Questions tagged [germany]
Questions about the workplace that may specifically relate to cultures or customs in Germany
479
questions
12
votes
5
answers
1k
views
My successor and her future primary contact do not get along
For several years, I have been working as the technical lead of a team of 7 engineers responsible for one part of a large project in a company based in Germany. As a team lead, my tasks included ...
- 129
3
votes
1
answer
476
views
Is it polite to keep a contract offer "on hold" while I wait for other offers to potentially materialize?
I am in the process of changing jobs.
I have sent my CV around quite a bit in the last months and I finally landed some interviews.
Most of them have been for the same company, but different ...
- 41
1
vote
3
answers
736
views
When to quit in Germany based on vacation days?
Just based on Vacations and notice periods, when is the optimal date to quit in Germany?
For instance, I have a notice period of three months starting from the end of the month that I have ...
- 21
4
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Company has no work for me, responsible bosses disappeared, how to defend myself? [closed]
This is a continued story of my previous question. The essence:
Company is very old in the German IT market, it survived probably everything imaginable and not imaginable here.
It has practically no ...
- 4,751
8
votes
10
answers
4k
views
Why is getting fired or laid off such a big deal for employees in the West?
I come from a developing country, and there's one thing I can't understand about Westerners: why is getting fired or laid off such a big deal for many of them? My impression is that many Westerners ...
- 1,073
-2
votes
1
answer
202
views
How to ask new boss for contract with new start date?
After signing the contract, my start date was delayed by a month to 1st February but I still haven't received a contract with the new start date. I mentioned this when I had lunch recently with my ...
- 237
-7
votes
1
answer
188
views
How to approach meeting with new boss after I delayed start date due to medical reasons
I was set to start a new job, but had to postpone due to medical reasons.
New boss scheduled a short meeting after postponing my January start date by a month.
Should I be worried and if he asks do I ...
- 237
2
votes
3
answers
769
views
When will overtime be compensated after you leave a company in Germany?
Until end of 2022 I worked for a company in Germany for quite some time, until I sent my resignation letter and decided to move on.
My contract was a "Tarifvertrag", which regulated also the ...
- 1,553
0
votes
2
answers
438
views
Multiple jobs in EU [closed]
I am working as an IT professional in Germany and a blue card holder.
I am offered a very lucrative job in Netherlands which is another EU member state and definitely want to accept it.
I want to know ...
- 19
-1
votes
1
answer
394
views
How to delay start date of new job? [closed]
I'm set to join a small tech start up in January 2023 but because of a health problem I need to delay my start date by at least one month so I can get treatment. How do I achieve this safely in this ...
- 237
4
votes
3
answers
868
views
Employer has no projects, I am looking for new jobs to prevent firing, how to say why do I want to switch?
So, that is the situation. The employer is good, except it has a bad disadvantage.
It has a closed, fixed customer circle and no sales. If this narrow set of customers have no work for us, then we ...
- 4,751
14
votes
8
answers
3k
views
How to tactfully decline overtime caused by bad decisions?
Situation:
I've been hired as a senior software engineer in a small team to support an existing project where the coding is done by employees without software engineering background and without IT ...
- 377
22
votes
10
answers
4k
views
Is it appropriate to voice concerns over the Qatar world cup when colleague asks people to join betting pool?
A couple of days ago, a colleague sent an email to the whole staff asking if anyone would be interested in joining their (very low key) betting pool for the World Cup (Football/Soccer) that is taking ...
- 1,353
119
votes
32
answers
31k
views
My employer is demanding that I change my lifestyle
I work as a researcher in Germany and have recently been approached by the boss's secretary and told what can be summarized as follows:
Hey, we pay you one of the top salaries in our research group, ...
- 1,073
2
votes
1
answer
705
views
Is it legal in Germany to start a project in Kickstarter while working in a company? [closed]
I live in Germany and have an idea to start my own business here. However, I am not sure whether I am allowed to do this while working officially in a company. I just want to share my project on ...
- 31
-4
votes
1
answer
373
views
What are feasible options of self-employment for mathematicians?
So I'm a mathematician in Germany wondering about alternatives to corporate life. To give some more background, I specialized in insurance mathematics, with some sound knowledge in finance and ...
- 139
0
votes
1
answer
371
views
Notice Period + Contractual leave days in Germany
Hi I am about to leave my job in Berlin and there are 3 things not exactly clear to me regarding the notice period and the other ones regarding leave days accumulation:
I passed the probation and ...
- 1
2
votes
5
answers
1k
views
Can I ask my company to let me take my online training course during office hours?
As a data scientist in Germany, I have to constantly keep myself updated regarding the tech-tools and new concepts in the field. Some of them are easily done by spending a couple of hours reading some ...
- 2,003
49
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Should I tell my prospective employer that I drafted my own reference letter?
In Austria, Germany and Switzerland, your employer is obliged by law to write you (the employee) a reference letter ("Arbeitszeugnis" in German) when you leave. In some cases you can even ...
- 477
0
votes
1
answer
687
views
Terminate a contract with a German employer before starting working. Any consequences if I'm living abroad?
I'm from Latin America and signed a contract with a German company in February. Since then, the company has been handling my relocation to Germany.
I'm still waiting for the pre-approval of my work ...
- 218
-7
votes
1
answer
366
views
To which day is a nightshift attributed? [closed]
Suppose one works the nightshift from Tuesday 10 PM to Wednesday 6 AM.
Would this be considered Tuesdays work or Wednesdays work?
Is the nightshift attributed to the day it starts, or to the day it ...
- 109
5
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How to deal with a resisting collegue as a newcomer
I just started a new job. One colleague is supposed to help me with the onboarding, but from the first encounter, he seems very resistant.
He never replies to kind words like "Thank you" and ...
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Accepted the offer, sent contract back with my signature, but the company seems to delay signing it
Recently I received an offer from a (software) company. I read and accepted it by printing the contract and signing it, then sending it back to the company (2 copies). The company confirmed it ...
- 61
7
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Can I transfer my left over annual leave to a new company?
I will be quitting Company A on May 31st and I will be having a total of 11.5days leaves until 31st May.
I do not want to get compensated for these leaves and want to take over to my next Company B ...
- 445
3
votes
4
answers
2k
views
When do I need to resign?
I started a new position in Germany in December. I'm currently in a probation period of 6 months, ending May 31st. During the probation period, my notice period is two weeks. After the probation ...
- 115
-1
votes
1
answer
549
views
How binding is a signed Offer from a USA-based firm in Germany? [closed]
I'm in Germany. Shortly I got a job offer from a USA-based firm. I've signed this offer. The firm currently registers a german business entity registered and active at the end of Mai 2022. After ...
- 107
1
vote
2
answers
459
views
Working without contract in unusual situation
I work in a company that employs people all around the world (remotely). Since it does not have bases in particular countries, their employees are essentially contractors that renegotiate the ...
50
votes
5
answers
10k
views
Should I apply for my dream job even if I expect to be on maternity leave?
I am a PhD student in a European country, finishing up writing my dissertation and expecting to graduate in the early fall. I am also a few months pregnant – if all goes well, I’ll be having my ...
- 561
12
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Would it be inappropriate to write employment filters on my social media channels?
I receive a lot of job offers during the week on my business social media channels, although I've stated that I am not looking, but remain open to offers. I don't have anything against these offers, ...
- 259
0
votes
1
answer
535
views
Sharing Costs for Train Travel Flatrate (BahnCard100)
My future employer is a 100€ (200€ return ticket) train tricket far away from where i am living.
They expect me to visit four times a year, so with return ticket that is at least 800€.
They already ...
- 165
22
votes
3
answers
6k
views
What is the official date of resignation when registered mail was delivered on time, but went to a collection point to be picked up the next day?
I quit on 25th February and sent a letter (tracking with signature) to the HR department since my contract says that the resignation should be in written format.
The letter could not be delivered but ...
- 445
0
votes
1
answer
636
views
How to handle this talk about health related work time reduction?
A friend of mine ("Tim") has some worsening health conditions which started about half a year ago.
The health condition is still under study with Tim's gp.
But after a few months consulting ...
- 109
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How to attain more decision making authority in role
What is the best strategy to move forward when addressing a workspace environment where my role is unclear, I am not given any authority for decision making although being in current job 5 years and ...
- 176
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
My company/team relies on a language I clearly specified I can't speak
I was hired as a software engineer last summer at a small sized company (around 50 employees), the company is based in Germany as I am. I had a second interview with the lead of developers across all ...
- 59
-1
votes
1
answer
320
views
In-between jobs and waiting for multiple final offers [duplicate]
At the moment I am still employed but I quit due to a very toxic environment and my last day will be mid of January.
However, I wrote quite a lot of applications (~40, I never had to write so many) ...
- 163
-2
votes
1
answer
573
views
Germany: Big back payment from employer [closed]
I'm in a kind of ridiculous situation right now, but I can assure you that it is real =)
I noticed that my employer forgot to apply my last raise, which was at the end of 2019. In addition to that, my ...
0
votes
3
answers
319
views
Budget responsibility in IT and cloud [closed]
At least in Germany, for years I have observed that "IT budget responsibility" has been an element for more senior people/management(-like) positions.
Now within a cloud, every user can see ...
- 361
-1
votes
3
answers
987
views
Can I spend 100% of my paid time with pet projects if there is nothing to do? [closed]
I am working as a single software developer for a company with ~100 employees. I finished all projects and redid all kinds of documentation and improvements to a degree where I can't meaningfully ...
- 43
47
votes
6
answers
15k
views
I am endangering people's lives doing tasks I am not qualified to do
I am in a very uncomfortable situation. I was hired as a software developer, but I was somehow talked into designing electronics. I told them I can try, but I am not a electrical engineer. Everything ...
- 837
4
votes
6
answers
1k
views
What should I do if my colleagues make problem on my costs?
I am a test automation engineer and I use Selenium to automate testing of our web interface application. I need to work with stable HTML IDs which are created by Front End Developers.
Unfortunately ...
- 1,364
5
votes
3
answers
917
views
In a small, "not-impersonal" company how to communicate wanting to resign when you can't expect to see your boss in person due to hybrid remote work?
I'm planning to hand in my notice soon. Normaly, I'd approach my boss, ask for a chat and then explain in person my circumstances and discuss ways forward. However, we now operate on a hybrid-remote ...
- 59
104
votes
18
answers
19k
views
Why would a company not allow applicants to ask questions during a job interview?
Recently I had a job interview at a German company. Almost the entire interview was about me and my skills. Basically, the interviewers named a keyword from my professional field and asked me what I ...
- 919
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Should I keep a Log of the Hours I do?
I was fired 2 weeks ago from a startup and one of the reasons was that 'this isn't a 9-5 job, we are trying to do something nobody has ever done before and I don't think you're at that stage in your ...
0
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is Software (profit)-share a red flag?
My Background
I am just finished and started looking for a (junior) developer position. I have about 2 years experience with web development (plain PHP, JS, HTML, CSS, jQuery). Of course a couple of ...
- 566
3
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Got fired for not working enough overtime, just before the end of probation. What should I do? [closed]
I'm working for a startup in Germany where all the senior employees work 10-12+ hours per day. I started off like that too because it felt awkward to leave after 8/9hours but after 3 months I stopped ...
2
votes
1
answer
542
views
How to ask for sick leave/day off at new job to tend my mentally ill mother
I work at this great company since May. I am still a new guy there, but despite that the bunch is just super cool.
Unfortunately yesterday my fears were kind of validated, my mother who has affective ...
- 131
1
vote
5
answers
598
views
Style of projecting work results [closed]
I am a Software Developer in Germany, and have this quite style of working. I do my tasks and at times, even more than what is expected of me. But in meetings, I don't speak much about my work. I ...
- 128
24
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Team manager never accept my solutions
I've been working as a software developer in this company based in Germany. For several months I've noticed this particular behaviour from my manager that may affect my motivation in the future.
In ...
- 735
47
votes
14
answers
16k
views
A way to fight back the meeting-bongo, how dangerous is this idea?
Last week I had 40 work hours and about 25 of it were spent in various meetings, talks, and so on. This has become commonplace and I think it is time to fight back. I think the company needs think a ...
- 4,751
1
vote
2
answers
706
views
What should be explicitly stated in the contract if the job is going to be done remotely?
I am about to sign a contract with a company for which I'm going to work remotely. There could be meetings once per month, but the rest of the job is going to be done as a home office. This is going ...
- 2,003