APSCo warns of complexity in German self-employment regulations

Following new regulations on the investigation procedure for freelancers in Germany – or Statusfestellungsverfahren – the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) Deutschland has warned of a drop in the number of freelancers across the country at a time when skills are rare.

André Sola, Managing Director of APSCo Deutschland, said: “Although the goal of the Statusfestellungsverfahren is to have a reliable status determination procedure that offers legal certainty to all parties involved in the contract, this is unlikely to be the case in many cases. Although there are a number of issues with the regulations – including the lack of viable digital processes, which slows down the time to determination – one of the main concerns is that the changes risk putting freelancers working at the outside the country.

The law only applies where the work is done, encouraging freelancers to work beyond Germany’s borders. APCo Deutschland is working with policy makers to ensure the regulations are further amended to ensure freelancer compliance law is simpler and supports the creation of a vibrant workforce.

Tania Bowers, Director of Global Public Policy at APSCo added: “Germany is experiencing a talent shortage due to a host of factors ranging from a retirement cliff, an increase in employer demand, to a skills mismatch in the larger workforce. young people and the needs of businesses The commitment of the new government coalition to create a modern, flexible and digital labor market is laudable, but it needs appropriate employment legislation underpinned by digital processes to support it APSCo Deutschland has presented its guidance to the country’s policy makers, which includes an appropriate definition of freelancers in legislation Freelancers should be defined as “business-to-business”, as opposed to dependent employees who provide a personal service under direction and control.

“APSCo Deutschland has also called on policy makers to recognize the value that highly skilled foreign workers bring to Germany with measures such as simplifying the process for recognizing foreign qualifications and professional registrations. We also believe that laws on citizenship and skilled immigration legislation need to be modernized to support broader skills attraction.

Where talent cannot be brought in to fill skills gaps, federal and state investments must be channeled to support education, training and employer-led programs to develop the technical skills needed to meet the challenges of 4^and industrial Revolution. We will continue to work with policy makers to guide employment legislation and ensure that the voice of the recruitment industry in Germany is well represented. »