Short Answer Accepting cash payments under the table strips you of every employment right you can actually prove and constitutes a federal tax evasion offense. Emergency medical treatment will not be denied to you — but wages, sick pay, and damages all depend on an employment relationship that officially never existed, while the criminal and residence-permit exposure is entirely yours. What Most Expats Don't Realize You accepted a construction assignment that paid €15 an hour in raw cash to bypass standard monthly payroll tax deductions. You fell from an unanchored ladder during your second shift, fracturing your wrist and requiring immediate orthopedic surgery at a local clinic. The hospital treated you — but the contractor denied you had ever worked for him, and with no contract, no payroll record, and no witnesses willing to talk, you could not enforce a single euro of wage continuation or outstanding pay. You lost €5,400 in unpaid wages and sick pay you could not prove, while facing an active tax investigation that put your residence permit on the line. What To Do * Decline any employment proposal that bypasses standard corporate payroll registration or electronic banking channels. * Print out your valid employment contract and verify that your regular contributions are clearing the national social security registry. * "Ich arbeite nur mit einer offiziellen Anmeldung und Steuer-ID." (I only work with an official registration and tax ID.) — tell this to any supervisor who attempts to steer your salary into an unlogged cash system. The Truth Undeclared labor is treated as a severe multi-billion-euro financial drain across the federal system. Customs agents manage an aggressive task force that conducts unannounced raids on commercial properties — and while the inspectors target the employer's books, the international worker is the one whose German life stands on paperwork that was never filed.