Article 139 of the Weimar Constitution of 11 August 1919 says: Der Sonntag und die staatlich anerkannten Feiertage bleiben als Tage der Arbeitsruhe und der seelischen Erhebung gesetzlich geschützt. Sundays and the public holidays recognized by the state remain protected by law as days of rest from work and of spiritual uplift. Through its Article 140, the Basic Law made this article part of today’s constitution.
Volkswagen Switches Off the E-Mail
At the end of 2011 Volkswagen began to switch off e-mail on company phones after work. From 18:15 until 7:00 the next morning, the BlackBerrys of the employees covered receive no mail. The rule covered more than 1,100 employees. It did not apply to managers.
Mail on Holiday
In August 2014 Daimler announced Mail on Holiday for its roughly 100,000 employees in Germany. Employees can have incoming e-mail deleted automatically while they are on holiday. The sender receives an automatic reply that names a contact person, and then the system deletes the mail. According to a Daimler spokeswoman, every employee, up to the level of manager, could use it.
The Ministry’s Own Rule
In August 2013 the Federal Ministry of Labor agreed new rules for its more than 1,100 employees. They may be disturbed in their free time only in begründeten Ausnahmefällen, in justified exceptional cases. Im Urlaub dürfen die Chefs ihre Untergebenen grundsätzlich nicht in Anspruch nehmen. During holidays, bosses may in principle not call on their subordinates. Employees who are not reachable in their free time are not to be disadvantaged. The year before, the minister, Ursula von der Leyen, had said: In der Freizeit sollte Funkstille herrschen. In free time there should be radio silence.
Superior Only on Duty
The Bundeswehr’s ordinance on superiors sets out who may give orders to whom. Within a unit, a higher rank alone makes a soldier the superior of another only wenn sich sowohl Befehlender als auch Befehlsempfänger im Dienst befinden, when both the one giving the order and the one receiving it are on duty. Across rank groups, authority by rank applies only inside closed military installations. The Soldiers’ Act adds: Der Soldat hat die gleichen staatsbürgerlichen Rechte wie jeder andere Staatsbürger. A soldier has the same civic rights as every other citizen. Within the requirements of military service, these rights are limited by the soldier’s legal duties.
Work That Stands Up to Every Test
The company book Fünfzig Jahre Bosch 1886–1936, Fifty Years of Bosch, opens with sayings of its founder, Robert Bosch. One reads: “Es war mir immer ein unerträglicher Gedanke, es könne jemand bei Prüfung eines meiner Erzeugnisse nachweisen, daß ich irgendwie Minderwertiges leiste.” It was always an unbearable thought to me that someone testing one of my products could prove that I deliver anything inferior. “Deshalb habe ich stets versucht, nur Arbeit hinauszugeben, die jeder sachlichen Prüfung standhielt, also sozusagen vom Guten das Beste war.” I have therefore always tried to send out only work that would stand up to every objective examination, that is, so to speak, the best of the good.
Criticism of the Matter, Not the Person
German constitutional law protects sharp criticism. It does not protect Schmähkritik, abusive criticism. The Federal Constitutional Court defines this narrowly. A statement is abusive criticism only when “nicht mehr die Auseinandersetzung in der Sache, sondern die Diffamierung der Person im Vordergrund steht.” The debate about the matter is no longer in the foreground, and the defamation of the person is. Even exaggerated and abusive criticism is not Schmähkritik for that reason alone. In August 2020 the court overturned the conviction of a man in preventive detention. During a dispute over late pocket money, he had called a social worker at the prison a Trulla, a disparaging word for a woman.
Knowledge and Education, Not Birth
After Prussia’s defeat by Napoleon, a regulation of 6 August 1808 redefined who could become an officer. Einen Anspruch auf Offiziersstellen sollen von nun an in Friedenszeiten nur Kenntnisse und Bildung gewähren, in Kriegszeiten ausgezeichnete Tapferkeit und Überblick. From now on, only knowledge and education shall give a claim to officer posts in peacetime, and in wartime outstanding bravery and overview. Aller bisher stattgehabte Vorzug des Standes hört beim Militär ganz auf. All privilege of rank that has existed until now ends completely in the military. In practice, men of common birth rose mainly in the engineers and the artillery. The cavalry stayed closed to them.
From Observing to Teaching
A German teacher does not go straight from university to a classroom of their own. First comes the Referendariat, a preparatory service at a school. It usually lasts 18 months. In Hesse it lasts 21 months, in Bavaria 24, and in Brandenburg only 12. The sequence is fixed: Hospitation, Ausbildungsunterricht, eigenständiger Unterricht. The trainee first observes lessons, then teaches under supervision, and finally teaches alone. Trainers visit lessons along the way and give advice. The service ends with the Second State Examination. Lawyers go through the same kind of preparatory service, which lasts two years.
The Duty to Object
German civil servants carry die volle persönliche Verantwortung, the full personal responsibility, for the lawfulness of what they do in office. The law states what follows: Bedenken gegen die Rechtmäßigkeit dienstlicher Anordnungen haben Beamtinnen und Beamte unverzüglich bei der oder dem unmittelbaren Vorgesetzten geltend zu machen. (Civil servants must raise concerns about the lawfulness of official orders without delay with their immediate superior.) It is a duty, not a right. If the order stands and the doubts remain, the civil servant must go to the next superior above. If that superior confirms the order, the civil servant carries it out and is no longer personally responsible, unless the conduct ordered would violate human dignity, or is a criminal or administrative offense that the civil servant can recognize as such. This procedure is called Remonstration. The German Wikipedia adds that it is rarely used in everyday practice, because a civil servant who uses it often fears being labeled a Querulant, a troublemaker.