx. 125 € and a deposit of 2 months' rent.

You have the opportunity to travel by bus and train in the greater Hanover area at a reduced rate, either with the MHH company subscription or with the Üstra youth network card.

As voluntary service is an activity subject to social insurance contributions, you are a member of the statutory pension, accident, health, Nursing and unemployment insurance schemes during your period of voluntary service. All contributions, i.e. both the employer's and the employee's share, are paid by the MHH.

There are compulsory seminars in every voluntary service. The main focus here is on personal development. The seminars are conducted by educational specialists. You must complete 25 seminar days of 5 weeks each over a 12-month period of service.

Participation in the accompanying seminars is compulsory. A total of 25 seminar days are mandatory during a twelve-month assignment. In the case of a longer or shorter contract period, the seminar days are adjusted accordingly (e.g. 6 months = 15 seminar days).

Yes, every semester in which you are not enrolled at a German university counts as a waiting period for studying. So the time you spend doing voluntary service also counts as a waiting period. Depending on which degree course you are applying for, you can improve your chances of admission by completing a period of voluntary service. Universities and colleges can recognize the period of voluntary service as a pre-study internship when admitting applicants to corresponding study programmes. Whether and to what extent recognition is possible depends on the individual provisions of the training or study programmes and can be obtained from the respective university.

If you decide to do voluntary work on a ward, this can later be recognized as a nursing internship. It is not usually possible to work in Nursing for just three months.

If you have already started your voluntary service and then receive an acceptance letter for a place at a university or apprenticeship, you have the option of terminating or canceling your voluntary service. However, you can also postpone your place of study by one year, in which case you will still be accepted.

Voluntary service can have a positive effect on your application. Feel free to contact us if you need an interim certificate during your voluntary service. However, there is no guarantee of a training or study place.

At the end of your voluntary service, you will receive a certificate containing a qualitative assessment of your work. We can also issue a certificate about your volunteer work for authorities or similar at any time.