If you’re looking to further your career and aren’t opposed to moving abroad to do so, one of the countries you should consider is Germany.
According to HSBC’s most recent report the top five countries for expat workers are, in fact, in Europe and the Middle East and sitting right at the top is Germany. 70% of foreign workers say their work-life balance improved once they’d moved there and 73% say they now feel they have better job security.
Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt also ranked in the top 10 of Housing Anywhere’s ‘Top 100 cities to find employment around the globe’, confirming that the European country is flourishing.
Here are 4 main reasons why you may want to consider moving to Germany for work.
Unemployment rate
As of February 2019, Germany’s unemployment rate stood at only 3.1%, the lowest rate in nearly 30 years. This is compared to the UK’s unemployment rate of 3.8% and France’s 8.8%. Due to this statistic, an increased amount of people are heading to Germany to seek new and improved opportunities as companies are still keen to take on new recruits.
Job availability and small businesses
Whether you’re a graduate fresh out of university or a senior worker looking to relocate, due to Germany’s booming economy there are good paying jobs available all over the country. With the minimum wage expecting to continually rise now could be the best time to make the change, especially if you’re thinking about starting your own business.
Germany is welcoming the establishment of new and innovative businesses as this is one of the reasons that the economy is doing so well. It’s been named one of the best countries to form your own startup which could explain why 99% of German businesses are small to medium sized. Read through insights of SMEs across the world in 2019’s Global Business Monitor report.
Worker’s benefits
When it comes to workers benefits Germany is becoming hard to beat with quite a significant list of benefits to workers due to employment laws generally being more favourable to employees.
If you choose to work in Germany, you can expect:
- paid for maternity leave often lasting more than a year
- sick pay for up to six weeks with an additional six weeks if necessary
- at least four weeks per year of holiday pay protected by law
- generous social security benefits including health insurance, long-range nursing care, pensions, and unemployment, which both the employee and employer contribute to
The benefits protected by law also extend to children and young adults as it stops teenagers working any jobs that endanger their physical or mental health and they are always required to have at least a 12-hour break in between any working shifts. In some cases, it also prevents them from working at the weekends.
Working hours
Germany is known for having flexible working hours with a typical Monday to Friday working week except for retail stores which also open on a Saturday. Similarly, to other European countries, Sunday is considered a day off for everyone with only petrol stations and bakeries remaining open.
“Ladenschlussgesetz”, otherwise known as ‘Shop Closing Law’, means that retail stores have strict open and close times something that was implemented to reduce overworked employees. Some companies even ban employees from reading emails at the weekend, knowing that their employees work less but always produce more.
So, if you’re looking for a better work environment, more opportunities to progress or somewhere to start your own business, Germany is a strong contender for workers of all ages and will provide a welcoming and helpful base for those emigrating.
