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Job centre goes to court over 15 cents

A central German job centre has gone to court for a second time over the paltry sum of 15 cents, after refusing to round up to a full euro payments to a man on unemployment benefits.

Published: 19 March 2013 11:15 CET

Job centre goes to court over 15 cents

Photo: DPA

A man on unemployment benefits, known as Hartz IV, asked the job centre in Erfurt, Thuringia to round up his payment to the next full euro so that he could avoid the awkward sum ending in 85 cents, said Der Spiegel on Monday.

But when the job centre flatly refused the man the extra 15 cents, he took the matter to a small claims court and won, wrote the magazine.

Until the last Hartz IV reform in 2011, job centres were required to pay out only full euro amounts to unemployed people. Amounts with remainders under 49 cents were rounded down, while amounts with remainders of 50 cents and above were rounded up.

But for the past two years, job centres have been paying out exact amounts, according to the article.

When called in to decide on the matter last month, the social welfare court in Thuringia upheld the old rules and ordered the job centre to round up all Hartz IV payments with a remainder of more than 50 cents.

Since the legal situation was so clear, said the court, the job centre should pay €600 towards the man’s legal costs.

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The court also refused the job centre the right to appeal the decision, but it has not given up.

The job centre has now taken the matter to the national level and has submitted a complaint with the Federal Social Court in Kassel, which will now decide whether the job centre should be allowed to appeal.

The Local/jlb

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Which Bavaria-based companies regularly hire English speakers?

Munich ranks third in German cities with the highest total GDP, behind Berlin and Hamburg, but in terms of GDP per capita, it’s higher than both of them.

It also consistently ranks high, often highest, in terms of average household income.

As of 2023, nine of the 40 companies listed on DAX, Germany’s stock index, were based in Bavaria. Seven of those are based specifically in Munich.

While Frankfurt is commonly known to be Germany’s business capital, Munich can claim the title of Germany’s insurance capital, which is saying something, as Germany is home to some of the largest insurance firms in the world, like Allianz.

Beyond the state’s capital city, a number of international companies are based elsewhere in Bavaria, particularly in the Franken region, near Nuremberg.

Which companies actively hire English speakers?

Bavaria, and Munich in particular, is home to a number of companies at the forefront of international business. But the state is known for its traditional, sometimes conservative, culture, which affects its business culture as well.

Whereas companies embracing English as their primary business language are easy to find in Berlin, the practice is less common in the south. That said, there are some notable exceptions.

Sportswear giants, Adidas and Puma, both have their headquarters near Nuremberg in Herzogenaurach, and regularly recruit English speaking international talent.

“As an international company, our teams reflect the rich diversity of our consumers and communities,” Jon Greenhalgh, Senior Manager Media Relations for Adidas told The Local. “Fostering a culture of inclusion where we value and leverage differences, ensures that we can authentically engage with our employees and truly connect with our consumers.”

He added that around 40 per cent of Adidas’ Germany-based employees are foreign nationals, from over 100 different countries.

Siemens and BMW rank among Bavaria’s top employers, and are also known to hire their fair share of foreigners.

“In Germany, we recently had around 2,000 open positions,” Konstanze Somborn told The Local on behalf of Siemens AG.

He added that Siemens operates in 190 countries. “That is why we value international teams very much…English as a common language is very usual.”

READ ALSO: ‘Which German companies want to hire foreigners?’

Similarly, BMW hires workers from a variety of backgrounds.

“Every year, we hire lots of internationals and welcome them to the BMW Group,” Dr. Hans-Peter Ketterl, a press spokesman for BMW Group told The Local.

But not all of these positions are available to non-German speakers.

Ketterl added that BMW’s working language is German in the country, even though, “English is an indispensable entry requirement as the second corporate language in many areas of the company.”

Check job boards and follow best practices

If it’s your first time applying for jobs in Germany, make sure to change your resume to the German format, even for English positions.

While Germany is home to its own job boards, like Xing, LinkedIn is probably the best place to start. In addition to searching for positions based in your preferred location, you can check relevant groups, like Munich Startups, to broaden your horizons.

The English Jobs in Germany website is also a good resource to start with.

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