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IMMIGRATION

Public officials in Germany should speak English, says FDP

In light of Germany's ongoing worker shortage, the liberal Free Democrats want to make English skills mandatory for people working in public offices like the jobcentre or Bürgeramt.

Published: 10 February 2023 17:01 CET
FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai
FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai speaks at a party event in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

“We as the FDP want to establish English as a second administrative language in Germany,” FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai told the newspapers of the Bavarian media group.

“Those who speak English must not be allowed to struggle when dealing with German authorities.”

The liberal party, who govern alongside the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens in the traffic-light coalition, have long been advocates of compulsory English for public authorities.

Currently, German is the only official administrative language at places like the Bürgeramt or Foreigners’ Office, meaning speakers of other languages often have to hope for the best or bring along an interpreter.

READ ALSO: IN DEPTH: Are Germany’s immigration offices making international residents feel unwelcome?

But Djir-Sarai said Germany’s shortage of skilled workers meant the country needed to make allowances for people who weren’t native speakers of German.

“We are currently in a global competition for the brightest minds and the most industrious hands,” he said. 

In this context, he said, Germany must go one step further.

“Companies are expected to be open to English-speaking applicants, so you should also expect our authorities and administrations to be able to offer these people a complete service in English,” Djir-Sarai added.

Ten-point plan 

Back in 2022, the FDP called for the introduction of English as an additional administrative language as part of a ten-point programme to facilitate the immigration of skilled workers.

At the time, however, Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) conceded that the bilingual public authorities could not be implemented immediately.

But with new forecasts emerging that highlight the scale of Germany’s skills gap, the FDP is renewing its demand for English speakers to work for public authorities. 

READ ALSO: ‘Appointments in English’: How Germany wants to attract talent from abroad

The federal government expects that Germany will face a shortage of around 240,000 skilled workers by 2026 – though some forecasts are much more severe.

Recently, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) predicted a shortage of more than seven million workers by 2035.

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WORKING IN GERMANY

EXPLAINED: The legal steps for starting a business in Germany

Whether it's a small start-up or a much bigger venture, there's obviously legal steps to bear in mind when starting up a for-profit business in Germany.

Published: 13 June 2024 14:52 CEST
Updated: 15 June 2024 09:07 CEST
EXPLAINED: The legal steps for starting a business in Germany

Starting up a for-profit company in Germany follows different procedures than either forming a non-profit foundation (a Verein) or registering as self-employed.

If you need to register as a corporation, the first step is to figure out which of two general company types your venture would fall into in Germany. The first is a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), which is a limited liability company. This is by far the most common option. Another is an Aktiengesellschaft (AG) – or a joint stock company or corporation. While these two tend to be the most common, there are a few others as well.

EXPLAINED: How to start up your own verein in Germany

Setting up a GmbH

A GmbH is very common in Germany – and under it shareholders in the company aren’t personally responsible for the firms debts. You can set up a GmbH with only one person or shareholder. If you have more than one, you’ll need to draw up a notarised agreement between them.

A GmbH must also appoint at least one Managing Director (Geschäftsführer). The Managing Director is allowed to have shares in the company and is entitled to represent the company legally, whereas other board members are ordinarily not able to.

Shares in a GmbH are ordinarily only represented in notarised documents. There are no certificates which confirm that you have shares and those shares cannot be listed on stock exchanges. Shares, however, can be transferred through notarised documents.

The minimum start-up capital needed to form a GmbH in Germany is €25,000. If founders don’t have this, they can start up as an Unternehmergesellschaft – or entrepreneurial company – for €1. However, these are considered as vehicles to get to the financial capital of a GmbH. As such, UG’s are expected to set aside at least 25 percent of any annual surplus as savings. Once they hit the €25,000 mark, they need to change to a GmbH.

A GmbH is generally the most common type of corporation in Germany because the capital and administrative requirements tend to be less onerous – making it suited for small enterprises, for example. As soon as a GmbH enters the Commercial Register (Handelsregister), it legally exists as a company.

READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about becoming a freelancer in Germany

Grounding an AG

A German AG is a company at a different level – and tends to be more for mid-sized to larger-sized business ventures.

In contrast to a GmbH – which needs only one member – an AG needs to have a minimum of five members.

The capital requirements are also twice as much as for setting up a GmbH. You’ll need €50,000 for an AG. These shares can be listed on stock exchanges – although they don’t have to be.

Choosing which legal model of company for your business in Germany depends on its size, your available capital – and how much liability you’re comfortable with. Photo: Getty Images

You’ll need articles of association, authenticated by a notary, to set one up too. As with a GmbH, an AG legally exists when it enters the commercial register.

An AG must also have a managing board (Vorstand). Members are officers of the company and make its day-to-day decisions. They do, however, answer to a supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat). They must also hold general meetings (Hauptversammlungen) to allow for shareholders to exercise control over overall policy.

READ ALSO: What’s the outlook for the German job market in 2024?

Other types of German companies

In general, GmbH and AG companies are the most common ones you’re going to see in Germany. But other – mostly more complex models – exist.

These include an Offene Handelsgesellschaft (OHG), or General Partnership. This would often be for a company of two partners who had each contributed half the capital. They would share in half the profits but also each be liable for the firm’s debts – to an unlimited amount. You may find that certain family-run businesses use this model. The risk here is that the partners would be personally liable – down to their own assets – for the firms debts.

A variation of this is a Kommanditgesellschaft (KG) – or a limited partnership. This happens when one partner is entirely liable for the firms debts – down to their personal assets, while the other one is not. The limited liability partner would still be liable for the firm’s debts up to and including the amount they had invested in the company itself though. This model might be common for family-owned businesses that bring in outside experts to run day-to-day administration – for example.

Another complex arrangement is a combination of a GmbH and a KG – to a GmbH & Co. KG. Essentially this joins a GmbH and a KG together in a partnership agreement. While very complex and not often used, this kind of partnership may serve as a way to limit the recourse a company creditor has to go after a company member’s personal assets – with more liabilities tied up in the GmbH, which has limited liability.

More complex arrangements are available too for companies that want to have a presence in Germany but their head office might be abroad. These include a subsidiary (Töchtergesellschaft) and Zweigniederlassung – or a branch office. If you’re dealing with these kinds of entities, it’s recommended you seek tax and compliance advice to confirm which one is necessary. In general though, a subsidiary will manage many of its own affairs apart from its parent company. A branch office is likely to have only a small presence in Germany while the bulk of administrative tasks are handled elsewhere.

Knowing which one is applicable is important as it helps establish whether you need to make an entry in the commercial register or not – and what taxes will have to be paid.

Articles in The Local are not meant to replace professional legal or tax advice. We recommend speaking to an appropriated professional in case of further questions.

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