Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

WORKING IN GERMANY

What you need to know about Germany’s new working from home rules

Employees are being asked to work from home, when possible, as of Wednesday. We break down the new regulation, including who's supposed to follow it and how it will be enforced.

Published: 20 January 2021 10:46 CET
Updated: 27 January 2021 09:46 CET
What you need to know about Germany's new working from home rules
More and more employees in Germany have turned to working from home during the pandemic. Photo: DPA

The ordinance, which went into effect on January 27th and is set to stretch until March 15th, was passed in part to relieve congestion on public transportation, especially during peak travel times.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What you should know about Germany's stricter lockdown measures

“Those who can, work at home” is the goal of the new regulation, said Social Democrats (SPD) parliamentary group vice president Katja Mast on Wednesday.

Why was the new ordinance put in place?

Previously the government and states had only urged employees to use home office (as it's commonly called in Germany) whenever possible, but there was no official ordinance obligating employers to allow it.

Labour Minister Hubertus Heil did not feel this was effective enough in pushing more employees to work from home. He consequently proposed the ordinance which obliges companies to make home office a right, as long as it’s possible.

In a survey conducted by the Bavarian Business Association (vbw) earlier in January, two-thirds of companies said that home office would be possible in their line of work. But only 64 percent of these companies said that their employees are currently working from home.

That means that in more than a third of companies, people have been working in the office even though it would also be possible to work remotely.

READ ALSO: Home Office makes employees more effective and happy, Germany study finds

 Does the new regulation create an obligation to have a home office?

No. Companies merely have to make it possible, and it is up to employees to decide if they work from home or not. But “the Federal Chancellor and the heads of government of the federal states ask employees to take advantage of the offer,” stated the new resolution.

Who should monitor compliance with the new regulation?

In many companies, home office has long been the norm, with an increasing number of firms allowing or even encouraging their employees to work from home since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. 

But in some cases the boss is not in favour of it, feeling that he or she could lose oversight and control over employees.

That's why, in future, there will be checks to see whether employers are complying with their obligation to offer home office.

Compliance with the ordinance is to be monitored by the labour protection authorities of the states. According to Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), the employer must explain reasons why home office is not possible at the request of the authorities.

In “extreme cases”, theoretically fines of up €30,000 are also possible.

For which office jobs could home office be rejected?

For example, if it involves other activities that have to be done at the workplace. The Ministry of Labour mentions, for example, processing and distributing incoming mail, issuing materials, processing incoming or outgoing goods or customer service. Ensuring first aid or medical care in the company could also be a reason why an employee cannot work from home.

Will the regulation bring with it a general right to home office?

Not exactly. Heil is in favor of such a right, but there is still a dispute with the CDU/CSU about it. The current regulation will apply for a limited period – for the duration of the pandemic.

Heil's original plan to grant employees the right to up to 24 home office days has met with resistance from the CDU/CSU. The minister's draft bill from the end of last year provides for employees to have the right to discuss home office with their employer.

What about when it's not possible to work from home?

Where home offices are not possible, companies are to provide workers with medical masks. “Masks of the FFP2-/KN95 standard are to be used for work areas in confined spaces, without sufficient ventilation or without sufficient clearances,” the government's resolution states.

To avoid overcrowded buses and trains during rush hours, companies must also allow flexible working hours. 

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany's new mask rules for public transport and shops

Heil wants to limit the number of employees working in the company at any given time so that there is at least ten square meters of space for each employee in enclosed work and break rooms.

If that is not possible, ventilation measures or suitable partitions between people are mandatory.

What other protective measures are planned for working in the office?

The joint consumption of food and drinks, for example in canteens and break rooms, is to be prohibited.

If the incidence in a region is 200 or more, companies that require more than 50 employees to be present in the workplace at the same time would have to carry out rapid tests on their employees at least once a week if the minimum distances cannot be consistently maintained or employees have to use public transport regularly, reported BILD.

Member comments

  1. QUESTION: If you can work from home, who will supply the computer to work in a home office? My wife works in Commerzbank, but they want her to supply the home office equipment. Does the German leaders help to purchase the computer or does the leadership from the bank get forced to supply the equipment?

  2. QUESTION: If you can work from home, who will supply the computer to work in a home office? My wife works in Commerzbank, but they want her to supply the home office equipment. Does the German leaders help to purchase the computer or does the leadership from the bank get forced to supply the equipment?

  3. i cannot work from home and my company has told me to buy a better face mask. should they be providing FFP2 masks or do i have to pay for them myself?

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TAXES

EXPLAINED: How do you close down a freelance business in Germany?

Leaving the country? Got a steady job offer you can’t say no to? Winding down your self-employment activities in Germany still requires taking a few bureaucratic steps.

Published: 15 May 2024 09:07 CEST
Updated: 15 May 2024 10:57 CEST
EXPLAINED: How do you close down a freelance business in Germany?

Striking out on your own as self-employed is one of the scariest – and potentially most rewarding things – you can do. In Germany, it also comes with its own set of rules around tax and social insurance.

But there are times when – for whatever reason – it may be time to move on.

Whether it’s because you have an exciting new opportunity or things haven’t quite worked out the way you hoped due to economic pressures – winding down self-employment the right way is crucial to avoid gaps in your health and social insurance coverage in Germany.

The steps you have to take are also a bit different depending on if you are new self-employed (Freiberufler) or have a trade licence (Gewerbe) – with some steps not being necessary for new self-employed.

Trade licences are automatically cancelled if the licenced person dies or the company ceases to have financial assets.

Resigning the trade licence or declaring it dormant

New self-employed people like writers or speakers don’t need to go through this step, as they don’t need a trade licence.

Those who have a trade licence will need to contact their competent local authority and resign it, or declare it dormant (withdrawing the licence). If you’re only winding down temporarily, declaring your trade licence dormant instead of de-registering completely may save you a few headaches later.

You may have to do this in person at your local trade office – or Gewerbeamt – depending on whether your local authority allows online de-registration or not. You’ll need to bring your official ID, trade licence, confirmation of registration and possibly an extract from the trade register. Fees are dependent on your local authority and can range from being free to €25.

You can declare the date you intend to resign the licence – which can be in the future. To ensure no gaps in your social insurance protections, including health insurance, set this date for the day before whatever comes next. For example, if you’re starting a new job on January 1st set the date for your trade licence to expire as December 31st.

The trade office will typically notify your local tax office, so you won’t need to do this yourself.

Notifying your tax office

If you’ve had to resign your trade licence, you can skip this step as your trade office will do it for you. If you’re a Freiberufler without a trade licence you need to resign, you’ll have to notify your local Finanzamt, or tax office, yourself.

Luckily, this is a pretty easy step.

First, you need to decide whether you’re ceasing operations completely or wanting to continue them part-time. If you’re ceasing completely, you’ll end up surrendering your self-employed tax number.

You don’t have to do this though. If you think you may still carry on some self-employed business as a side gig, you can inform the tax office that you intend to do so and keep your number.

At that point, the tax office should treat you as a Kleinunternehmer – or a small business making less than €22,000 a year. Having this status means that you will not need to pre-pay taxes or charge VAT on your invoices for freelance side projects.

If you derive any income from your side gig in the future though, you’ll still have to file a tax return.

READ ALSO: Can I have a freelance side gig as an employee in Germany?

Notifying your health insurance

While different private plans in Germany may have different notification requirements, if you have public health insurance in Germany, you should notify them that you’re winding up your self-employed business. Specifically, advise them exactly what date you’re wrapping up.

Again, this should be right before you start your new job or leave the country, to ensure no gaps in your coverage.

If ending your self-employment in Germany, take care to ensure that there’s no gaps in your health insurance coverage, by giving the right date for when you’re ceasing activity. You don’t want to be caught without coverage. Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash

If you are in an artistic profession and thus pay pension, health, and nursing insurance through the Artist Social Insurance Fund (KSK), you should also advise them as well. If you’re leaving self-employment completely, you can typically give notice to KSK as to when it’s ending.

If you’re not, and intend to still make money freelancing as a side gig, they should know this as well. In this event, you’ll no longer pay health or care insurance through KSK, as this is covered through your main job.

You may need to continue to pay pension contributions through KSK based on the amount of money you still make from self-employed activities — depending on how much of them you continue.

KSK: How creative freelancers can pay less for German health insurance

SHOW COMMENTS