Security instead of risk: According to a survey by the management consultancy Ernst & Young, the public sector is the most attractive sector for German students. The main reason for this is the hope of finding a secure job.
Not climate protection
How important is sustainability in the workplace to people? The Bertelsmann Foundation had this examined and found out something amazing: The younger employees are, the more important they are about classic values such as job security, salary and collegiality. Environmental and climate protection, on the other hand, play a rather subordinate role.
Young workers in Germany take a more pragmatic view of their jobs than is often assumed. In a study by the Bertelsmann Foundation, for which 1,200 employees from various sectors were asked about what they considered to be the most important aspects of their work and their employer, 18 to 24-year-olds named job security most frequently, followed by salary and collegiality.
How To Get Promoted at Work: 9 Effective Strategies
Earning a promotion enables you to assume a more important role in your company, earn a higher salary and gain a heightened sense of accomplishment. To effectively advance your career within your company, you will need to have excellent work performance and catch your supervisors’ attention.
While performance, experience and skills are common requirements for a job promotion in many workplaces, you can take extra measures to become a prime candidate for your desired position.
Birgit Steinborn, Head of Siemens Works Council
According to the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Birgit Steinborn is Germany’s most powerful female executive. She heads up the works council at Siemens, and was recently appointed deputy chairwoman of its supervisory board. Who is Birgit Steinborn? How did she become such a high-flier? And how does she feel about the company’s plans to slash jobs?
Negotiations with the Works Council
How to negotiate with the works council? Preparation is key! Practical action plan: 1. Establish the right team. 2. Know your business case. 3. Set specific goals. This video is the second episode of the German Labor Law video series. In this video – Negotiations with the Works Council – Dr. Gerlind Wisskirchen will explain the key principles you should abide by when negotiating with the works council.
Salary is important but differently than you think
It is said that a salary increase should have little effect on motivation at work. Appreciation and more responsibility are the key. But that’s not entirely true – because salary does play a role in employee satisfaction.
Money alone does not bring happiness – this is the result of countless job studies that have examined how the level of salary affects the motivation of employees. Sometimes experts are looking for the ideal salary that makes people happy. Time examines how salary increases affect employee engagement. The answers that these studies give to the salary questions are similar: salary increases only have a minimal effect that quickly fizzles out over time. If you want to motivate employees or keep them in the company, you should use other means as a boss.
All of this may be true, but it is not the whole truth. “Money does not necessarily generate motivation, but if the payment is not right, demotivation can arise,” says psychology professor Maika Rawolle from the University of Media, Communication and Economics in Berlin to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. The unclear expression of “incorrect salary” is very correct, because there are some salary constellations that reduce motivation. Everyone agrees: It’s about injustice, that is, about a comparison.
Jobsicherheit vs. Gehalt
Some graduates or applicants eventually reach the point where a decision has to be made: Am I looking for a job that is secure? Or one with a great salary?
German labor law
Germany has relatively strict employment and labor laws: Many provisions have a special emphasis on protecting employees. However, these laws also provide clear guidance for employers on individual employment contracts, employee benefits and entitlements, and rules around termination and dismissal.
Employment law: Basic information
In Germany, all laws and regulations concerning work are summarised in labour law. The protection of workers plays a key role in this. For example, labour law gives you comprehensive rights in relation to your employment contract, wages and holidays.
Termination of the employment relationship
You or your employer may terminate your seasonal employment relationship early. The notice periods to be observed are stated in your employment contract. Your employment may only be terminated without notice in specific cases.
A notice of termination is only valid if it can be proven to have been handed over. This is the case when a notice of termination exists as a written document and has been signed by both parties. A notice of termination is also valid if a witness was present when notice was given or handed over as a written document. Notice of termination by email is not deemed to be written notice of termination and is therefore invalid.
Working hours
The average working hours in Germany is 8 hours per day. This can be extended to up to 10 hours per day for a short period. A rest period of 11 hours is normally prescribed between 2 shifts.
Breaks
If you work between 6 to 9 hours a day, you are entitled to a 30-minute break after no later than 6 hours. If you work more than 9 hours a day, the break is extended to 45 minutes. Labour law prohibits taking the break at the end of the day’s work in order to leave earlier.
Breaks are not considered working time and are therefore not paid.
Holidays
Even as a seasonal worker, you are entitled to paid leave. This is at least 2 days for each month in which you work full time. The holiday pay may also be paid to you at the end of your period of employment if you have agreed this with your employer in advance.
If you work on Sundays or public holidays, your employer must offer you a corresponding number of days off in lieu within 8 weeks.
Wages
A minimum wage is mandatory for all employees in Germany. This means no employer may pay less than this hourly wage. Since 1 January 2022, the minimum wage has been EUR 9.82 per hour gross. This means before taxes and other charges are deducted from this amount.
Even if you have agreed a piecework rate with your employer, you may not earn less than the statutory minimum wage.
Your employer must also give you a pay slip. This lists the tax amounts that will be deducted from your gross wage. If your employer provides accommodation, the cost for this may also be deducted from your wages. The corresponding amount must also be shown on the pay slip.
What Happened in Chattanooga?
2014. The recent vote by workers in a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee to decline representation by the United Auto Workers union (UAW) highlights the differences in labor policies between the United States and Germany.
With American union membership on the decline, this was the first time that the UAW attempted to represent workers in a foreign company in over a decade, and its failure sets a precedent for the future of unions in the American South.
Looking to its successes in Germany and elsewhere, Volkswagen was in favor of creating a German-style “works council” in Chattanooga that, due to American labor laws, would require the UAW to represent workers’ interests.
This was met with mixed reviews. In particular, workers worried that voting for union representation would scare away production of a new model of SUV, despite VW’s assurances that the UAW vote would have no effect on the decision to manufacture the SUV in Chattanooga. Politics also played a role in the outcome.
In the politically conservative South, several Tennessee government officials, with the help of anti-union action committees, were able to lead a successful campaign against the union. Some lawmakers warned that VW might not receive new tax incentives to expand in the state if the UAW was successful at the VW plant.
Furthermore, many workers were reportedly happy with current wages, felt that the company treated them well, and did not want the union to damage or muddy that dynamic. The vote has left Volkswagen still looking for a way to create a works council, even without the UAW.