Under Section 2 of the Nachweisgesetz, the act on written proof of employment terms, an employer in Germany must put the essential terms of an employment contract in writing. They include eine kurze Charakterisierung oder Beschreibung der vom Arbeitnehmer zu leistenden Tätigkeit, a short characterization or description of the work the employee is to do. The employer must hand over this description at the latest on the seventh calendar day after the agreed start of the employment.
Two Leaders, Two Areas
Shared leadership, two people in one job, is becoming more popular in German organizations. In 2024 the trade magazine Computerwoche asked two co-heads of a department at the Fraunhofer Institute IESE for advice. One of their warnings: Beide machen alles – das funktioniert nicht. Both doing everything does not work. Schließlich bleibt dann auch unklar, an wen von beiden man sich mit einem Anliegen wenden kann. After all, it then remains unclear which of the two one should turn to with a request. Their advice is to divide the areas of responsibility as clearly as possible and to tell the team.
Who Has the Hat On?
die Zuständigkeit — responsibility, competence. Duden’s example: das fällt nicht in unsere Zuständigkeit, that does not fall within our responsibility.
Das ist nicht meine Baustelle. — That is not my building site. Duden: it does not fall within someone’s responsibility or area of work.
Wer hat den Hut auf? — Who has the hat on? Duden explains den Hut aufhaben as to be responsible, with the example wer hat bei diesem Projekt den Hut auf?, who has the hat on in this project?
der Ansprechpartner, die Ansprechpartnerin — the contact person. Duden’s example: Ihr Ansprechpartner in unserer Firma ist Herr Müller, your contact person in our company is Mr. Müller.
Every Hose Has Its Owner
In Germany’s volunteer and professional fire brigades, a squad works under service regulation FwDV 3. Die Mannschaft einer Gruppe gliedert sich in group leader, machinist, messenger, attack team, water team and hose team. Each has its own tasks. The attack team nimmt in der Regel das erste einzusetzende Strahlrohr vor, as a rule takes up the first nozzle. The water team stellt die Wasserversorgung vom Löschfahrzeug zum Verteiler und zwischen Löschfahrzeug und Wasserentnahmestelle her, sets up the water supply from the engine to the distributor and between the engine and the water source. Before anyone leaves the vehicle, everyone knows whose hose it is.
Managing Someone Else’s Affairs
The German Civil Code has rules for a person who takes care of someone else’s affairs without being asked. Lawyers call this Geschäftsführung ohne Auftrag, management without a mandate. Under Section 677, such a person must act in the other person’s interest and according to that person’s real or presumed will. Under Section 678, if taking over the matter goes against that will and the helper should have seen this, the helper must pay for the resulting damage, even without any other fault.
Unclear Roles as a Health Hazard
Employers in Germany must assess the hazards of work, including psychological strain. Labor inspectors check these assessments with a guideline of the National Occupational Safety Conference, dated 11 January 2018. Its checklist of hazards from psychological strain includes, under work organization, unklare Kompetenzen (i. S. von Berechtigungen, Befugnissen), Verantwortungsbereiche und Rollen. These are unclear competences, in the sense of permissions and authority, unclear areas of responsibility and unclear roles. The checklist also names fehlende oder zu eng begrenzte Zuständigkeiten, missing or too narrowly limited responsibilities.
Diffuse Responsibilities
Der Mobbing-Report is a representative study of bullying at work in Germany. Researchers at the Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund wrote it, with figures for the year 2000. Among the conditions that favor bullying, unclear work organization and unclear areas of responsibility rank high. Auf Grund diffuser Zuständigkeiten wird es z. B. möglich, Verantwortung zu negieren und Fehler abzuwälzen. Diffuse responsibilities make it possible, for example, to deny responsibility and to shift mistakes onto others.
A Decree on Who Is Responsible
On 6 May 2025 Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued an Organisationserlass, an organization decree. It created the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernization. The new ministry took over departments and responsibilities from six others: the Chancellery and the ministries of the interior, transport, economy, finance and justice. The news site netzpolitik.org described the previous coalition’s arrangement as eine totale Zersplitterung der Kompetenzen, a total fragmentation of competences. It reported that the finance ministry had resisted giving up its responsibility for the federal IT service center.
The Vocabulary of Someone Else’s Area
jemandem ins Handwerk pfuschen — to botch around in someone’s trade. Duden defines it as sich in einem Bereich betätigen, für den ein anderer zuständig ist, to be active in an area for which someone else is responsible.
Viele Köche verderben den Brei. — Many cooks spoil the porridge.
das Kompetenzgerangel — a scramble over who is responsible
Zuständigkeitsbereiche abstecken — to stake out areas of responsibility, as one marks out ground with pegs
Two Gentlemen in One Bathtub
Herren im Bad, gentlemen in the bath, is one of Loriot’s best-known sketches. It first appeared in his television series Loriot, which ARD began to broadcast in 1976. Herr Müller-Lüdenscheidt and Dr. Klöbner end up in the same hotel bathtub, because Dr. Klöbner got the room number wrong. Neither man gives way. They argue over whether the rubber duck may go into the water. Die Ente bleibt draußen! The duck stays outside! In the end they compete over who can stay under water longer. At the end a third man appears and asks: Ist das hier Zimmer 107? Is this room 107?