Things Business Organizations Need To Be Aware Of While Employing People In Germany

The popularity of a Germany as a preferred hub for setting up a new business has been constantly growing over the past several years. This in turn has led to a significant rise in the number of employment opportunities available to both local and international professionals. While most businesses operating the country opt for the employer of records services Germany, there are others that use traditional methods of hiring the required talent. In either case, it is important for the hiring organizations to be aware of some key factors related to employing professionals in Germany as it can help avoid complications at a later stage. The brief details of these key factors are given as follows.

Employment Contracts

The German employment laws make it mandatory for business organizations to sign an employment contract with individual workers across all levels. These contracts should be drawn in accordance with the local standards and should be drafted by expert professionals operating in the field. The contracts should cover all the aspects of employment including the compensation due to the employees, their roles and responsibilities and any other related information that might be considered integral to ensuring a hassle free employer-employee relationship.

Leave Entitlements

In general, the German business organizations are expected to have a five day work week and working on Sundays and public holidays is prohibited, although exceptions can be made. The average daily work time is limited to eight hours and employees can avail six leave only after 4 years of employment. Employees are also entitled to annual leave of 24 working days in addition to the usual holidays. Female employees in Germany can avail maternity leave through the entire duration of their pregnancy and can extend it up to 4 month after the birth of the child.

Termination Of Employment

The employment laws in Germany protect the employees against unfair dismissal if they have been employed for more than six months by a single organization. In case of sudden termination, the employing organizations have to provide a valid cause such as misconduct or redundancy. In addition, employees who are currently on paternal leave are handicapped or pregnant female employees cannot be terminated without gaining proper approval from the government. Moreover, it is essential for the employers to provide a minimum of 4 week notice before terminating the employees. The notice period varies according to the length of employment of the employees and generally increases by one month each for employees who have served for 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 years.

Pension Policy

Companies providing the services of employer of records Germany need to educate their clients about the pension policies as applicable in the country. The German system of welfare and benefits covers aspects such as sickness, unemployment, disability and retirement. When it comes to pension policies, the employers and employees are both required to make a contribution equivalent to half of the rate of 18.7 percent of the employee salary. The employees are also expected to pay half the amount of the insurance premium while the employee and employer share for unemployment insurance amounts 1.5% of the salary for each party.