Freie Hand lassen — to leave a free hand.
Das ist Sache des Fachmanns — that is the specialist’s affair.
Da rede ich ihm nicht rein — I don’t talk into that.
Machen lassen — to let someone get on with it.
Four ordinary German expressions, all approving, all describing a client who has stepped back.
Dafür haben wir Sie ja geholt — that is what we brought you in for. Said in German when a supplier asks the client how to proceed on a matter within the supplier’s own expertise. It is not impatience. It is a statement about where the responsibility went when the contract was signed.
German project practice runs on a scheduled report — monthly, fortnightly, at defined milestones — rather than on continuous contact. The client is informed regularly and is not consulted continuously. The rhythm is agreed at the start, and keeping to it is what maintains the relationship.
German suppliers ask for one person on the client side who can answer questions and make decisions, and the arrangement is often written into the contract. The information flows through a defined channel rather than through whoever happens to be available.
Under German construction practice a subcontractor directs his notice of concerns to his own main contractor, not to the building owner. Notifying only the supervising architect is unreliable unless that architect is demonstrably authorised to receive such declarations.
The chain of responsibility is precise, and the courts have ruled on who counts as the right recipient.
If the contractor sets a reasonable deadline and the client neither accepts nor refuses with at least one named defect, the work counts as accepted anyway — § 640 Abs. 2 BGB. The client cannot simply go quiet. Silence is a decision the statute makes for him.
A German client who accepts work despite knowing of a defect must expressly reserve his rights over it, or he loses them — § 640 Abs. 3 BGB. Signing the acceptance while unhappy is not a position available to him. He either states the objection at that moment or it is gone.
German work contracts turn on a formal act called Abnahme, governed by § 640 BGB. Until it happens, the contractor must prove the work is free of defects. After it, the burden reverses and the client must prove the defect exists.
Acceptance also makes payment due, starts the warranty clock, and passes the risk of accidental damage to the client.
One declaration changes who has to prove what. Both sides know exactly which side of it they are standing on.
German construction law places a duty on the contractor: where he has concerns about the intended method of execution, about materials supplied by the client, or about the work of other trades, he must notify the client immediately and in writing, and preferably before starting. The provision is § 4 Abs. 3 VOB/B.
Doing so releases him from liability for defects arising from those points. Failing to do so leaves him liable for consequential damage he did not cause.
The obligation runs the wrong way for a contractor’s own interest, and it is the law.
Aufgabe. Task, job, project given to a person to complete.
An Aufgabe in Germany is a job one feels obligated to do to the best of their ability. More than completing the task, it is a personal matter, a question of professionalism and integrity. People can assign themselves an Aufgabe or have it assigned to them by a third party.
The Germans say Aufgabe für das Leben, a task for life; Sie müssen Ihre Hausaufgaben machen. You have to do you homework; Man wächst mit den Aufgaben. One grows with the tasks given to them; Eine zu große Aufgabe. A task too great.
It is important for Germans to have a clear separation of tasks, clear borders delineating who does what. It is considered to be a negative sign for a team when one German says to another: „I thought that was your job.“ Even worse is when a German employee does not have an Aufgabe or has too few Aufgaben.
This could be an indication that management doesn‘t regard all too highly that employee‘s capabilities. On the flip side, German employees often take on as many Aufgaben as possible. This is part ambition, part job security, part arrogance in the sense of being able to claim to their colleagues „That they have so much to do, so much more than the others.“
For Germans it is important to have important Aufgaben, to have a lot of Aufgaben, to complete them well.