12 Steps: 12 steps towards your job Career Service Hochschule Bremen

Transcription

1 12 Steps: 12 steps towards your job Career Service Hochschule Bremen Step 9: What you need to know about the first 100 days on the job - Working Conditions in Germany Interview with Moritz Jerzembeck and Antonia Schmider, German Federation of Trade Unions, Student Office at the University of Bremen Many foreign students would either like to or must absolve an internship during their stay in Germany, do a student side job or even begin professional work directly after they have finished their studies. In order to avoid experiencing unfavorable surprises, it pays for you to get information early in advance about the respective framework conditions. The following information from the Bremen University Information Office of the Trade Unions serves as an initial introduction to this issue. You can obtain further information at the University Information Office of the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) at the University of Applied Sciences (Hochschule), at the Career Centers at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences and the University of Bremen, or at the Students Union Office (ASTA) for foreign students at the University of Bremen. Internships, Student Side-Jobs and Starting Your Professional Career Most of the labor regulations that are described here are valid for all forms of employment. With the exception of a mandatory internship which must be stipulated in the Examination Regulations, internships are considered employment. In these cases, labor laws apply, and they particularly concern regulations regarding continued payment of wages in the event of illness, vacation pay and minimum wage. Student side-jobs (mini jobs, midi jobs, temporary short-term employment) are explicitly not exceptions to these legal regulations! Simply because you are working less does not necessarily mean that you have fewer rights with regard to work. Practical Work According to Residency Status Please note that the status of your residency permit (unfortunately) has an influence on how much work you are allowed to perform. With regard to labor regulations, while students from EU countries are more or less on an equal footing with German students (max. 20 hrs. a week; exception: work at weekends, in the evening hours or temporary short-temporary employment with a maximum of 70 days or 3 months) and have access to the labor and internship market this is limited to international students from non-eu countries! (120 full or 240 half working days a year) Internships (also mandatory internships) are included in the calculation of annual working days. You must inform the Employment Agency (Agentur für Arbeit) and the Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde) for previous approval of any days exceeding the regularly allowed limit. An exception to this regulation is the work performed as a research assistant. All foreign students may perform this work without limitation as long as this does not jeopardize the student s course of studies. This work, however, must be reported to the Immigration Office (Ausländerbehörde). International students from non-eu countries are, unfortunately, not permitted to be self-employed or perform freelance work. If you do not come from an EU country, you are dependent on an employer and may not write, e.g. any invoices.

2 Internship Can I earn money during my internship? Yes, you can earn money during your internship. In this case, however, different prerequisites prevail, depending on the type of internship. Mandatory internships, as specified in the Examination Regulations of universities and universities of applied sciences or technical colleges (Hochschulen) are not considered to be employment but are a component of the degree program. Thus, many labor regulations do not apply here. You do not have a right to receive pay, even though it is quite customary in the meantime to receive money for a mandatory internship. Approximately 300 a month can be considered as a common value, but this can fluctuate greatly, depending on the field of industry. There are still sectors in which no money is paid out for mandatory internships. Finally, this depends on your internship provider. The German trade unions consider remuneration at the level of the valid educational support rate for students (BAföG) and also for mandatory internships as adequate (in 2015, this was 670). In any case, speak to your internship provider about an adequate remuneration. Voluntary internships are internships which are not stipulated in the Examination Regulations, no matter if they take place prior to, during or after your course of studies. In this case, you have the full protection of the labor laws (minimum wage of 8.50/hr., after three months, the right to receive vacation pay and the continuation of pay during sick leave, etc.). In individual instances, large companies pay interns remuneration based on the rate fixed in collective wage agreements. In this case, a trade union membership can be worthwhile. Inform yourself about it on site. Does it make sense to do several internships? Clearly, you must do your mandatory internship. Beyond this, it is not easy to answer this question. On the one hand, you gain a lot of insight into the later working world and, in general, learn a great deal through an internship. Internships are also very suitable for language acquisition and firming language skills. But it is also extremely important that your internship does not replace a regular work place. An internship is a learning position and should be understood as such by your internship provider. Too often it is the case that interns are exploited as cheap labor. In addition, a great number of internships in a CV do not look good. Many potential employees could ask why it was necessary for you to have done so many internships or if you were a difficult person or did not have the ability to assert yourself in order to have one of your internship positions changed into a regular employment position. We, therefore, advise you to do only a small number of internships before and during your course of studies. Satisfy your own needs for insight and acquired knowledge and do not shy yourself away, at an early stage, from feeling like an expert and from searching for regular employment. This is particularly important after completing your course of studies. In general, we advise you not to do an internship after successfully completing your degree. As of this point, you are an educated expert, and there is no longer a reason to hire you as an intern. In order not to be required to employ you for a lifetime, employers have other labor law instruments available, e.g. probationary period or temporary (time) contract. An internship is not a substitute for a real job! What rights and obligations do I have during an internship? In all internship situations, you have a right to an internship contract and should demand this. An internship contract should contain all data regarding begin and duration of the internship, the location of the internship, the amount of remuneration, working hours, length of vacation time and notice period of termination. In addition, you should insist on a description of the content and procedures of your internship, and on receiving the name of your personal contact partner at the location of your internship. Naturally here, you can also read the obligations you have. You must be able to see how you are supposed to proceed when you are ill during your internship or if you would like to end your internship at an early stage. Employers sometimes make you sign their company s confidentiality declaration. With this, they want to make sure that no sensitive information leaks outside. Naturally, you should adhere to such agreements. It is common that not every internship provider writes out the labor-law regulations of an internship contract in detail. Instead, you are often referred to general German labor laws or the German Social Security Codes. Do not let this intimidate you and, if necessary, visit an advisory office with your contract if you should need aid with the interpretation. You could always question a serious employer about the agreements in your contract. By all means, note the difference between voluntary and mandatory internships. Whereas during a voluntary internship, at the latest, after the third month of employment, all labor rights apply; this is not the case with mandatory internships. A mandatory internship must fulfill a certain number of hours. If you are ill during your

3 internship and serve fewer hours as an intern than required for obtaining credits, you must extend the length of your internship in order to fulfill the requirements of the Examination Regulations. Thus, termination of contract with regard to mandatory internships is problematic. This, however, does not mean that you should simply put up with everything or live with being poorly treated, having to just make coffee or clean the office. When in doubt, talk in good time to the internship advisor of your degree program or to counsellors at the Advisory Office at your university. Starting Your Career What must I know about the first 100 days in a job? Basically, the starting phase in a new job can be particularly exciting. At last, you can apply abstract knowledge to practical work, you get to know new colleagues and possibly receive lots of immediate encouragement from your employer. However, there are some issues you should note. First of all, you always have a right to a work contract which is very similar to an internship contract. Here, all important regulations are stated, and instead of an educational description, the contract contains a job description. Mandatory rules regarding a written work contract, however, do not exist. Should a job be started without a written work contract, a work contract nevertheless exists on a legal basis, the conditions of which are, in all areas, equivalent to the legal minimum conditions. We, therefore, advise you to always demand a written work contract! Inquire at your company whether there is a Works Council or Staff Council (employee representation at the company). Unfortunately, not all companies have a Works Council, but if there is one, this is a very good contact point to go to for all legal and social questions that might arise with regard to your new work place. You cannot expect to do everything correctly from the very beginning. Should you collect lots of overtime on your account (because perhaps you needed longer for the tasks given you), then you should not give these hours away to your employer. Your employer must either let you take your overtime off from work or pay you for this extra time. What is a probationary period? A probationary period is often regulated in your work contract. There are no legal regulations that prescribe a probationary period at the beginning of employment. Often, however, a probation time of maximally six months is agreed to. Within the probationary period, you AND your employer can terminate contract without reason. The duration of a probationary period is not legally regulated; a longer probation time than six months is not common and should not be accepted. During this time, the general notice period of termination consisting of two weeks, applies (for the employer and also for you). This means your employer, but also you, can terminate the employment relationship within 14 days. After the probationary period, protection against dismissal is effective for four weeks after receipt of a termination notice that must be justified. A dismissal is not permissible in all cases. Inform yourself in due time about details should you receive a notice of dismissal or wish to terminate your contract yourself. A shorter probationary period or a longer notice period of termination can exist through collective agreements that have been concluded for your branch of industry. Then your future employer must adhere to these agreements. The probationary period serves you as well as your employer in the first days of employment to find out if you suit each other. There is no need to worry, and you do not have to always do everything right in the upcoming six months. According to our experience, it is a better and more relaxed way to let mistakes happen, and then use them to demonstrate your own ability in coping with your own mistakes. Full vacation entitlement first starts after six months of employment and often coincides with the end of your probationary period. What happens if I become ill? Continued payment of wages in the case of illness applies as of the first working day. Whoever is ill immediately informs the employer, goes to the doctor, receives treatment and a doctor s note and submits this note to the employer within three work days. Work that had been set aside due to sick leave will not be completed without pay. Many employers interpret a doctor s note in the probationary period as a sign of a poor worker and base their decision regarding continued employment on this. Naturally, this is utter nonsense, and your health should always have priority. It should, however, be clear to you that long-term or frequent sick leave in the probationary period will often be misinterpreted in this manner.

4 What rights and obligations do I have as an employee? Basically, your rights and obligations derive from your work contract. Here, all details concerning the arrangement of your work place should be defined. Whenever this is not the case, then the minimum legal regulations always apply. Less than the legal minimum (minimum wage, maximum weekly working hours, vacation day entitlement, continued pay during illness, etc.) is illegal in a work contract and can cause the entire contract to become ineffective. Your major obligation is naturally to perform the work that has been contractually agreed to. Your employer has a right to good performance on average : No one must always be perfect! In return, your employer must pay you the wages or salary contractually agreed to at the time that has also been contractually agreed. Your work contract should also contain information regarding work begin, length of time, duration of the probationary period, notice period of termination, number of vacation days, etc. As a rule: the more information that has been regulated in writing in a work contract, the less that has to be read and taken from laws and regulations. Many work contracts are not always comprehensible at first sight. As a member of a trade union, you can ask your responsible trade union to review your contract before you sign it. A few regulations that ALWAYS apply: Work contract and termination of contract/dismissals: Although it is not mandatory to have a written contract, this does not apply to dismissals. This must always be in writing. Oral dismissals or termination of contract are not effective. Vacation: The legal vacation entitlement is 20 days/year for jobs performed on the basis of a five day work week and 24 days/year for jobs on the basis of a six day work week. Full vacation entitlement occurs after six months of employment. Before that, vacation entitlement is granted proportionally. In addition, there is extra vacation for special cases (death within the family, etc.). During vacation, your employer continues to pay your salary. You are entitled to take your vacation as a unit; the method, here a day, there a day according to the interests of the employer is inadmissible. Collective labor agreements allow for more vacation days (up to 30+) and more extra vacation in special cases, e.g. in the case of moving house. Inquire if a collective labor agreement applies for your branch of industry. Working time: The standard work week consists of 40 hours. Many collective labor agreements regulate fewer work-week hours. The standard maximum amount of weekly working hours is 48 hours and may only be exceeded under special circumstances and not on a regular basis. Through the utilization of all exceptions and regulations, a maximum of 60 working hours/week is possible on a short-term basis (but this is not advisable!) Anything above and beyond this is illegal. Whoever exceeds the amount of time you are allowed to work risks (among other things) loosing insurance coverage! Equal treatment: Granting different rights or entitlements due to differences in gender, origin, religion or sexual preference is forbidden. Special benefits: Certain special benefits, such as vacation pay, Christmas money, moving support, etc. are VOLUNTARY benefits granted by the employer. No legal entitlement exits to these benefits. What is interesting for international students: moving support when moving in a foreign country is totally unknown in many branches of industry! Ask your employer about this; unfortunately you cannot insist on this. IMPORTANT: Voluntary benefits of the employer are, when granted, always to be granted to ALL employees. A selective distribution of privileges is (at least in this manner) not allowed. What starting salary can I expect? Are there great fluctuations regionally or according to profession? Yes, there are fluctuations with income according to profession and also region. The situation with professions is like it is almost all over the world: Technical and economic professions are, as a rule, better paid than social professions. Large industries pay better than medium-sized enterprises or handicraft businesses. Regionally there is a difference between north and south as well as east and west. In the south, jobs are better paid than in the north; in the west, better paid than in the east. These differences are often mirrored in the respective price level in those areas.

5 In Germany, the collective labor agreement system plays a major role. In areas where unions have managed to conclude collective agreements with the Employers Association, the wages and working conditions are mainly better, and this eliminates the regional wage differences, at least on the north-south level. It is, therefore, important to know if a collective agreement applies in the prospective company. Collectively agreed to salaries and wages are based on a visible system that has been determined by trade unions and employers. Wherever there are no collective labor agreements, these are readily being used as a guideline; ultimately, your wages in such areas are purely negotiable and depend on your own negotiation skills. We cannot give you any general, valid information on income. Exact wage level tables and applicable collective agreements can be obtained in the internet at or at your local trade union, or at the Bremer Employees Chamber (Arbeitnehmerkammer in Bremen). For those of you who find this to be too abstract, here is a smaller guideline: The starting salary of an engineer in the metal and electrical industry (BA) within the sphere of the collective agreement of IG-Metal (trade union of the metal and electrical industry) was between 4,116 and 4, 670 gross in 2015 (depending on the job profile). Do I really earn more if I have a Master s Degree? Yes. This is not always the case, but on average, Master graduates earn more than BA graduates. The wage system is based on wage groups that have been categorized by job descriptions and education. Those who can show more in these cases have entitlement to a higher grouping and receive more money. This at least holds true wherever collective agreements apply. What can I do if problems arise? All of the regulations that have been described here represent the standard legal working conditions in Germany. Unfortunately, there are employees and internship providers who, time and again, exploit international students lack of knowledge on the current labor law regulations. You must not accept this. Make use of your rights and speak to your employer at an early stage about your grievances and inquire about which framework conditions that have been mentioned in this text are applicable or not for you at your location. This gives you a good opportunity to assess the quality of your work place or your internship position, and if necessary, to decide on a different position. If you have already started your employment and feel as if you are being treated unjustly, then look immediately for one of the advisory offices that have been mentioned in this text or your nearest trade union office and obtain advice as to your options for action. Union membership for international students: Is it worth it? Up to now, you have quite often read the words, collective labor agreement and trade unions. Actually, the German Constitution provides that not the state but the unions and employers associations are responsible for wage determination. Where unions have many members and are, for this reason, strong, they can negotiate favorable collective labor agreements for their employees. These sectors and branches of industry in the working world are, up to today, the most employee friendly ones in the whole country. This system is so successful that employers grant all employees, whether they are members of a union or not, the negotiated benefits in collective agreements. Legally, they do not have to do this, but they do so in order to prevent a situation in which only organized union members profit and all employees would then join the union, whereupon even better collective agreements would be possible, etc. Hence, it is clear that a union membership makes sense and is important even for international students: You help us maintain and support the pay system from which you can profit. In addition, unions in Germany offer high-quality advice on all questions concerning labor law, legal expenses insurance for dispute cases brought before German labor courts and a service where you can have your work contract and your job references reviewed. Furthermore, you have access to educational programs of the unions. A union membership for students costs, depending on the occupational group, a maximum of 2.50 a month and thereafter 1% of your gross income. Therefore: Join your local Union. Contact: HIB of DGB, Moritz Jerzembeck, Antonia Schmider Uni Bremen, Bibliothekstrasse 3/StH, Room A 2040, Bremen Tel: hib@uni-bremen.de

6