The Public Service in Germany December Id 24273 en

The public service in Germany
www.bmi.bund.de
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface ....................................................................................................................................... 2
The public service in numbers.............................................................................3
Federal Republic of Germany ..............................................................................4
I. The structure of the state and of the public administration in Germany..........................6
1. Tiers of state governance and administration .....................................................................6
2. The administration of the Federation ..................................................................................9
3. The administration of the Lnder ......................................................................................14
4. The administration of local authorities...............................................................................18
5. The indirect public administration......................................................................................20
6. The non-public institutions ................................................................................................22
7. The judiciary......................................................................................................................24
II. Modernising the Public Administration ............................................................................26
1. Modern State - Modern Administration (www.staat-modern.de) .....................................26
2. Bund Online2005 (www.bundonline2005.de)....................................................................29
III. The foundations of employment in the public service ...................................................31
1. Employment in the public service......................................................................................31
2. Eligibility for the public service ..........................................................................................39
3. Foundations of the employment of civil servants ..............................................................42
4. The foundations of the relationship between public employer and employee ...................63
5. General terms of employment for civil servants and public employees.............................71
6. Occupational health and safety.........................................................................................81
IV. The pay systems in the public service............................................................................82
1. The remuneration of civil servants ....................................................................................82
2. The pay of public employees ............................................................................................94
3. Special payments............................................................................................................911
4. Salaries and wages in the new Lnder ...........................................................................102
5. Salary and wage increases .............................................................................................103
6. The remuneration of members of the government ..........................................................107
7. Reform measures ...........................................................................................................109
8. Developments in personnel expenditure.........................................................................111
V. The pension systems in the public service ...................................................................112
1. The pensions of civil servants .........................................................................................112
2. The pensions of public employees..................................................................................122
VI. Annex ...............................................................................................................................128
Summary of the most important sources of legislation........................................................128
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Preface
Dear reader
The public administration of the Federation, the federal states

(Lnder) and the local authorities with their 4.8 million staff, of
which approximately 1.6 million are civil servants, is at the
service of the citizens of our country. Close contact with citizens,
quality and efficiency are the guiding principles of the public service in performing its
diverse tasks. All reform efforts aim at constantly improving performance while at the same
time reducing costs.
With this second edition of the brochure about the public service in Germany, the first
edition of which was published in 1999, I would like to inform the interested public about
the evolution of the public service, covering, for example, the Federal, Lnder and local
authority administrative structure in Germany, working conditions, remuneration and
pensions of civil servants and public employees.
The esteemed reader may also gain insight into the Federal Government's initiatives for
reforming the Public Service Law under the programme "Modern State - Modern
Administration". The preparedness of our staff to take responsibility and to perform,
combined with high motivation, are essential prerequisites without which the public service
could not fulfil its demanding tasks on behalf of Germany's citizens so effectively.
I have good reason to thank all our public service staff members - working in the schools
and universities, the police and security authorities, the health sector and the general
administration, as well as in other authorities and institutions - for their responsible work.
Otto Schily
Federal Ministry of the Interior
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The public service in numbers (as per 30 June 2000)
1
Total number of persons in gainful employment in Germany 36,6 million
Men 20,7 million
Women 15,9 million
2
Public service staff: 4,8 million
Men 2,3 million
Women 2,5 million
Area of employment
Federation 502,000
Indirect public service 488,000
Lnder 2,273,300
Local authorities 1,572,000
Employment relationship
Civil servants 1,588,600
Judges, public prosecutors 27,400
Professional and fixed-term military personnel 186,600
Salary earners in the public service 2,351,500
Wage earners in the public service 681,200
Indirect public
service Federation Wage earners Civil servants,
10% 10% 14% judges
33%
Local level
33%
Lnder Salary earners
47% 49% Professional and
fixed-term military
personnel
4%
1)
Source: Federal Statistical Office, series 1, vol. 3, 2000
2)
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Federal Republic of Germany
Schleswig-Holstein
2.8 million inhabitants
Hamburg Mecklenburg-Western
1.7 million inhabitants Pomerania
1 8 million inhabitants
Bremen
Berlin
Lower Saxony 3.4 million inhabitants
Brandenburg
Saxony-Anhalt
North-Rhine Westphalia
Saxony
Thuringia
Hesse
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland
Bavaria
Baden-Wrttemberg
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Area 357,000 km2

Total population 82.2 million inhabitants
- Men 40.1 million (48.8%)
- Women 42.1 million (51.2%)
of whom: foreigners 7.3 million (8.9% of the total population)
of whom: EU citizens 1.9 million (2.3% of the total population)
Source: Federal Statistical Office, population statistics 2000

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I. The structure of the state and of the public administration in

Germany
1. Tiers of state governance and administration
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the fundamental order of the state is governed by the
constitution, the Basic Law of 23 May 1949. A fundamental principle enshrined in the Basic
Law is the rule of law, which is the very basis of the order of the state. It determines the
relationship between the state and its citizens.
Three principles enshrined in the Basic Law are of particular significance for the structure
of the state and the administration, namely:
the separation of powers,

the federal system of government,
the self-government for local authorities.
The separation of powers is at the core of the rule of law. In order to safeguard the
interests of the citizens vis--vis the state and to prevent the state from becoming all-
powerful, state power is divided into three functions - legislative, executive and judicial -
which are each assigned to special bodies. The principle of the separation of powers is
intended to allow these state functions to limit and control each other.
Germany was constituted as a Federal Republic on the basis of the Basic Law. The
Federal Republic is a federation of subnational states (Lnder) in one country with a
federal government (Bund). As members of this Federation, the Lnder are states with
sovereign rights and responsibilities which are not devolved from the Federation but are
granted to them by the Basic Law.
State power is divided between the Federation and the Lnder according to the tasks and
functions they perform. The Basic Law assigns everything that has to be regulated and
managed in the general interest of the public to the Federation. The Lnder have been
assigned responsibility in all other matters. Accordingly, the main force of the legislative
lies with the Federation, and the focus of the administrative apparatus with the Lnder. In
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the Federation and the Lnder, the vast majority of administrative tasks are carried out by
the "direct state administration" (i.e. by Federal or Land authorities), but also in part by
legally independent administrations, known as "indirect" public administration. The legally
and organisationally independent institutions of the "indirect" administration are subject
only to limited state supervision - or are completely independent, as is the case with the
German Central Bank (Bundesbank).
Many links between the different institutions force the decision-makers of the Federation
and the Lnder, which are autonomous under constitutional law, to work together in
carrying out tasks. The Lnder influence the legislation and administration of the
Federation, as well as matters concerned with the European Union, through the
Bundesrat.
In a federal system, a certain degree of co-ordination both among the Lnder and between
the Lnder and the Federation is necessary in the interest of functionality.
Therefore the state and administrative apparatus are largely structured along uniform
lines. The following make a major contribution to this uniformity:
the legal system, which is largely uniform throughout the Federation,

the public service, which is largely standardised throughout the Federation, and
the economic and financial system, which is uniform throughout the Federation.
Responsibility for the public administration, however, does not lie with the Federation and
the Lnder alone. Under the Basic Law, local matters are dealt with independently by the
bodies of local self-government (local authorities). In addition, local authorities also
perform state functions on commission.
Three main, independent levels can be distinguished as a basic layout in the structure of
the administration:
the administration of the Federation,

the administration of the Lnder, and
the administration of the local authorities.
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In principle, each of these administrative tiers has its defined group of functions. There is
no hierarchical pyramid of agencies from local authority through a Land to the Federation.
In total, the direct state administration, the administration of the local authorities and the
indirect public administration employ a staff of almost 4.8 million. Of these, 502,000 (of
whom 187,000 are military personnel) work in the Federal administration, 2.3 million in the
Lnder administrations, 1.6 million in the local authorities' administrations, and 488,000 in
the indirect public administration.
In Germany the proportion of public service staff in the total population is in line with the
international average.
Proportion of public service staff as a percentage of the entire

population by countries as of 1998
in % Source: OECD, publication by PUMA/Human Resources Management (2000)
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2. The administration of the Federation
The - numerically rather small - direct federal administration with approx. 315,000 public
service staff members (excluding the military) performs those public tasks which need to
be carried out specifically by the Federation and which are necessary or expedient in the
interest of the state as a whole.
The federal administration includes the Federal Government in its policy-making role, and
authorities which carry out administrative functions of the Federation. Accordingly, we
distinguish between the highest federal authorities and the subordinate federal authorities.
Highest federal authorities
The Federal Government consists of the Federal Chancellor and the federal ministers.
Three independent federal authorities report directly to the Federal Chancellor: the Federal
Chancellery, the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, and the Federal
Government Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and the Media. Each federal minister is in
charge of one federal ministry.
According to the organisational provisions contained in the Basic Law (Art. 65), three principles guide the
work of the Federal Government:
The general policy principle: The Federal Chancellor determines and is responsible for general
policy.
The ministerial principle: Within the general policy determined by the Federal Chancellor, each
federal minister conducts the business of his/her department autonomously and on his/her own
responsibility.
The collegiate principle: The Federal Government decides as a collegiate body on important
matters, particularly concerning differences of opinion between the federal ministers.
The Federal Chancellor plays a key role in organizing the government and assigning government posts.
It is at his/her proposal that the Federal President appoints and dismisses federal ministers. The Federal
Chancellor is hence entitled to form a Cabinet. He/she also has the power to determine the basic
portfolios of the individual federal ministers on the basis of the entitlement to determine general policy.
This organisational power of the Federal Chancellor may also not be restricted by the parliament.
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The number of federal ministries has varied between 13 and 21 since the founding of the
Federal Republic of Germany. The Federal Government has a total of approx. 23,000 staff
members. The federal ministers decide whether a task is to be performed in the Ministry
itself or assigned to subordinate federal authorities. As a rule, only matters of political
significance, in particular preparing statutes, ordinances and other general regulations, are
carried out in the Ministry. One task of the federal ministries is also to supervise
subordinate federal authorities.
Generally the federal ministries have no supervisory powers over Land authorities, the
only exception being the (few) cases of federal administration by delegation of authority
(e.g. in the area of civil use of atomic energy). Here the Federation retains its responsibility
for the matter. The Federation has possibilities for supervision and intervention in order to
ensure that tasks are performed in compliance with the law and the principle of usefulness.
Example of the organisation of a federal ministry:
Organisation of a federal ministry 1)
Minister's Office
Federal Minister
Parliamentary State Secretary
State Secretary State Secretary
Directorate- specialized specialized specialized

General Directorate- Directorate- Directorate-
Central Tasks General General General
Division Division Division Division
Officer for Gender Equity Staff Council
1) Other forms of organisation are possible (Directorates-General may be divided into Directorates; working units may take
the form of a division, a working group or a project group).
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In addition to the Federal Government, the other constitutional bodies - the Federal
President, the German Bundestag (Lower House of Parliament), the Bundesrat (Upper
House of Parliament) and the Federal Constitutional Court - have their own administrative
apparatus. The largest of these belongs to the German Bundestag, with a staff each of
approx. 2,100. The administrations of the other constitutional bodies, on the other hand,
are made up of more than 200 staff each.
The Federal Court of Audit is also one of the highest federal bodies. It is independent of
the Federal Government. The Federal Court of Audit, with a staff of approx. 600, examines
the economic viability and proper financing of the federal administrative budget as a body
of financial control.
Areas of federal administration
The Federation possesses administrative authority only to the extent that the Basic Law
expressly invests it with such authority by virtue of a specific context or of the nature of a
matter. The scope of the Federation's own administration, known as direct federal
administration, is hence strictly controlled. These are matters which are closely linked to
the ability of the state as a whole to take action. Under the Basic Law, of the administrative
areas dealt with by the federal administration, the following matters fall within the
responsibility of the Federation:
Foreign Service: The Foreign Service employs a staff of 8,700, incl. local staff, at
home and in the 200 diplomatic missions abroad (embassies, consulates and
permanent representations at international organisations).
Federal financial administration: The areas of fiscal and customs administration,

amongst others, fall within the remit of the federal financial administration. The
customs system has a three-tier structure of authorities with intermediate
authorities (regional finance offices) and local authorities (customs offices). At the
same time, the regional finance offices head the financial administration of the
Federation and the Lnder in their district. All in all, the financial administration
oversees a complicated division of tasks between the Federation and the Lnder,
including local authority administration. The obligation to work together is
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intended to contribute to involving all levels of the federal state structure in the collection
of state revenues. The Federal administration has a staff of 48,000 in this area.
Federal armed forces (Bundeswehr) and the defence administration: The armed
forces are not counted as part of the administrative apparatus because of their
military functions; the administration of the Bundeswehr, however, whose
functions include personnel and resource management, is included. The armed
forces are made up of 186,600 professional and fixed-term military personnel
(not including conscripts). The number of civilian staff in the federal armed forces
is about 135,000.
Federal waterways and shipping: The Waterways and Shipping Administration,

with a staff of 17,000, constitutes a separate federal administration with
intermediate authorities (Waterways and Shipping Directorates) and sub-
authorities (Local Offices for Waterways and Shipping).
Federal Border Police Authorities, Federal Criminal Police Office: The Federal
Border Police (BGS) and the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) are federal police
forces. The Federation assumes police tasks as far as needed on the federal
level. The main tasks of the 38,000 staff of the Federal Border Police include
border management and surveillance, railway police tasks and the protection of
air transport at larger airports as well as providing assistance to the Lnder at
their request. The Federal Criminal Police Office is a higher federal authority and
as such responsible for the co-operation with the Lnder and for certain criminal
police tasks. It has a total staff of 4,500.
The intelligence services of the Federation are the Federal Intelligence Service
(BND), the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) and the
Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD).
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The railways, postal and telecommunications services, as well as air traffic control, which used to be
part of the Federal administrative apparatus, have been privatised, with the exception of regulatory
and supervisory functions.
The German railways have been transferred to Deutsche Bahn AG. Postal and telecommunications
services are also provided under private law by Deutsche Post AG, Deutsche Telekom AG and
Deutsche Postbank AG. Air traffic control has been assigned to Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. A
total of 1 million staff were employed in these areas in 1993, before privatisation started. The
privatised enterprises still employ civil servants on the basis of interim provisions. The latter have
however not been included in the statistical information on overall employment in the public service.
3. The administration of the Lnder
In addition to the local authorities, the Lnder are the major administration level in
Germany with a total of 2.3 million staff in the public service of the Lnder. In Germany,
the 16 Lnder can be divided into two categories:
territorial states (Baden-Wrttemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse,

Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North-Rhine/Westphalia,
Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, the Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein,
Thuringia) and
city-states (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg).
There is also a fundamental distinction for the Land administration between political
activities which are exercised by the Land government and the exercise of administrative
tasks. In contrast to the federal administration, however, the focus is on administrative
tasks. The Land Ministries, as the highest Land authorities, are hence much more involved
than the Federal Ministries in the actual implementation of policies.
The actual organisation of the Land administration is up to each individual Land. In spite of
this autonomy, the Land administrations have developed along similar lines as a result of a
two-hundred-year tradition. Most Lnder with a large surface area have a three-tiered
structure of authorities with the highest Land authorities (Land Ministries) at the top,
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government commissioners or regional governments as an intermediate instance and the

lower administrative authorities, some of which are also attached to the local
administration (county district commissions and/or local authority offices), as state
interfaces. Some of the smaller territorial states, as well as the city-states, do not have the
intermediate levels. The city-states combine state and local administration. The Land
governments (or Senates) carry out Land and local authority tasks at the same time.
In addition to the general administrative authorities, the Land administration also has
special Land authorities (higher Land authorities, higher and lower special authorities).
These special authorities have been established as tasks have been removed from the
Ministries and the general administrative authorities. Special authorities have been
primarily formed at central and lower levels.
Without having their own sub-structure of authorities, the higher Land authorities
carry out specific administrative tasks from one location for the whole Land
(examples: the Land statistical offices, the Land criminal police offices, the Land
offices for the protection of the constitution, the Land offices for remuneration and
pensions).
Higher special authorities have the function of an intermediate authority between

the Ministries and the lower special authorities (examples: regional finance
offices, regional education offices and forestry directorates).
The lower special authorities at local level, which may be part of local authorities,
are numerous and varied. They include the tax offices, forestry offices, mining
offices, factory and trade supervision offices, school offices, health offices, state
offices for university building, road construction offices, local offices for
waterways and shipping, Land survey offices and agriculture offices. State
environmental offices have been established as special authorities in some of the
Lnder.
In all the Lnder, the largest number of staff is employed in the educational sector with
schools and universities, the police and the financial administration.
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In the academic year 2000/2001 a total of 785,000 teachers was employed at public
schools (general and technical schools). The Ministries of Culture and Education
of the Lnder are responsible for the internal administration of the schools, i.e. for
training and appointing teachers, as well as for curricula and designing lessons,
and for supervising schools. The Lnder's responsibility extends to all types of
school, including vocational schools, and the supervision of private schools. The
Lnder coordinate the mutual recognition of school qualifications, amongst other
matters, via the permanent institution of the Conferences of Ministers of Culture
and Education. The local authorities are generally responsible for external school
matters, i.e. for building and furnishing schools and providing teaching materials
and administrative staff.
Higher education institutions combine research, teaching and training for the new
generation of academics. A system of different kinds of higher education
institutions (e.g. universities, polytechnics (Fachhochschulen), vocational
academies) offers people various possibilities of qualifying for a profession and
gaining a degree. Within that system, education at universities is more
theoretical, whereas technical college education is more practically oriented.
Vocational academies combine practical training in a company with classroom
studies. The higher education institutions are assigned to the academic
administration of the individual Lnder. Germany has 350 higher education
institutions with a total of 1.8 million students (2000). About 488,700 persons are
employed at universities, Fachhochschulen and vocational academies, of whom
219,300 work in the arts and sciences, including 38,000 professors (who enjoy
special academic freedoms anchored in the Basic Law) and 269,400 are
administrative, technical or other personnel. The university hospitals employ
about 189,200 staff.
Source: Federal Statistical Office, series 11, vol. 4.4, 2000
In the area of law enforcement, the Lnder employ approximately 273,600 staff,
of whom 228,000 are police officers. In the Lnder with a large surface area
(territorial states), the authorities of the three levels of the general administrative
apparatus are also responsible for fulfilling the duties of general police
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authorities; in some cases there is a fourth level of mayors who are also responsible for
fulfilling the duties of local police authorities..
With more than 153,600 public service staff, the financial administrative
apparatus of the Lnder collects taxes, as well as a large proportion of other
levies. The financial administrative apparatus also manages state assets and the
state's commercial holdings.
Public service staff in the direct Land service as per 30.06.2000
Portfolio Staff in %
Schools and pre-school 817,400 36.0

institutions
Higher education 237,900 10.5

institutions
Fiscal and financial 153,600 6.8

administration
Judicial institutions 189,700 8.3
Police 273,600 12.0
Others 601,100 26.4
Total 2,273,300 100.0

4. The administration of local authorities
The local authorities - municipalities/towns and rural districts (local authority associations) -
are parts of the Lnder which have exclusive responsibility for regulating the structure of
local administration and the territorial borders of the local authorities and districts in
accordance with Land legislation. There are 440 rural districts and towns not belonging to
a county and approx. 13,800 municipalities in Germany. The municipalities, local
authorities and local joint authorities employ 1.57 million people. Enterprises organised
under private law employ approx. 300,000 persons.
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The local authorities are subject to the supervision and - where they carry out state tasks
- to the instructions of the Land authorities. The municipalities deal with local matters on
their own responsibility. This self-government for local authorities is protected by Art. 28 of
the Basic Law.
Self-government for local authorities is a major element of the political order in Germany.
The local authority constitutions of the individual Lnder provide for a variety of models for
organising the administrative apparatus. Municipality/district administrations are led by full-
time civil servants. Depending on the type of the local authority constitution and the nature
of the local authority, the official titles of these permanent civil servants differ (e.g. in
municipalities: mayor or lord mayor, municipal councillor, city councillor or chief executive
of a city; in rural counties: councillor or chief executive of a county). They are elected
either by the local authority parliament or - increasingly - by direct vote. In addition, local
authorities also perform state functions as charged. Most administrative matters that affect
citizens are dealt with on the local level.
Local authority administrations make up the third pillar of administration in Germany.

Their tasks include above all the administration of construction in the broadest meaning of
the word (incl. town planning, road building and housing), social and health services, as
well as public facilities (e.g. swimming pools, kindergartens and sports facilities). The local
authorities are also responsible for providing local public transport and refuse disposal and
supplying the population with water, gas, electricity and district heating. These utilities are
largely operated as enterprises organised under public law.
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Staff employed by municipalities,

associations of municipalities and local joint authorities
as per 30.6.2002
Portfolio Staff in %
General administration 249,000 15.8

Public safety, law and order 115,000 7.3
Schools 128,000 8.2
Science, research and culture 86,000 5.4
Social security 281,000 17.9
Health, sport and leisure 84,000 5.4
Construction and housing, transport 138,000 8.8
Public institutions, promotion of economic 155,000 9.9
development
Hospitals 278,000 17.7
Others 58,000 3.7
Total 1,572,000 100.0
5. The indirect public administration
Institutions with special tasks constituted under public law which are not incorporated into
the direct state or local authority administration are part of the indirect public
administration.
These are largely the social insurance institutions. They are part of the public service
because they are bodies and institutions under public law and provide their services in
accordance with federal statutes. They are however self-governing, autonomous
institutions in which the honorary governing boards are in most cases equally composed of
representatives of employers and insured parties - in almost all cases, the group of the
insured parties is represented by the trade and labour unions.
Specifically, these are:
the agencies responsible for the statutory pension insurance (i.e. of the general
system of pension, disability and surviving dependants insurance in Germany),
namely the Federal Insurance Institute for Salaried Employees
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(Bundesversicherungsanstal fr Angestellte) and 17 Land Insurance Institute for Salaried

Employees (Landesversicherungsanstalten) responsible for the pensions
insurance of wage-earners, with a total staff of 73,000,
the employment administration, carried out by the Federal Institute for

Employment (Bundesanstalt fr Arbeit) with a main office, ten Land Offices of
Employment and 181 employment offices, as well as a total staff of 92,000,
the agencies responsible for the statutory health insurance and old-age nursing-
home insurance (local health insurance funds, substitute health insurance funds,
guild's health insurance funds, company insurance funds, etc.) with a total staff of
139,000,
the statutory accident insurance institutions (93 Berufsgenossenschaften and in

the public sector accident insurance funds (Unfallkassen) or the like) with a total
staff of 30,000, and
the federal miners' insurance fund (Bundesknappschaft), with a staff of 14,000.
Additionally, the German Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) and other legally
independent institutions are part of the indirect public administration. The indirect public
service employs a total staff of 488,000.
The Deutsche Bundesbank, which has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and employs
a total staff of 16,500, is an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB)
within the Economic and Monetary Union.
6. The non-public institutions
Particularly in social and health services, the number of staff employed by the public
agencies (i.e. by the Lnder and the local authorities or local authority associations) does
not represent the total number of staff providing these services for citizens. To a
considerable extent, non-public institutions are also highly active here, in particular church
or other non-profit organisations, and to a lesser extent also commercial service providers.
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In 1998 a total of 573,000 staff was employed in the area of child and youth services
(nursery schools, children's homes, youth centres, facilities for children and
young people with disabilities, etc.). Public agencies employ 228,000 staff,
followed by church agencies with a staff of 200,000. If institutions are operated by
independent child and youth welfare agencies, public child and youth welfare
agencies (run by counties and towns not belonging to a county, under Land law
also municipalities) should not establish their own institutions. In 1998, about
67% of kindergartens were operated by independent child and youth welfare
agencies on the territory of the former West-Germany, whereas this figure was
about 31% in the new Lnder.
Approx. 1.11 million staff were working in hospitals in 2000, 1.05 million of them
in general hospitals. Public hospitals employed 630,000 of these, the others were
employed by hospitals operated by non-profit organisations or commercial
enterprises.
Approx. 45,000 teachers were working at a total of 2,326 independent private

schools in the 2000/2001 academic year, teaching more than 560,000 pupils.
The right to establish private schools is expressly provided by the Basic Law, and
to some extent by corresponding provisions in the Land constitutions. The right to
establish private schools rules out a state monopoly on schools. Private
secondary schools, known as alternative schools, also fulfil the requirement of
compulsory school attendance. Alternative schools may have a special focus or
function, for instance as confessional schools, reform schools, boarding schools
or international schools. Alternative schools require approval from the school
authorities.
The number of higher education institutions operating as independent agencies

remains limited. The higher education system in Germany consists primarily of
public higher education institutions of the Lnder. Of the 350 higher education
institutions approx. one-third is operated by independent agencies.
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7. The judiciary
Judges are entrusted with judicial authority in accordance with Art. 92 of the Basic Law;
this authority is exercised by the Federal Constitutional Court, by the Federal Courts
provided for in the Basic Law and by the courts of the Lnder.
Judicial power covers five separate branches of the court system: ordinary (civil and
criminal) jurisdiction, administrative, financial, labour and social jurisdiction (Art. 95 (1) of
the Basic Law). Added to these are the Constitutional Courts and special courts for certain
professions (e.g. disciplinary tribunals for civil servants, judges and soldiers and those for
lawyers and doctors). Courts-martial are only used for the armed forces abroad or on
board ships of war and in wartime.
Jurisdictional sovereignty is distributed between the Federation and the Lnder in such a
way that in each branch of the court system the highest courts are federal courts, and all
other courts (with few exceptions) are Land courts. The structure varies within the
branches of the court system, in most cases it is a three-tier structure.
Justice is administered by professional and honorary judges. The judges are independent
in the exercise of their judicial office, and are subject only to the law (personal and factual
independence, Art. 97 of the Basic Law).
Professional judges are appointed for life. Their appointment ends on retirement (apart
from judges at the constitutional courts who are appointed for a specific term of office; at
the Federal Constitutional Court the term of office is 12 years, ending upon mandatory
retirement at the age of 68.
- 22 -
Judges and public prosecutors at federal and local level as per

30.06.2000
judges public prosecutors
Federation 500 50
Lnder 21,500 5,350
Total 22,000 5,400
Honorary judges act in criminal matters (as "lay judges") and at labour and social courts, as well as
administrative courts of first instance; in civil jurisdiction only in the specific chambers for commercial
matters. They have the same rights and duties in discussions and deliberations as professional
judges. They are appointed for a specific term and may only be removed from office prematurely by
judicial decision.
- 23 -
II. Modernising the Public Administration
The State and its administrative apparatus do not exist as ends in themselves. They exist
to serve the citizens, who rightly demand that their tax money be spent wisely. That
means: better services geared to the changed requirements of citizens and industry.
1. Modern State - Modern Administration (www.staat-modern.de)
In December 1999 the Federal Government launched the "Modern State - Modern
Administration" programme. Business administration tools such as target agreements,
cost-output accounting, controlling, budgeting, creativity management have helped
increase the capacity, efficiency and transparency of the federal administration's activities,
as the statistics clearly prove.
By now 306 federal agencies are using cost-output accounting, which provides the
necessary transparency of outputs and costs. To be fully effective cost-output accounting
must be used in conjunction with controlling in order to gain relevant management
information. While in 1998 only 25 agencies had set out to implement controlling concepts,
today the number has risen to 215 agencies.
Another particularly effective means to enhance the public administration's operational

efficiency is competition through benchmarking. Benchmarking is an appropriate tool to
encourage competition and promote continuous improvement. Therefore, several inter-
and intra-ministerial benchmarking rings have been established since summer 2000.
Benchmarking has been applied to areas such as personnel management, information
technology and bonus procedures. Experience gathered from projects carried out so far
shows that benchmarking is the appropriate tool to increase the quality and efficiency of
the public administration.
- 24 -
By 2002 more than 100 federal agencies were restructured. The number of agencies was reduced
significantly, by a total of 90. In 1998 there were still as many as 654 federal authorities, while in early 2002
this number had fallen to 562. At the same time the federal administration trimmed a significant number of
jobs. On 1 January 2002 the federal administration employed 291,000 staff, compared to 310,000 on 1
January 1998. Hence there were 6,000 fewer jobs within the federal administration than before German
reunification in 1989. In this way, the federal administration is making a significant contribution to the
necessary budget consolidation.
With the "Modern State - Modern Administration" programme the Federal Government
wants to extend the scope of action of the Lnder and strengthen local self-government. In
this context a project to transfer more responsibilities to the Lnder has been launched. In
a first step, federal framework legislation has been revoked in 26 cases, giving the Lnder
greater discretion in enforcing federal laws in certain areas. In a second step, an additional
183 proposals of the Conference of Minister-Presidents for changes in the rules regarding
the discharge of state tasks were examined. Of these the Federal Government approved
107 proposals, in some cases under specific conditions; another 49 proposals have been
or are now being taken into account in the framework of other projects. By early 2002,
already 53 proposals had been implemented. The 183 proposals affected all key policy
areas, such as financial, economic, environmental, social, agricultural, domestic, transport
and housing policy. Now a Land can, for example, transfer local responsibility for the
granting of social allowances to the municipalities, whereas the old federal framework
legislation allowed such responsibility to be transferred only to counties and towns not
belonging to a county. The same applies to setting up examiners' commissions for master
craftmen's qualifying examinations; under the new framework legislation, responsibility no
longer lies exclusively with the higher Land authorities. Where possible the Federation has
not designated a specific Land authority at all, thus leaving it to the discretion of the
Lnder to assign responsibilities and to organise their administration.
Human resources are the key to boosting efficiency and effectiveness in the public sector.
The effectiveness of an organisation in the public sector directly depends upon the
effectiveness of its workforce. This requires targeted measures to enhance employees'
ability and preparedness to carry out their tasks. The modernisation programme of the
Federal Government has dedicated a specific and separate area of reforms just to "highly
motivated staff".
- 25 -
So the reform process aims above all at providing effective staff development targeted at
making the most of the performance and creativity potentials of public service staff. Today
all federal ministries have developed their own concepts to this end. They all use a jointly
agreed framework based on key elements such as an institutionalised dialogue between
superiors and staff, appraisals of senior staff, and plans involving the allocation of staff to a
post or role.
A modern administrative apparatus requires modern service regulations which encourage

employees to take on responsibility and to render good performance. To this end the
existing legal instruments must be constantly reviewed and adjusted, where necessary.
Therefore the Federal Government's modernisation programme gives utmost priority to
continuing the service regulations reform.
2. BundOnline 2005 (www.bundonline2005.de)
Efficient and effective administration is no longer conceivable without the use of

information technologies. In the past, hardware acquisition was the primary concern; with
e-government the use of the new media has taken on a new quality and significance.
With the "BundOnline 2005" e-government initiative, the Federal Government has pledged
to provide online all services of the federal administration that can be placed on the
Internet by 2005. The BundOnline 2005 programme is an important building block in the
Federal Government's policy to turn Germany into an information society. BundOnline
2005 will provide citizens, the business community, the science and research sector and
other administrative authorities with a simpler, faster and more economical means of using
the federal administration's services.
Following a comprehensive review, the Federal Government adopted an interministerial

implementation plan on 14 November 2001, covering the whole range of federal
administrative services.
Today, 21 services are fully available on the Internet already.
Here are a few examples: Already today it is possible to repay via the Internet grants
received under the Federal Education Assistance Act. The 500,000 people who are
- 26 -
currently required to repay their scholarship grants can use the Internet to communicate
with the responsible clerk, file applications for early repayment, partial or total waiver of
payment or deferment of payment. Involving an overall repayment volume of 0.6 billion
annually, the Internet thus provides enormous potential savings of time and cost. Since 1
November 2000, approx. 12,000 online applications have been filed.
The electronic tax return form "ELSTER" was introduced by the Federation and the Lnder
to make the submitting and processing of tax returns more user-friendly and less time
consuming through the use of modern communications technology. By early 2002 a total
of 490,000 tax returns had been sent in electronically and more than 5.6 million
applications for tax statements had been filed electronically. Since February 2001, the tax
offices have offered official, interactive tax forms that can be filled out and sent online,
supported by a tax filing program to guide taxpayers through the process. This marks a
further step on the way to fully electronic, paperless tax returns and paperless tax-
assessment notices.
The services offered by the federal administration can be accessed centrally via the
service portal of the Federal Government at www.bund.de. The Federal Minister of the
Interior, Otto Schily, launched the portal at the CeBIT computer fair in March 2001. The
service portal now includes more than 2,000 pages and more than 1,300 institutions and
agencies of the Federation. A powerful search engine and a permanently updated
catalogue facilitate the systematic search for authorities' web sites, addresses, contacts,
and special information. In the second development stage, the portal's focus will move
beyond more information-oriented content towards genuine electronic administration
services.
Modernisation is a major concern of both public and the federal administration, public
service staff as well as elected officials and citizens. Progress in implementing the
government programme "Modern State - Modern Administration" is being documented at
www.staat-modern.de. Up-to-date information about the e-government initiative
"BundOnline2005" is available at www.bund.de. Visitors can send e-mails directly to
experts working on individual projects or discuss issues on the reform agenda in forums or
chat rooms. More than 10 million hits on these two pages since December 1999 offer proof
that people are making use of this opportunity for dialogue.
- 27 -
III. The foundations of employment in the public service
Art. 33 Basic Law
(Civic rights)
(1) Every German shall have in every Land the same civic rights and duties.
(2) Every German shall be equally eligible for any public office according to his aptitude,
qualifications, and professional achievements.
(3) Neither the enjoyment of civil and political rights, nor eligibility for public office, nor rights acquired
in the public service shall be dependent upon religious affiliation. No one may be disadvantaged by
reason of adherence or non-adherence to a particular religious denomination or philosophical creed.
(4) The exercise of sovereign authority on a regular basis shall, as a rule, be entrusted to members
of the public service who stand in a relationship of service and loyalty defined by public law.
(5) The law governing the public service shall be regulated with due regard to the traditional
principles of the professional public service.
Public service staff (as per June 30, 2000)
civil servants, judges 1,616,000 ( 33%)
Professional and fixed-term 186,600 ( 4%)

military personnel
salary earners 2,351,500 ( 49%)
wage earners 681,200 ( 14%)
Total 4,835,300 (100%)

- 28 -
1. Employment in the public service
In the Federal Republic of Germany, civil servants, judges and military personnel, as well
as public employees (salary earners and wage earners in the public service) are employed
to perform state tasks.
In accordance with Art. 33 (2) Basic Law every German shall be eligible for any public
office according to his aptitude, qualifications, and professional achievements.
The exercise of State authority on a regular basis shall, as a rule, be entrusted to

members of the public service who stand in a relationship of service and loyalty governed
by public law (Art. 33 (4) of the Basic Law), that is to civil servants. The rights and duties of
civil servants are governed by federal law, which means that the parliament determines
the rights and duties as well as the remuneration and pensions of civil servants. The
service of judges and military personnel, like that of civil servants, is governed by public
law.
In contrast, public employees are employed on the basis of a contract under private law.
General labour law applies to them - as to all employees in Germany. Specific working
conditions, however, are set out in collective agreements negotiated between the public
employers (Federation/the Lnder/local authorities) and the responsible trade and labour
unions.
- 29 -
Members of the Federal Government, i.e. the Federal Chancellor and the federal ministers are not civil
servants; their office is governed by public law and aimed at exercising governmental functions. Having said
that, this office under public law has developed from the basis of employment as a civil servant and is
governed by law, specifically the Act governing Federal Ministers. As office-holders who directly report to the
parliament the federal ministers manage their departments independently and on their own responsibility in
the framework of the general policy determined by the Federal Chancellor. They are not bound by
instructions in individual cases and are not subject to any disciplinary power. Similar arrangements exist in
the Lnder for members of the Land governments.
Depending on the size of their departments, the Cabinet members are assigned one or two parliamentary
state secretaries who hold the title "Minister of State" at the Federal Chancellory and the Federal Foreign
Office. Generally they must be members of parliament. Only direct assistants to the Federal Chancellor may
assume this function even if they are not members of parliament. They represent and support the federal
minister in fulfilling political and technical tasks, in particular in the plenary and in the committees of the
German Bundestag, in the Federal Cabinet and in public. The office of Parliamentary State Secretary is also
governed by public law.
For information about remuneration and pensions of parliamentary state secretaries and of members of the
Federal Government see:
Distinction between civil servants and public employees
According to Art. 33 (4) of the Basic Law the exercise of state authority as a permanent
function shall as a rule be entrusted to civil servants (reservation of function).Today this is
generally no longer understood as being limited to what was known in the past as
authoritarian administration. The public service is intended to guarantee sound
administration based on expertise, professional ability and the loyal fulfilment of duties,
and to ensure that essential tasks are continuously carried out in the public's interest.
Therefore it is mainly civil servants who are employed in core areas of traditional
administration, above all in supervisory positions and in areas involving the exercise of
state authority. But civil servants are also employed in many areas of benefits
administration, and most teachers are civil servants, too. In contrast, public employees are
employed in health and social services and in technical professions.
Since the relation between rule and exception is defined in the Basic Law, the domains of
civil servants and public employees are delimited in general terms, which leave some
- 30 -
room to manoeuvre in individual cases. Accordingly, the functional distinction between

civil servants and public employees may be less clearly marked.
The position of public employees is both secure and of equal status with that of civil
servants. This is reflected by the fact that the legal status of civil servants on the one hand
and public employees on the other have converged in many aspects.
At the same time, substantial differences remain between the two status groups, in
addition to the reservation of function defined by Art. 33 (4) of the Basic Law: notably, the
fact that the duties of civil servants which are at the core of their special relationship of
loyalty apply to all civil servants in the same way, whereas the duties of public employees
are dependent upon their function. In addition to the ban on strikes for civil servants, this
regulation is to ensure that core tasks of public administration are fulfilled reliably and in
the interest of citizens.
Staffing trends
The number of public service staff on the territory of the former West Germany grew
significantly until the beginning of the 1990s. The reunification of Germany naturally
resulted in a considerable increase from 3 October 1990 onwards. Since 1991, however,
the number of staff has declined continuously.
The following figures refer to the public service at federal, Lnder, and local level and to
the indirect public service. The staff employed by the German railways and the postal
services are not included because privatisation of these areas makes comparison
impossible. Until 1990, the figures refer to the territory of the former West Germany.
The increase in the numbers of staff up to 1990 was due in particular to the expansion in
the area of schools and higher education, but also in the social services and the police. In
the ensuing period - after the increase in the number of staff caused by incorporating the
public service of the former GDR - tight budgets and the modernisation of the federal and
local administrations led to a decrease in staff numbers. This reduction particularly
affected the new Lnder , which had to adapt the administrative structures. The
privatisation of local authority services had a similar effect; in addition the federal public
service was affected by job cuts in the armed forces (military and civilian personnel). This
development includes a greater reduction in the number of public service jobs, while the
number of part-time staff has increased.
- 31 -
Year 1960 1970 1980 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Staff number in 1,000s

Federal Republic of
Germany 5,600 5,582 5,448 5,361 5,251 5,165 5,062 4,977 4,891 4,835
of whom:
women 2,788 2,813 2,749 2,714 2,670 2,632 2,576 2,539 2,501 2,487
of whom:
on the territory of the
former West Germany 2,252 3,008 3,814 4,133 4,171 4,197 4,195 4,174 4,113 4,064 4,010 3,956 3,902 3,865
on the territory of the
former East Germany 1,429 1,385 1,253 1,187 1,139 1,101 1,052 1,022 989 970
of whom:
civil servants, judges 720 954 1,277 1,382 1,390 1,458 1,511 1,556 1,587 1,607 1,624 1,619 1,619 1,616
salary earners 772 1,113 1,527 1,728 2,822 2,774 2,708 2,647 2,585 2,535 2,470 2,425 2,374 2,352
wage earners 610 710 773 779 1,131 1,104 998 945 884 832 776 741 708 681
professional and fixed-
term military staff 150 232 237 244 257 246 231 213 194 191 192 191 190 187
of whom:
full-time staff 2,108 2,691 3,275 3,362 4,677 4,635 4,450 4,304 4,185 4,098 3,985 3,863 3,729 3,626
part-time staff 143 318 539 771 924 947 998 1,057 1,066 1,067 1,077 1,114 1,162 1,209
Total public service staff in Germany (in 1000)

(figures for 1960-1991 refer to former West Germany)
5 600 5 582 5 448 5 361 5 251 5 165 5 062 4 977 4 891 4835
3 814 4 133
3 008
2 252
1960 1970 1980 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Staffing trends since 1991

number in 1000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
year
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
total staff full-time staff women part-time staff

- 32 -
Equal treatment of women and men in the public service
"Gender Mainstreaming" (www.gender-mainstreaming.net)
Germany has well-developed institutional and legal instruments to guarantee the equal
treatment of women and men. Art. 3 (2) of the Basic Law stipulates that the state shall
promote the actual implementation of equal rights of women and men and take steps to
eliminate existing disadvantages.
The following diagrams illustrate the proportion of women in the public service in Germany.
In order to achieve the socio-political aim to increase women's participation in decision-
making, there is need for further action, particularly to increase the number of women in
supervisory positions.
The public service employed a total of 4,835,300 staff in 2000 (4,648,700 excluding
military personnel), of whom 2,486,700, or 51.4%, were women. The proportion of women
in the different groups of public service staff differs; in the group of civil servants and
judges they make up 39%, in the group of salary earners 68%, in the group of wage
earners 37%, and in the case of professional and fixed-term military personnel 2.1%.
Proportion of women in %
Total
Military personnel
Wage earners
Salary earners
Civil servants, judges
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

- 33 -
With its Cabinet decision of June 1999, the Federal Government acknowledged the equal
treatment of women and men as an overall guiding principle and agreed to promote this
effort known as "Gender Mainstreaming" in all federal ministries and agencies. Therefore,
the Joint Rules of Procedure of the Federal Ministries contain the obligation for all federal
ministries to comply with this principle in all political, legislative and administrative
activities.
Gender Mainstreaming is an internationally recognised term for taking into account the gender
perspective in all decision-making processes. According to the principle of gender mainstreaming, men's
and women's different cultural-historical positions in society and the resulting consequences must be
recognised and taken into account. Just as the cost factor, for example, has to be considered when
deciding upon publicly funded measures, the impacts of socio-cultural gender roles must be taken into
account. It is crucial to note that apparently neutral measures affect women and men in different ways.
Gender mainstreaming reveals socially conditioned gender roles and the different realities of the lives of
women and men. The degree to which the gender perspective is taken account of is a major criterion for
assessing the appropriateness and quality of a specific measure.
But gender mainstreaming is more than just a political appeal. When the Amsterdam Treaty went into
force on 1 May 1999, it made the implementation of gender mainstreaming legally binding upon the
member states of the European Union. Art. 2 and Art. 3 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community (TEC) oblige all member states to pursue an active and integrated policy aimed at achieving
equality between men and women in the sense of gender mainstreaming.
Gender mainstreaming does not replace the advancement of women.

It should rather be seen as a means that adds to specific measures for achieving equal
rights and treatment of men and women.
The Law on the Enforcement of Equality between Men and Women of 30 November 2001,
aims at actually implementing equality in all public service areas. This law, which also
applies to the federal courts, replaces the Law on the Advancement of Women which was
adopted in the framework of the Second Law Ensuring Equal Rights for Women of 1994. It
contains the obligation to appoint a commissioner on women's affairs who is to be elected
by secret vote by the female staff. She has the task of promoting and monitoring the
implementation of the Law on Equality between Men and Women and all relevant related
measures taken by the employer.
- 34 -
In order to actually enforce equality between men and women the law provides that
women who are equally suitable, qualified and capable as men shall be given preferential
treatment in areas where they are underrepresented. This applies to training, recruitment,
employment and promotion. With regard to indirect discrimination, the law expressly
prohibits conducting selection processes or application interviews in a way that puts
women at a competitive disadvantage. The Lnder have adopted similar rules for their
administrations.
These measures have substantially increased equality between men and women, and the
state in its capacity as employer is fulfilling its obligation to act as a role model in this
respect.
2. Eligibility for the public service
Eligibility for the German public service is governed by the Basic Law: In accordance with
the criteria of aptitude, qualifications and professional achievements, every German is
equally eligible for the public service. This applies in the same way to permanent
employment of civil servants or public employees. The principle of merit as defined by
constitutional law means that:
in order to become a civil servant, the applicant must possess the necessary
qualification for his/her desired career path.
in order to become a public employee, the applicant must possess the

qualification required for the specific function.
This also applies to job applicants from other Member States of the EU. In accordance
with the Community rules on the freedom of movement, if applicants are suitable and
qualified, they are equally eligible for the German public service, with the exception of
those positions which are reserved for German nationals.
- 35 -
For appointment as civil servants nationals of Member States of the European Union are considered to have
the same status as Germans within the meaning of Art. 116 of the Basic Law. As an exception to this basic
rule, only Germans are eligible for positions requiring the exercise of public functions which, because of their
specific content, must be performed by Germans only. In individual cases, i.e. in relation to the function in
question, a decision must be taken as to whether it is necessary for the function to be performed by German
nationals. The Federation and the Lnder have agreed on recommendations for the application of the law in
relation to functions reserved for Germans permitting employment of nationals of other Member States of the
EU reaching far into areas which, in accordance with rulings of the European Court of Justice, could be
reserved for Germans.
The eligibility requirements to be adhered to in hiring civil servants are largely the same for
all areas of the administration. In addition to the general requirements, such as loyalty to
the Basic Law and personal integrity, civil servants must also have the necessary training
and educational qualifications for the individual classes of service and subject areas.
Such a system of service classes or formal preconditions for eligibility do not exist in the
law on public service employees. Applicants are generally employed on the basis of their
individual knowledge and abilities alone. Suitability for the specific job is decisive.
Recruitment to the public service is also generally conditional on a vacancy announcement

so that the right of equal access to public offices is guaranteed.
Suitable candidates for the announced vacancy are chosen by means of a selection
process. The German public service has no central recruitment competitions, however.
Each authority is responsible for conducting its own recruitment and hiring, i.e. there are
no generally binding rules for the form of the selection procedure. Added to this is the fact
that, in the federal administration, each federal ministry is itself responsible for staffing.
Each ministry is therefore responsible for selecting and hiring new staff and may establish
independently how applicants are to be selected. This responsibility for human resource
matters derives from the ministerial principle, according to which each federal minister
manages the business of his/her department independently and on his/her own
responsibility.
Recruitment to the public service is on principle conditional on the existence of a vacancy.

The parliaments at federal, local and regional level have the right to decide, within the
- 36 -
framework of their budgetary authority, on the number and distribution of public service
posts. In accordance with budgetary law, human resources are not managed according to
the available funds, but according to established posts. On principle, the budgetary
authority must approve each post before someone can be hired into that post.
This highly specific budgetary procedure in the personnel area arose from the special
status enjoyed by civil servants under German public service law. The basic impossibility
of dismissal and the public employers' duty to provide maintenance, through to pensions
for civil servants and their dependants, give rise to payment obligations which typically last
for decades. The recruitment of a civil servant therefore has a considerable financial
impact. Establishing a post creates the necessary authorization to spend money over the
entire period of employment. This procedure applies to salary earners accordingly, since
they are, as a rule, also permanent employees, and the parliament is able to control staff
numbers and their composition by managing the number and distribution of posts.
This rather inflexible system has been improved in the course of modernising the federal
budget law. Starting with the budget for the fiscal year 2001, exceptions may be made in
the case of pilot projects. Known as the experimentation clause, this measure is intended
to establish the budget principle as a priority also in human resource management.
According to this principle, the law will only define a staffing framework within which the
individual authority can pursue a flexible human resource policy in its own responsibility
and according to its financial means.
3. Foundations of the employment of civil servants
History
The roots of the German public service date back to the 18th century when the servants of
the princes became servants of the state. Although the personal attachment to the
monarch or ruler was not dissolved, such service was now directly linked with the well-
being of the state. This expanded obligation to serve the common good and the idea of an
objective legal order as regards the monarch, and also later as regards the political
parties, the parliament and the government, contributed at an early date to the public
service's particular self-image and professional role model. The accompanying process of
- 37 -
professionalising the administration in the early 19th century provided the foundation for
the modern public service.
After the end of the monarchy, the Weimar Constitution of 1919 ensured the non-partisan
public service and the civil rights of civil servants in its Art. 130: "Civil servants shall be
servants of society, not of a party. All civil servants shall be guaranteed the freedom of
political opinion and freedom of association". It was these rights and freedoms in particular
which were disregarded by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. The Basic Law of
1949 re-established the foundations of the professional public service, particularly by
reserving for civil servants the right to exercise sovereign authority (Art. 33 (4)) and by
observing the traditional principles of the professional public service (Art. 33 ( 5)).
Legal basis
The power to legislate for the public service lies primarily with the Federation.
The Federation is responsible for regulating the legal status of civil servants, judges and
military personnel in the service of the Federation and the direct federal bodies under
public law. In addition it may also issue framework regulations governing the legal status of
all other civil servants and judges. These framework regulations contain guidelines for
legislation by the Lnder, and must be specified and implemented by the respective Land
parliaments in order to have the force of law for civil servants and judges in the service of
legal entities under public law under their supervision (in particular the local authorities).
Not least because of these framework provisions, civil servants' employment is largely the
same in the Federation and in all Lnder, although there are some 16 statutes relating to
civil servants and Land judges, in addition to the Act on Federal Civil Servants
(Bundesbeamtengesetz), the Act Defining the Scope of Civil Servants' Rights and Duties
(Beamtenrechtsrahmengesetz) and the German Judiciary Act (Deutsches Richtergesetz).
Most importantly, the Federation has the power to legislate on matters regarding
remuneration and pensions. This is why the Civil Servants' Remuneration Act
(Bundesbesoldungsgesetz) and the Act Governing Civil Servants' Pensions and
Allowances (Beamtenversorgungsgesetz) also apply directly (not only as framework
regulations) to civil servants employed by the Lnder and local authorities. Provisions
which apply nation-wide generally require approval by the Bundesrat (upper house of
parliament).
- 38 -
The Federal Government has to consult with the umbrella organisations of the trade and
labour unions and professional associations of civil servants and judges when preparing
provisions relating to civil servants and judges. As a certain compensation for the lack of
power to negotiate collective agreements, this right of participation of these organisations
goes beyond a mere right to be heard. It gives the trade and labour unions the opportunity
to take an active part in the preparatory phase of statutes, ordinances, administrative
regulations and directives by means of comments and proposals of their own. If the
proposals are not taken into consideration, in the case of statutes and ordinances the
umbrella organisations' counterproposals are listed in a supplement to the draft regulation,
and thus brought to the attention of the legislator. The decision as to the final content of
the regulation however is always the prerogative of the legislator.
The umbrella organisations at the federal level are the German Civil Servants Association
(DBB), the German Trade and Labour Unions Federation (DGB), the German Judges
Association (Deutscher Richterbund e.V.), the Federation of German Administrative
Judges (BDVR) and the Christian Trade and Labour Unions Association (CGB); for
regulations relating to military personnel the German Federal Armed Forces Association
(Deutscher Bundeswehr Verband).
In some cases, other trade unions of civil servants, in particular the police unions, are
involved as umbrella organisations in the Lnder.
Types of public service employment
Civil servants have a special relationship of service and loyalty governed by public law.
Because of Germany's federal structure, the local and regional authorities, i.e. the
Federation, the Lnder and the municipalities, are the public employers. In addition, civil
servants may also work for public law corporations, institutions or foundations under state
supervision.
The civil servant with life tenure represents the standard type of civil servant. There are
also civil servants with a set tenure if the function is assigned only for a limited period of
time. Civil servants who have not completed their training are employed with the revocable
status of "civil servant in preparatory service"; at the beginning of their employment civil
servants are employed on probation.
- 39 -
Special provisions apply to individual groups of civil servants with a special legal status.
These are
local government officials who have been elected in a municipality either by the
people or a local government body (local council) and appointed as senior civil
servants on a temporary basis (e.g. mayor, municipal commissioners).
Accordingly, this is a small group of people restricted to the top level of the
respective local authority administrations. The legal status of local government
officials elected for a limited period is characterised both by the ideas contained
in civil servants law and by ideas related to local authority policy. It is primarily
determined in accordance with the Lnder statutes relating to civil servants, but
continues to be affected also by local provisions on appointments, positions and
functions.
Politically appointed civil servants who hold an office for the exercise of which
they must be permanently in agreement with the fundamental policy of the
government, and hence can be placed in temporary retirement at any time
without stating reasons. The total number of politically appointed civil servants is
defined by law and is relatively small. Only 400 of the 132,600 civil servants in
the direct federal public service are political appointees. In the federal
administration these include state secretaries and directors general in the
ministries, senior civil servants in the Federal Foreign Office and in the
intelligence services (Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Federal
Intelligence Service) and the president of the Federal Criminal Police Office.
Rights and duties
The public administration plays a key role in securing the present and future existence of
the state through best fulfilment of essential public tasks. The state has to ensure fulfilment
of these tasks particularly in the process of globalisation and growing European
integration. For this reason, the authors of the Basic Law assigned this task to
professional civil servants who ensure, based on their expertise and loyal service, the
stability of the administrative apparatus and thus serve as a counterweight to the political
powers shaping the state.
- 40 -
The employment relationship of civil servants is one of service and loyalty characterised
by commitment to the good of the people and the body politic. The crucial element of this
particular employment relationship is the civil servant's commitment to public service for
his/her entire working life, which requires a high level of professional achievement, a
sense of responsibility and commitment to the common good.
The rights and duties which shape the employment relationship of civil servants ensure
that public interest takes priority over the interests of specific groups or their own interests.
Above all, it is this special employment relationship of civil servants which the Basic Law
sees as a guarantee that the democratically determined will of the body politic is actually
enforced.
More specifically: Civil servants have to fulfil their tasks fairly and without partisanship and
consider the general good in exercising their office. In particular, they are to avoid any
suspicion of seeking their own advantage. On principle, they may not accept rewards or
gifts.
Civil servants are to advise and support their superiors, carry out the latters' orders and
follow their general guidelines. Their duty of obedience does not however release them
from full personal responsibility. They must examine the lawfulness of each official act.
Civil servants must report any reservations as regards the lawfulness of an official order to
their immediate superiors without delay (duty of remonstration). If the order is upheld
without the reservations of the civil servant being remedied, they are to turn to the next
higher level. If that superior confirms the order, the civil servant must carry it out. In this
case, he/she is released from any personal responsibility. The duty to obey ceases to
apply in any case in which the civil servant would violate human dignity or commit a
criminal or administrative offence by carrying it out. The duty of obedience and the duty of
remonstration serve to ensure the public administration's ability to function, which
otherwise would be impaired if every civil servant were in a position to refrain from carrying
out an official act because of reservations as to the lawfulness of this act.
Civil servants must show their support for the free, democratic basic order as defined in
the Basic Law through their whole conduct and work to uphold it. They may engage in
political activities as allowed by the Basic Law, but may not express any political opinions
when performing the duties of their office and must in other respects exercise the
- 41 -
moderation and reservation in political activities emerging from their position in society
and in consideration of the duties of their office.
Like all citizens, civil servants have the basic right to form associations and societies. They
may do so without restrictions and may defend their interests together. They have no right
to strike, however. The Basic Law provides that, because of their special obligations, civil
servants are entrusted to secure and safeguard the administrative functions. A strike
would be incompatible with this and would be directed against the parliament, the
democratically elected body that adopts laws governing civil servants' remuneration and
working conditions and in doing so has to pay due respect to the mutual relationship of
service and loyalty. Hence the democratic body politic is strengthened if civil servants
waive the right to strike upon entering this special relationship of loyalty because of their
special commitment to the general good.
In any case, the ban on strikes does not mean that concerns expressed by trade unions
concerning employment conditions are ignored. The opposite is the case: Their concerns
are represented by umbrella organisations of the public service as part of their role in
preparing general rules for the public service.
The fulfilment of their constitutional task not only requires that civil servants are bound in a
particular way by their duties but also that they are granted rights which place them in a
legally and economically autonomous position enabling them to fulfil the duties of their
office according to the principles of the rule of law and to remain unaffected by party
interests, without fear or threat to their livelihood. Above all, such autonomy is guaranteed
by the civil servants' life tenure, appropriate remuneration and retirement benefits
(maintenance principle) and by their right to be allocated to an appropriate post or role. In
addition, civil servants have the right to social and medical assistance and are entitled to
claim protection for themselves and their families from their employer, both during and
after their employment.
Civil servants' law defining these rights and duties is not a straitjacket. Instead, civil
servants' law is constantly adapted to modern developments, while maintaining its core
substance. For example: the promotion of mobility and part-time work, EU citizens'
eligibility for civil servant status, initial allocation of managerial posts on probation or for a
set period of time, and more flexible and merit-based remuneration.
- 42 -
Disciplinary law
The disciplinary law deals with the consequences of service violations. While the duties of
civil servants are defined in the statutes governing the rights and duties of civil servants of
the Federation and the Lnder, the disciplinary law stipulates the consequences of such
violations and the procedures.
With the coming into force of the new Federal Disciplinary Act for federal civil servants on
1 January 2002, the disciplinary law was thoroughly reviewed and adjusted to the
requirements of a modern public administration and administration of justice.
Disciplinary considerations are always based on the provisions of the Law on Federal Civil
Servants, or the applicable Land law on civil servants, according to which civil servants
commit a disciplinary offence if they breach their duties intentionally or negligently. If there
is sufficient reason to suspect a breach of duty, the employer is obliged to institute
disciplinary proceedings and to establish the facts in question during this procedure. After
the investigation a decision has to be taken as to whether the proceedings should be
closed or disciplinary action should be taken against the civil servant.
The disciplinary law provides for five disciplinary measures which, after a due assessment
of the circumstances, may be imposed on a civil servant depending on the seriousness of
the offence: reprimand, fine, reduction of remuneration, demotion and dismissal from
service. However, dismissal from service is imposed only if the civil servant has lost the
confidence of his/her employer or of the general public following a serious violation of duty.
The law provides for only two disciplinary measures applying to retired civil servants:
reduction or deprivation of retirement benefits.
Using what is known as a disciplinary order, superiors themselves may impose a

reprimand, a fine or a reduction of benefits. A disciplinary order is an administrative act
which may be legally contested via objection, action for a recision, or - under certain
conditions - appeal on questions of fact or of law.
If the employer thinks that demotion, dismissal from service or deprivation of retirement
benefits should be imposed on the civil servant concerned, he/she may not impose this
measure himself/herself but has to bring a disciplinary action before the competent
- 43 -
administrative court which will then rule on the disciplinary measure. The court decision
may be appealed on questions of fact and, under certain conditions, on questions of law
only.
Depending on the individual circumstances, it may be necessary to suspend a civil servant

from official duties already before an unappealable decision has been taken in the
disciplinary procedure. In addition to the possibility provided by law to temporarily suspend
the civil servant from official duties, a civil servant may provisionally be removed from
service on disciplinary grounds once the disciplinary action has been initiated. Such a
measure should be considered if, after a preliminary evaluation of the case, it is to be
expected that in the course of the disciplinary process the civil servant concerned will be
dismissed from service. Under such circumstances, depending upon the economic
situation of the civil servant concerned, a certain amount may be retained from his/her
monthly salary, not to exceed 50%.
The number of disciplinary proceedings conducted in Germany is relatively low. In 2000,

1,776 disciplinary procedures were initiated (including 967 in privatised enterprises such
as the German railways and the German postal service), including 540 formal and 1,236
informal procedures. This is the equivalent of only 0.5% of federal civil servants. No
nation-wide statistics are kept for the Lnder and municipalities.
Career paths
The career system reflects possible career paths of civil servants. The law on public
service careers contains generally binding rules applicable to personnel policies in all
branches of public administration, which objectivise personnel policies, ensure continuity
despite leadership changes, and guarantee a uniform minimum standard for professional
performance.
The many functions of the public administration require qualified staff, who can only be
obtained by means of systematic previous training and in-service training. The various
tasks require staff who have completed training designed with this in mind.
In order to perform public service tasks correctly and effectively, an appropriate career
structure has been developed that covers a wide range of functions. The complex career
system which is based on specific training should enable civil servants to assume not only
individual tasks but all tasks linked to a particular career. The fact that a civil servant can
- 44 -
be assigned a great variety of roles within the framework of his/her specific career
qualification also ensures greater flexibility in human resources management.
The training for careers that are rather untypical for the public administration is provided as
in-service training in the course of a preparatory service. For the performance of particular
tasks the public administration also needs specialists who - thanks to their education -
have obtained expertise which cannot be conveyed by the public service and which need
not be improved in a preparatory service (e. g. doctors). For these specialists, service
careers for specific disciplines have been established. Admission of specialists to the
public service is conditional on a certain length of full-time occupational experience,
instead of completion of preparatory service and the career examination.
Even if an applicant does not have the necessary specific career qualification, he/she may
be admitted to the public service under certain conditions. In the case of these "other
applicants", the ability to perform the duties of an office must be acquired by experience in
life and at work inside or outside the public service, as established by a special
independent body, the Federal or Land Personnel Commission.
In view of the different tasks in the public administration on the federal and regional levels,
certain career paths are offered only by the the Federation and the Lnder. For example,
career paths in the Foreign Service or the military administration are offered only at the
federal level, while the preparatory service for teachers at primary and secondary schools
is subject to Land legislation.
The annex to the Federal Ordinance on Careers and Promotion of Civil Servants
(Bundeslaufbahnverordnung) contains a complete list of all careers in the federal public
service, which includes, among others: the customs service, the public building technical
service, forestry service, meteorological service, archive service, library service, protection
of the constitution service, Federal Intelligence Service, technical services at accident
insurance institutions, non-technical and technical services in the administration of the
federal armed forces.
The specific course of a career path is determined by rules on career structure,

examination and education, which take the form of an ordinance. This ordinance
determines the admission requirements, the selection procedure, the training process in
- 45 -
the preparatory service, the career examination procedure and the sequence of steps
within a career path.
Career paths may be assigned to one of the following classes of service: the ordinary
service, the intermediate service, the higher intermediate service or the higher service.
Affiliation to a class of service depends on the entry-level position in the public service.
Classes of service
Civil servants and judges as per June 30, 2001
Higher Higher Intermediate Ordinary Total

service intermediate service service
service
Federation no. 18,300 41,700 69,300 3,300 132,600
% 14 31 52 3 100
Lnder no. 334,800 662,000 247,000 8,700 1,252,500
% 27 53 20 1 100
Local no. 26,700 92,100 59,100 700 178,600
authorities/associations
of local authorities
joint local authorities: % 15 52 33 0 100
Indirect public service no. 6,700 40,200 5,000 300 52,300
% 13 77 10 1 100
no. 386,500 836,000 380,400 13,100 1,616,000
Total % 24 52 23 1 100
The preconditions for admission to the preparatory service are
in the ordinary service, successful completion of secondary school education or a

recognised equivalent,
in the intermediate service, successful completion of general school education

(10 years) or attendance of a secondary modern school as well as follow-up
professional training or a recognised equivalent,
- 46 -
in the higher intermediate service, successful completion of a polytechnic education

(Fachhochschule) or other school education qualifying for admission to a
university or a recognised equivalent,
in the higher service, successful completion of university studies in an

appropriate subject area. Here, studies in law are regarded as being equal to
economics, finance and social sciences for the general administrative service.
The preparatory service provides practical and theoretical training and ends with a career
examination. Civil servants are employed subject to revocation during the preparatory
service, which lasts
in the ordinary service 6 months

in the intermediate service 2 to 2 years
in the higher intermediate service 3 years
in the higher service 2 to 2- years
In most cases, the preparatory service for careers in the higher intermediate non-technical
service is carried out at polytechnics (Fachhochschule) inside the administration. Training
consists of specific studies at a Fachhochschule and professional practical study periods
of 18 months each in training authorities. For this purpose, the Federal College for Public
Administration has been established within the federal administration. It provides training
in the following subject areas:
general internal administration,

work administration,
foreign affairs,
Federal Border Police,
administration of the federal armed forces (Bundeswehr), and
finance,
public security,
social insurance,
meteorological service.
- 47 -
The Lnder operate their own polytechnics for administration with, in most cases, the
following subjects: general administration, policing, fiscal administration, and
administration in the judiciary.
Recruitment to the preparatory service is possible until a maximum age of 32 years,

increased to 40 in the case of the severely disabled. Special regulations exist for
applicants whose applications were delayed by child-raising or looking after relatives in
need of care.
After the successful completion of the career examination, civil servants are to prove
themselves during a probationary period. As a rule, the probationary period stretches over
a period of one year in the ordinary service, over two years in the intermediate service,
over two years and six months in the higher intermediate service and over three years in
the higher service. After successful completion of the probationary service, civil servants, if
they are at least 27 years of age, are appointed for life.
Professional development opportunities
Promotion is based on the principle of merit. Promotions take place in accordance with
aptitude, qualifications and professional achievements. In most cases, it is necessary to
change posts; the higher post is occupied on a probationary basis prior to the promotion.
Since civil servants are assigned established posts, their promotion requires that an
adequate higher post is available.
In order to gain an informative, objective and comparable picture of the performance of

public service staff, performance appraisals are prepared regularly every five years in
accordance with criteria set out in assessment guidelines - and where appropriate on
specific occasions. They serve as the basis for proper personnel decisions and measures
of personnel development and constitute an instrument of personnel management.
In order to improve the comparability of the appraisals, guidelines for assessment grades
were established in the federal service in 1997 (so-called quota arrangement). The share
of civil servants given the highest grade should hence not exceed 15%, the share of the
second highest should not be more than 35% of the civil servants within a grade or
functional level to be assessed.
- 48 -
Each Land is responsible for regulating its own assessment system.
Within the framework of defined promotion procedures, qualified civil servants have the
possibility to step up to one higher class of service. As a rule, civil servants have first of all
to undergo a selection procedure, and having passed this an orientation period
corresponding to the preparatory service; for the intermediate and higher intermediate
service, the civil servants must also pass a relevant career examination. For the higher
service, on the other hand, once the orientation period of at least 2 years has been
completed, only an interview with the Federal Personnel Commission is required, making it
easier to advance to a limited area of functions similar to the previous work.
In order to ensure a modern, effective and efficient public administration it is extremely

important to choose the right people for leadership positions. Therefore the various public
employers assign managerial posts only for a probationary period or fixed term, making
selection and assignment more performance-oriented. If the wrong person has been
chosen for the job (e.g. someone whose lack of managerial skills later becomes apparent),
this can be corrected. This mechanism also reinforces managerial mobility, motivation and
competition for managerial posts.
Highly focused training courses help public service staff update and add to their
qualifications. Improving knowledge and skills, including the use of new technologies, also
prepares the public service to meet growing and changing challenges. Such training is
offered at the public service's own training facilities and externally. The Federal Academy
for Public Administration in Brhl is the central training facility at the federal level.
Mobility
The administration of the future will also be characterised by more rapid change in public
functions. This requires greater employee mobility, both geographically and in terms of
subject matter, in order to be able to optimally use the human resources of the public
service, particularly in view of changing personnel needs.
For operational reasons, or at the request of the civil servant, he/she
may be temporarily or permanently moved to another post within the same

authority,
- 49 -
may be temporarily seconded to another authority within the remit of his/her

employer or of another employer (e.g. from the Federation to a Land), or
may be permanently transferred to another authority within the remit of his/her

employer or of another employer.
These measures have on principle no effect on remuneration and pensions (except for the
possible cessation or additional granting of certain allowances), and may be taken without
the consent of the civil servant. His/her consent is however necessary
for secondment of more than two years to a function not corresponding to his/her
office, in particular if it is of a lower value, or to another employer for more than
five years,
for a transfer to a lower office, unless this transfer is necessary due to

considerable changes in the functions, structure or of existence of the previous
agency.
Even in cases where the consent of the civil servant him/herself is not necessary, transfers
entailing a change in location, secondments for more than three months as well as
transfers generally require the approval of the staff council. If no agreement is reached, the
highest service authority is responsible for the final decision.
Furthermore, a civil servant may be temporarily seconded with his/her consent to another
public institution which is not part of the German public service (e.g. international and
intergovernmental organisations), or also assigned to a non-public institution. The consent
of the civil servant is not required if his/her previous agency is fully or partly converted to a
public organisation under private law. The approval of the staff council is on principle also
required for such assignments. The civil servant concerned works for the agency to which
he/she has been assigned, but continues to receive his/her remuneration from the former
employer.
A civil servant may on request be granted special unpaid leave to work in a public,
intergovernmental or supra-governmental institution or in the development aid sector - if a
- 50 -
corresponding service or public interest exists. It is also possible for civil servants to be
given unpaid leave for a maximum of five years to work in the private sector if no service
reasons are against this.
The legal status of civil servants during special leave remains unchanged. He/she is
however not obliged to render services and no duty of maintenance is incumbent on the
employer. The time of unpaid leave may be taken into account in civil servants' pensions if
it serves public or service interests. In the same way, civil servants may be given leave on
full or partial pay in certain cases if the purpose of the leave also benefits the service.
In a Europe which is steadily growing closer together, the mobility of civil servants, i.e.
their temporary work in a public service organisation of an EU partner state, has become
particularly important. To this effect national contact points have been established in all EU
states in a joint project with the title "National Contact Points" for the promotion of mobility
within the European Union. These contact points are intended to actively support the
authorities, for example by providing information about the public service, current
vacancies, and the labour and social law framework in a given EU member state.
According to the plans of the European Commission, up-to-date information about
vacancies will in future be available in a central database.
Social insurance
Civil servants are not integrated into the various areas of statutory social insurance (see
the following chart). As a rule civil servants are not obligated by law to be insured with the
statutory pensions insurance scheme (Social Code VI, SGB VI), the statutory accident
insurance scheme (SGB VII), the statutory unemployment insurance (SGB III) and the
statutory health insurance scheme (SGB V). This exemption from compulsory insurance in
the social security insurance schemes for employees who are legally obligated to
participate in these schemes is caused by specific social security systems geared to the
needs of civil servants and their special employment relationship. Nonetheless, civil
servants are obligated to insure themselves against the risk of long-term care, according to
the conditions of the compulsory old-age nursing home insurance (SGB XI).
- 51 -
Table: Social security system - the various statutory insurance schemes

Statutory Statutory Unemployment Statutory Old-age nursing-
pensions accident insurance health home insurance
insurance insurance insurance (Social Code XI)
(Social Code VI) (Social Code (Social Code III) (Social Code V)
VII)
Liability to insure
Exemption from compulsory insurance
Civil servants
Payment of old- Accident No Self-insurance Insurance against
age pensions by compensation termination of plus remaining risks
the employer by the employer the contract of employer through
service allowances allowances by the
employer
The principles of private social security insurance also apply to the special service
relationships of judges and military personnel.
In the case of civil servants, pensions are directly paid by the employer. This is one of the
basic principles of the professional public service. Moreover the employer is liable to pay
in-service accident benefits to civil servants. Integration into the system of unemployment
benefits is not necessary, since civil servants are generally employed for life after
completion of a probationary period.
Social security insurance against the risk of illness and the need for long-term
nursing care
Civil servants are required to insure themselves and their families against the risk of illness
and the need for nursing care on their own responsibility. Generally, this requirement is
met by taking out a a private insurance policy. Premiums have to be paid for from
remuneration and benefits. However, this private health and old-age nursing care
insurance has to cover only part of the costs incurred in the case of illness or the need for
nursing care; civil servants are additionally entitled to allowances. As a result of the
employer's obligation to take care of its civil servants and their families, the employer
refunds a certain percentage of the necessary and appropriate costs incurred in the case
- 52 -
of illness, need for nursing care, birth or death, as well as costs for early detection of
diseases and vaccinations. These percentage levels are set in accordance with so-called
assessment rates for specific persons. The same applies to all pensioners. In the federal
public service, assessment rates are graded in accordance with personal criteria.
According to this grading, active civil servants receive a 50% allowance, and retired civil
servants a 70% allowance, to partially cover their illness-related costs. The civil servants'
insurance covers 70% of spouses' and 80% of children's health care costs. As far as the
latter - whom the law on allowances calls relatives fit to be taken into consideration - are
already covered by the public health insurance as the primary insured (e.g. because they
are in employment which obligates them to compulsory social insurance), the right to
benefits resulting from this insurance preempts the right to allowances. Civil servants who
were covered by the statutory health insurance until they achieved the status of civil
servant can opt to continue their coverage under the statutory health insurance scheme,
instead of changing to a private insurer. Nevertheless, in such a case they will have to pay
the insurance premium themselves, since they - in contrast to public employees - are not
entitled to a subsidy from their employer.
In spite of their general freedom to subscribe to a private or public insurance company,

civil servants are nevertheless obliged by law to take up statutory or private nursing-care
insurance. The choice for one or the other depends on the type of health insurance,
statutory or private. The scope of benefits in the case of the need for nursing care is
subject to relevant provisions in the Code of Social Law XI (SGB XI).
According to their constitutional power to legislate in certain areas, the Lnder in their
capacity as public employers regulate these matters in their own responsibility.
Nevertheless the allowance regulations in force in the Federation and the Lnder are
largely concurrent, not least to ensure equal remuneration and pensions of all civil
servants in Germany. In some cases the Land law on civil servants refers to the federal
law on allowances and merely adds special provisions related to the specific situation in a
given Land.
- 53 -
Public expenditure for allowances
The following tables show federal public expenditure for allowances over the last 10 years
and the annual rate of change in %. The German postal services and the German railways
have not been included, since after their privatisation the two companies manage their
financial resources themselves.
Annual federal public spending for allowances

(excluding the German postal services and railways)
Expenditure for allowances in million

Year
Staff Pensioners Total
1990 238.0 296.5 534.6
1991 241.8 331.5 573.3
1992 257.4 376.6 634.0
1993 261.7 412.5 674.2
1994 259.1 460.7 719.9
1995 261.1 516.9 778.0
1996 268.2 560.7 829.0
1997 265.0 594.8 859.8
1998 261.5 624.2 885.6
1999 266.5 653.8 920.3
2000 269.6 677.0 946.6
Differences are possible due to the rounding up/down of numbers.
Source: Federal Ministries of Finance and of the Interior
- 54 -
Trends in federal expenditure for allowances

compared to previous year
change in %
15 13.6
12.2
11.8 11.7
9.5
10 8.5
6.9 6.4 6.1
4.9 4.8
3.8
5 2.7
3.5
1.6 1.7 1.9
0.8 1.2
0
-1.0 -1.2 -1.4
-5
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
staff
Beschftigte persioners
Versorgungsempfnger
The costs for allowance schemes currently equal 5% of the total federal expenditure for
remuneration and approx. 13% of the total federal expenditure for pensions.
The expenditure for allowances paid to pensioners on the federal, regional and local level
have increased from 1.4 billion in 1990 to 2.8 billion in 1999.
Expenditure for allowances paid to pensioners

from the Federation, the Lnder and municipalities
in billion
Year Total Federation Lnder Municipalities
1990 1.4 0.3 0.9 0.2
1995 2.2 0.5 1.4 0.3
1999 2.8 0.7 1.8 0.3
Source: Second Pensions Report of the Federal Government, 2001
The development of average allowances paid to individual recipients can also be broken
down to the federal and regional level.
- 55 -
Total Federation Lnder

Year
annually per beneficiary, in
1990 1,738 1,227 1,994
1995 2,761 2,147 3,068
1999 3,426 2,812 3,681
Source: Second Pensions Report of the Federal Government, 2001
Termination of the employment relationship between public employer and civil

servant
Effective employment of civil servants can only be terminated, other than by death, in the
cases permitted by law.
As a rule, the active employment of civil servants ends on retirement. By law, civil servants
must retire on reaching the age of 65. Exemptions from that rule apply to certain groups of
civil servants, for example to police and prison staff and to firefighters, who generally retire
at the age of 60. The age limits apply to women and men equally.
Civil servants may also apply for retirement at the age of 63, or at 60 in case of serious
disability. Furthermore, a civil servant must retire if he/she is permanently unable to
perform his/her official duties for health reasons and is no longer able to fully perform other
work, even after re-training ("rehabilitation before retirement"). The pension is reduced in
cases of early retirement. A striking feature is that only 9% of civil servants continue to
work up to the regular retirement age of 65 and some 16% up to the special retirement age
(60+/-), while as many as 47% retire early because of unfitness for service.
Civil servants who are no longer able to fully perform their official duties, but can work for at least half
the normal working hours, can opt for a regulation known as "limited fitness for service" introduced in
1999. This regulation provides that the civil servant continues to work as much as he/she is fit to do and
receives a salary in accordance with the reduced working hours, but at least as much as the pension
which he/she would have received in the event of inability to work. Since 1 January 2002, this regulation
also applies to civil servants who are younger than 50 years of age. This regulation expires on 31
December 2004. At the same time it has become possible for retired civil servants to re-enter the active
public service even if they are only partially fit for service.
- 56 -
Civil servants who retired in 1999

1)
by reasons for retirement
Normal retirement age

Invalidity
(65 years)
47%
9%
Special retirement age

16%
Other reasons
3% Persons age-eligible for
retirement upon
application (63 years)
25%
1) In the direct public service (excluding German railways and postal services), according to the law governing civil
servants' and soldiers' pensions and allowances
4. The foundations of the relationship between public employer and

employee
Originally the public service was the exclusive preserve of civil servants. Wage earners
were employed in the public service as support staff for the first time at the start of the 19th
century. Today about two-thirds, or 3 million, of the 4.8 million staff in the public service
have the status of public employee (salary earners and wage earners).
The high percentage of employees in the public service first of all reflects the fundamental
change in the state's perceived role. In contrast to the 19th century the state is no longer
seen exclusively as the custodian of public order, but is also considered responsible for
the growth and well-being of the community. These tasks have been assigned to a great
extent to public employees, while civil servants are mostly allocated to the classic
sovereign functions (police, inland revenue, customs administration and ministries).
Regulating employment by means of collective agreements
Like employees in the private sector, employees in the public service are employed on the
basis of an employment contract under private law. This employment contract is based on
- 57 -
the general rules of German labour law and - as in other sectors of industry - on the
specific rules of the relevant collective agreements.
The right to form associations and societies with the right to conclude collective agreements was
initially refused to public employees, and only given to industrial/private-sector workers. The door was
opened to settling arrangements for their working conditions in a collective agreement after the right to
form associations and societies was initially recognised by expressly including "civil servants and
state-workers" and was guaranteed by Art. 159 of the Weimar Constitution of 1919. The Reich Office
Workers Collective Agreement (Reichtsangestelltentarifvertrag - RAT) of 2 May 1924 played a
pioneering role for subsequent collective agreements in the public service. The Act on Collective
Agreements (Tarifvertragsgesetz) adopted after the Second World War also applied to the public
service from the outset.
Collective agreements applying to the public service are now generally uniformly negotiated between
the employers in the federal services, the Land services and the local authority services on the one
and the trade and labour unions represented in the public service on the other. The federal service is
represented on the employers' side by the Federal Minister of the Interior, who works closely here with
the Federal Minister of Finance and seeks the consent of the Federal Cabinet in important matters.
The Lnder are represented in collective agreements by their employers' association, namely the
employers' association of the German Lnder (Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Lnder, TdL) whose
elected chairman is generally the Land minister of finance. The local authority service is also
represented at federal level by an employers' association the local authorities employers' association
(VKA) - whose member associations are organised at Land level and are comprised of the local
authority territorial communities (municipalities, towns, districts, etc.) as well as local authority and
local authority-influenced enterprises (e.g. airports and savings banks). Co-operation is voluntary
between areas which have equal status.
Some of the major trade and labour unions represented in the public service today are:
ver.di - United Services Union, and

DBB - wages and salaries negotiating arm of the German Civil Service Federation.
These collective agreements specify almost all the major working conditions in the public
service. Civil servants are subject to the Collective Agreement for Salary Earners in the
Public Service (BAT) and complementary collective agreements (e.g. relating to the salary
tables and salary increases). Wage earners in the public service on the federal and Land
level are subject to one collective agreement (Framework Collective Agreement for Wage
Earners in the Public Service, MTArb). Wage earners employed in the local authority
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service are subject to a separate collective agreement (Federal Framework Agreement

for Wage Earners in Local Authority Administrations and Operations, BMT-G II), also with
additional collective agreements on individual questions.
After German unification, parallel collective agreements were concluded for the public
service in the former East Germany with differences which are being reduced in the course
of further adaptation (for salary earners the Collective Agreement for Salary Earners in the
Public Service, for wage earners the Framework Collective Agreement for Wage Earners
in the Public Service and of the new Lnder or the Federal Framework Agreement for
Wage Earners in Local Authority Administrations and Operations in the new Lnder).
Duties and rights
Generally, public employees have the same rights and duties resulting from their
employment relationship as private-sector employees. In addition to the main duty of
working, a series of additional duties exists for each employee. In general, for instance,
each employee is obliged to work towards the best interests of the employer in accordance
with his/her abilities. This duty of loyalty is particularly strong in the case of public service
employees because their employment is with a public employer and the latter performs
tasks for the public good. Public service employees are thus required among other things
to carry out their tasks for the common good, impartially and justly. Moreover there exists
the duty of political loyalty. This means that public employees have the duty to conduct
themselves in a way that reflects their commitment to the constitutional principles of the
Federal Republic of Germany. The extent of the duty of loyalty is however dependent on
the function performed, so that in this sense the requirements are only comparable in
certain positions with those of civil servants.
A public employer can punish a public employee's breach of duty set down in the
employment contract in the same way as a private employer: He/she can reproach the
employee for a certain behaviour, express disapproval of a certain behaviour, warn or
reprimand the employee. A reprimand consists of an employer's complaint that makes
clear to the employee his/her performance shortcomings indicating that the terms and
existence of the employment relationship would be placed in danger unless such
shortcoming are remedied.
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The severest punishment is, finally, termination of employment by dismissal. No provision

comparable to the disciplinary law of civil servants applies to employees in the public
service.
Since employees in the public service are employed on the basis of an employment
contract under public law, the labour courts are responsible for resolving legal disputes.
Employees can defend themselves before a labour court by means of a dismissal
protection action. They may also enforce claims emerging from employment - e.g. for a
higher pay grade because work performed meets a pay grade characteristic set out in the
collective agreement - by legal action before the labour court.
Like employees in the private sector, public employees have the right to strike in order to
enforce their demands in the framework of collective negotiations. Strikes must be
organised by the trade and labour unions and may not have any other purpose than
reshaping the working conditions or enforcing demands in collective bargaining. They are
only permissible as a last resort after all available means of reaching an agreement have
been exhausted. Political strikes are prohibited in Germany.
Advancement opportunities
In contrast to civil servants, public employees are not recruited to a particular career, but
for a specific occupation. The activity is assessed in accordance with criteria set out in the
collective agreement and forms the sole basis of placing the employee in a specific pay
grades. Promotion to the next-higher pay grade is on principle conditional on the employer
assigning the employee to a different higher-ranking function. Similar to the practice
followed in promoting civil servants, however, in most cases the collective agreements
allow for public employees to advance to the next pay grade if they have performed their
duties satisfactorily over time (so-called advancement on grounds of proven abilities). The
length of time required for such advancement varies according to pay grade; it ranges from
two years in the lowest pay grade to 15 years in one of the highest pay grades
It is common practice for employees not to be assigned permanently to a higher function

immediately, but initially only temporarily. This means that the employer has the
opportunity to examine the suitability of the employee for the higher function. This
probation period usually lasts between three and six months.
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Mobility
Employees may be transferred, seconded or allocated under the existing employment

contract. Furthermore, an employee may be temporarily seconded with his/her consent to
another public institution which is not one of the German employers (e.g. international and
intergovernmental organisations), or also assigned to a non-public institution. A transfer to
another public employer is not possible. In such a case a new employment contract must
be concluded. Public employees may also take unpaid leave, like civil servants.
Changes in terms of employment
An alteration of the conditions of employment to the disadvantage of the employee, e.g.

assignment to a lower-paid job, may not be ordered unilaterally by the employer. Doing so
requires that the employment contract be changed by mutual agreement or by way of
termination of contract with the option of altered conditions of employment.
Social security
Public employees are by law generally obligated to be insured in the statutory social
insurance, i.e. they are members of the statutory health, long-term care, accident,
pensions and unemployment insurance schemes. The public employer and employee
share the costs of social insurance in accordance with the applicable contribution rate
which is a defined percentage of the gross income (the cost of accident insurance is borne
by the employer alone).
Social insurance contribution rates in % in 2002
Pensions insurance Unemployment Health insurance Nursing-care Social insurance

insurance insurance
19.1 6.5 13.5 1.7 40.8
This means that the amount of contribution depends on the income level; social insurance
contributions are calculated on gross income only up to a certain limit (income limit for the
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assessment of contributions). Income exceeding this limit is not taken into account in
calculating contributions. Generally the contribution rates and the income limits for the
assessment of contributions are reset every year. In addition, public employees are
enrolled in an occupational pension scheme known as supplementary pension for public
employees.
There is an exception to obligatory membership in statutory social insurance in the case of health
insurance: If the public employee's income exceeds the contribution assessment limit, he/she may take
up insurance either voluntarily in the statutory health insurance or with a private health insurance fund.
If the employee is insured in a private health insurance fund, he/she receives from the employer an
allowance towards the contribution up to the amount which the employer would have to pay if the
employee were a member of the statutory health insurance. Up to now, these public employees have
been able to claim government aid instead of this allowance in the same way as civil servants.
Termination of employment
The employment relationship between public employer and employee may be ended by
terminating the employment contract. To terminate the employment contract the staff
council must be involved, otherwise the termination is invalid. A distinction is made
between termination with due notice (routine dismissal) and exceptional termination. They
differ with regard to the notice period and the grounds for termination.
Routine dismissals are subject to a defined notice period. This period is two weeks to the
end of the month during the six-month probationary period. After six months, the notice
period increases to one month and rises - depending on the length of employment - up to
six months. After 15 years of employment, but not before the employee has reached the
age of 40, employment of public employees subject to the Federal Collective Agreement
for Public Employees/Framework Collective Agreement for Wage Earners in the Public
Service can no longer be terminated with due notice.
Such routine termination of the contract by the employer requires a cause justifying this
from a social point of view. Termination is only socially justified if it is brought about by
reasons inherent in the character or conduct of the employee, or because of urgent
operational requirements standing in the way of the continued employment of the
employee in this operation.
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Exceptional termination for serious reasons is permissible without adhering to a notice

period. There must be circumstances making continued employment until expiry of the
notice period unacceptable for the employer. Even employees whose contract in fact may
not be terminated with due notice can be dismissed without notice on grounds of their
personal behaviour.
Legislation provides particular protection against termination of contracts of conscripts,

pregnant women, severely disabled staff and staff representatives; such protection also
applies to employees who, on the basis of collective agreements, have taken on other
work in the context of rationalisation measures, or whose working hours have been
reduced in order to avoid termination on operational grounds (e.g. layoffs).
Other grounds for termination are:
Contract of annulment: The employment contract may be ended at any time by

mutual consent.
Reaching the retirement age: Employment ends at the end of the month in which
the employee turns 65. If the employee wishes to terminate the employment
contract earlier because he/she is entitled to premature pensions from the
pensions insurance or the supplementary pensions scheme, employer and
employee must conclude a contract of annulment.
Reduced working capacity: Employment ends if it is established that the

employee is able to work only to a limited extent. In the case of partially reduced
working capacity the employee has the right to continued employment, provided
an adequate position is available.
Expiry: Temporary employment ends at the time specified in the contract of

employment. However, temporary employment is only permissible with sufficient
reason (a temporary employment contract may not be used to circumvent
statutory protection against dismissal). An exception from this rule is allowed only
in the case of first employment, when the contract may be limited for two years
without reason.
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Termination of contract during the probationary period: During the probationary period
at the beginning of employment (six months in the case of salary earners and
three months in the case of wage earners), the employer can make use of a
facilitated termination procedure.
5. General terms of employment for civil servants and public employees
Irrespective of the different regulation procedures - unilateral regulation (statutes and

ordinances) for civil servants, and collective agreements for public employees - many of
the terms and conditions of employment are the same for the two groups, so that they can
be described together.
Working hours
The normal working week is between 38.5 and 40 hours, not including breaks.
Civil servants in the Lnder and local authorities have a standard 40-hour-
working week. Federal civil servants and those in the public service of the city of
Hamburg and the Lnder of Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia have a 38.5-hour
working week, while in Berlin the working week is 39.5 hours.
The standard working week in the former West Germany consists of 38.5 hours,
while in the former East Germany it consists of 40 hours.
The working hours specified must constitute an average. The number of working hours
may be lower or higher in the individual weeks, depending on operational requirements
and agreements with the staff council.
The start and end of the work day are established in service agreements between the
respective employer and the staff council. Flexitime is also practised in many cases here:
Staff members are able to plan their daily working hours themselves, apart from a specific
"core time"; time credits or hours owed must be taken care of within certain periods.
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Overtime
Public service staff is obliged to work overtime, or at night or on bank holidays or shifts
where necessary. The staff council has a say in what time of day employees must work
overtime and how it is to be distributed among employees.
Different regulations on compensation for overtime apply to civil servants and public
employees. On principle, overtime is to be primarily compensated for by time off; civil
servants may however only claim this compensation if they have worked more than five
hours of overtime per month. In addition to compensatory time off, public employees also
receive overtime pay, (for each hour compensated for between 15% and 25% of the hourly
salary, depending on the pay grade).
If it is impossible to compensate for overtime with leave, employees are paid the
respective hourly salary, plus 15% to 25%. In the case of civil servants, payment is
permitted only in certain areas, and the payment is in accordance with a flat-rate hourly
salary.
Part-time work
Part-time work is specifically promoted in the public service, and is becoming even more
popular. More detailed information is available on the Internet at www.bmi.bund.de or
www.teilzeit-info.de. The Federal Ministry of the Interior has drawn up a guide on part-
time employment which is also available on the Internet at www.bmi.bund.de.
The possibility for civil servants to work part-time has developed gradually. Since 1997 civil
servants, upon formal request, may be employed part-time, with no particular
preconditions and with no limit in terms of hours, if this does not interfere with operational
interests. If part-time employment is applied for in order to care for children or other
relatives in need of care, the civil servant has a right to work part-time, and this may only
be rejected in rare exceptions. In teh case of such family reasons, civil servants may also
work less than 50% of the full-time, whilst in other cases civil servants must work a
minimum of 50%.
The Act on part-time work and limited employment (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz), which
came into force on 1 January 2001, grants public employees the right to part-time work, on
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the basis of a consensus between employers and employees. The employer's legitimate
interests are respected by giving employers the right to reject the employee's application
for part-time work on operational grounds.
In the case of part-time employment, the salaries are on principle proportional to the
number of working hours. It is not permissible to exclude part-time workers from certain
benefits altogether.
Part-time staff in the public service

number
1 500 000
1 000 000
500 000
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
The proportion of part-time workers in the public service was 25% in 2000 (26% excluding professional
and fixed-term military personnel). For female staff the proportion was 41.2%. Hence the public service
plays a pioneering role in comparison to private industry.
Differences exist between civil servants and employees. For civil servants the proportion of part-time
workers was only 15.5% (female civil servants 37.0%), for public employees, on the other hand, it was
30.7% (female employees 42.7%). Of all part-time employees 85.3% were working at least half the
regular hours, and the rest less than half. There are also distinct differences between the areas of
employment: For instance, the proportion of part-time workers was higher among Land civil servants - in
particular because of teachers - than among federal civil servants.
Part-time staff (including old-age part-time work) as per 30 June 2000

Local authorities/ associations of Indirect
Total Federation Lnder local authorities joint local public
authorities: service
civil servants and judges 279,000 8,900 243,700 19,600 6,800
proportion of women in % 84.9 51.3 86.3 86.3 73.4
salary earners 727,400 20,900 288,700 330,500 87,300
wage earners 202,800 6,600 27,000 156,000 13,200
Total 1,209,200 36,400 559,500 506,000 107,300
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Old-age part-time work
Old-age part-time work as a subcategory of part-time work was introduced in 1996 with the
Act to promote a gradual transition of elderly workers into retirement (Altersteilzeitgesetz).
This Act provided the legal basis upon which in 1998 the collective agreement regulating
old-age part-time work was reached for public employees. Along these lines, statutory
regulations governing old-age part-time work were adopted for civil servants. Old-age part-
time work enables older staff to terminate their active working life prematurely and to move
smoothly into retirement. Full-time or part-time workers who have reached the age of 55
are eligible for old-age part-time work . All staff have the right to old-age part-time work
from the age of 60 onwards, if no operational reasons are against this. Those who opt for
old-age part-time work may choose between two models, the part-time or en bloc model.
Over the whole period of old-age part-time work the working hours are reduced by 50%.
Those who chose the part-time model will work reduced hours for the whole duration of the
part-time contract, while those who chose the en bloc model will work full-time for a certain
duration of time and will be released from work altogether towards the end of the part-time
contract.
For the whole duration of the old-age part-time agreement, all staff, no matter which model
they opted for, receive half of their former salary, which is increased by the employer to
83% of the former net salary.
Number of old-age part-time staff as per 30 June 2000
Federation Lnder
Civil servants/judges 3,400 5,600
Salary earners/wage earners in
the public service 5,300 15,400
If the employer hires unemployed persons or apprentices to fill the jobs directly or
indirectly vacated, a major part of the additional expense for this is refunded by the labour
administration since such hired reduce the burden on the unemployment insurance
system. Refunds by the labour administration are paid only for public employees, not civil
servants.
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Telework
The modern work model known as telework is becoming increasingly important in

Germany's public service. Both civil servants and public employees may conclude
individual telework agreements with their employer if the duties related with their function
can be fulfilled this way.
In the interest of maintaining employee's integration into and identification with the
agency, telework arrangements usually involve alternating between workplaces at home
and office according to what has been agreed between employer and employee/civil
servant.
In 1999, the federal administration launched three pilot projects with 47 telework positions.
In 2001, this number rose to 752 and at the beginning of 2002 to 992.
Holidays
All public service staff have 26 working days of holiday up to the age of 30, 29 days
between the ages of 30 and 40 (30 working days from the A 15 pay grade upwards), and
30 working days from the age of 40 onwards (on the basis of the five-day working week,
this therefore corresponds to a total of six weeks).
There is also paid leave at short notice for special occasions, for certain family
events, for a relocation for occupational reasons, to carry out civic duties, to care
for sick relatives at short notice and others.
Long-term unpaid leave may be granted on request
to care for family members,
for other important personal reasons if operational circumstances permit this, or
to exercise another activity which is in the interest of the service.
Maternity protection, parental leave
Pregnant public service staff are released from their duties for six weeks before and eight
weeks after giving birth (twelve weeks in the case of premature and multiple births; with
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premature births additionally the time of the six weeks prior to birth not used) just as in
private industry. Female civil servants continue to receive their remuneration, whilst
female employees receive a combination of maternity benefit from the statutory health
insurance and a supplement from the employers up to the amount of their salary.
After this period of maternity leave, either both parents together or the mother or father
alone may take parental leave, until the child has reached the age of three. In Germany all
employees are entitled to this legal right. Parental leave is unpaid. Nevertheless all
employees receive a public social benefit the amount of which depends on the monthly
income but may not exceed 306.78 per month.
Continued payment of salary in case of illness
In case of illness, civil servants continue to receive their remuneration with no time limit
(they may be retired in the case of a long-term illness). This is in line with the special
nature of civil servants' employment for life with the duty of the employer to ensure the
maintenance of such civil servants.
In case of illness, employees continue to receive their salaries/wages on the basis of

general German labour law, but improved by means of the collective agreements: The
employer pays the full salary for up to six weeks, with previous bonuses and overtime pay
being included in the calculation. If the illness continues for more than six weeks,
employees receive "sick pay" (90% of net wages or salary) as a health insurance benefit
from the seventh week onwards. Additionally, the employer pays the difference between
"sick pay" and the previous net wages/salary (also including bonuses, overtime pay, etc.).
After employment of between one and three years, this allowance is paid until the end of
the 13th week of illness; with employment of more than three years, it is paid until the end
of the 26th week of illness*).
*)
For public employees who were already employed in June 1994, however, the regulation valid until that
year still applies, according to which the employer continued to pay the full salary/wage, depending on the
length of service, for up to 26 weeks (rather than only paying the difference between "sick pay" and last net
wages/salary).
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Service anniversaries
Employees receive an "anniversary bonus" of 306.78, 409.03 and 511.29 and a day
off after service of 25, 40 and 50 years respectively. Some Lnder have however
abolished these anniversary bonuses for their civil servants.
Outside activities
Public service staff are permitted to engage in outside activities only to a limited extent.
The possibilities of holding outside positions are or may be restricted to differing extents
depending on the nature of the activities:
Engaging in outside activities requires the express prior approval of the superior
(with a few exceptions which are expressly named in law). Permission is to be
refused if it cannot be ruled out that the outside position might interfere with
operational interests. Such a reason for refusal exists, for instance, if the outside
activity takes up more than eight hours per week of the time of the civil servant or
might influence his/her impartiality.
Outside activities which, due to their very nature, do not give rise to an
expectation of a conflict, such as all private activities, but also literary, scientific,
artistic or lecturing activities do not require prior approval. Paid outside activities
must be reported in advance to the superior. However, the superior may prohibit
such outside activities - whether they are reportable or not - if it has been
established or is almost certain that the staff member will fail to comply with
his/her official duties.
Moreover, outside positions outside the public service may on principle only be exercised
before or after working hours and outside the office.
At the request of their employer, civil servants may be obliged to hold outside positions.
Outside positions held at the employer's request, or voluntarily on his behalf or on behalf of
another public entity, institution or foundation under public law, shall be deemed as
"outside positions within the public service". In such a case, compensation is granted only
if this outside position has to be held without adequate release from the duties of the main
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position. In cases where compensation is granted, annual compensation ceilings exist

which are graded according to pay grades, or repayment obligations where these are
exceeded. Certain types of outside positions which are expressly named in the relevant
ordinances of the Federation and the Lnder are excluded from such compensation ceiling
and repayment obligation.
With regard to outside activities of salary earners, the collective bargaining agreement
refers to the regulations applying to civil servants. Hence, restrictions applicable to civil
servants apply to salary earners in the public service accordingly. Paid outside activities of
wage earners require the consent of the employer.
Staff representation
In a similar way to the Act Governing Labour Relations at the Work Place
(Betriebsverfassungsgesetz) applicable to the private sector, the Federal Personnel
Representation Act (Personalvertretungsgesetz) governs the right of all public service staff
to be involved in all matters affecting their interests.
In accordance with the distribution of responsibilities set out in the Basic Law, the rights of
participation are governed by the staff representation laws of the Federation and the
Lnder, which are largely identical.
The participation of the staff councils is intended to ensure that public service's staff
interests warranting protection are taken into account. Participation is restricted to internal
affairs.
In all agencies the staff elect local staff councils. Corresponding to the multiple-tier
administrative structure, in addition to the local staff council, there is a main staff council at
the superior authority of the intermediate tier, as well as a district staff council, and a
central staff council at the highest authority (e.g. a ministry) (also known as "gradual
representation"). These staff councils are elected by the staff of the respective agencies.
The size of the staff councils depends on the size of the agencies. Here, the different
groups of staff, i.e. wage earners, salary earners and civil servants, must be proportionally
represented.
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Number of members on staff councils in accordance with the Federal Staff Representation Act
Number of staff Size of staff council
5 to 20 one member
21 to 50 three members
51 to 150 five members
151 to 300 seven members
301 to 600 nine members
601 to 1,000 eleven members
In agencies with 1,001 to 5,000 employees, the number of members increases by two for each
started 1,000; with 5,001 or more employees by two for each further started 2,000. The maximum
number is 31.
The district or the central staff council is involved only if matters concerning the staff of the
intermediate authority or of the ministry itself, the respective subordinate authorities or the
entire department are to be decided on.
Staff councils have a wide variety of rights of participation, namely rights of

codetermination, hearing, advising and notification.
The local staff council shall be involved in matters exclusively regarding the respective
agency, while the district or central staff council shall be involved in matters regarding the
respective subordinate authority or the whole purview of the highest authority.
Measures subject to codetermination (such as appointments, transfers, promotions,

employment beyond the retirement age, establishment and dissolution of social
institutions, assessment guidelines, measures to prevent accidents at work and workplace
design) may only be taken with the consent of the staff council. If no agreement is reached
at local level, the superior agency, and finally the highest authority (ministry) may be called
upon, which involves its central staff council (district staff council, central staff council). If
no agreement can be reached here either, a conciliation body composed of equal numbers
of representatives from both parties, takes a decision. Its decision is however only a
recommendation if it touches on the parliamentary accountability of the central
administration. These are for instance personnel matters and organisational decisions.
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If the staff council merely contributes to decisions (e.g. merger of agencies, early
retirement, termination of employment contract with due notice), the intended measure is
to be discussed with it in good time and in detail. If no agreement is reached, the matter
can be submitted to the highest service authority, as is the case with codetermination. The
latter then takes a definitive decision after negotiating with the central staff council.
The weakest rights of involvement are the rights of hearing, advising and notification. They
do not give rise to a veto, nor do they lead to superior agencies becoming involved. These
include for instance basic changes in working procedures and processes, passing on
personnel requirements, new buildings, conversions and extensions, advisory participation
in examinations and exceptional termination.
The participation of the staff council in employment contract terminations is however

extremely important in that it is a precondition for the validity of these measures under
labour law. With certain objections from the staff council against the dismissal of an
employee with due notice, the agency is also obliged to continue to employ the dismissed
person until any dismissal protection proceedings have been concluded.
6. Occupational health and safety
Generally there is no difference between the public and private sectors with regard to
occupational health and safety regulations. Public occupational health and safety
regulations, which are oriented towards European law, also apply to the public service.
Exceptions shall be permissible when the public interest so requires (for example for
certain activities of the police, the federal border police, the fire brigades or the federal
armed forces). Compliance with public regulations is generally monitored by occupational
health and safety agencies of the Lnder. The central office for occupational health and
safety at the Federal Ministry of the Interior is the competent agency within the federal
public service. The federal executing agency of the accident insurance scheme acts on its
behalf. Special regulations apply for some federal ministries.
Like employers' liability insurance associations in the private sector, special accident
insurance institutions exist for salary and wage earners in the public service, which have
the status of autonomous "accident insurers" of local authorities and the Lnder. Like their
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private counterparts, they adopt regulations on accident prevention and monitor

compliance with these regulations. The Federal Ministry of the Interior or, more precisely,
the Central Office for Occupational Health and Safety (Zentralstelle fr Arbeitsschutz), is
the competent authority for the federal public service, with exceptional regulations for
some federal ministries.
Under the provisions of the public accident insurance, salary and wage earners in the
public service, like their counterparts in the private sector, are insured against occupational
accidents and occupational illness with the competent accident insurance institutions
(accident insurers or executing agencies). Contributions are borne by the public
employers.
Civil servants are not insured with the public accident insurance fund. Protection in the
case of on-the-job accidents and occupational illness is ensured directly by the employer
on the basis of the Act Governing Civil Servants' Pensions and Allowances
(Beamtenversorgungsgesetz) (c.f. "Social insurance").
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IV. The pay systems in the public service
1. The remuneration of civil servants
Legal basis
The remuneration of civil servants, judges and military personnel (i.e. professional and
fixed-term military personnel) is governed by the Civil Servants Remuneration Act
(Bundesbesoldungsgesetz - BBesG). It applies to all civil servants of the Federation,
Lnder, local authorities and local authorities associations, as well as of other bodies,
institutions and foundations under public law. The law on remuneration is uniform
throughout Germany; specific characteristics for civil servants in the individual Lnder may
only be taken into account where the Civil Servants Remuneration Act permits exceptions.
All regulations relating to remuneration by law or ordinance which refer not only to federal
public service staff require the approval of the chamber of the Lnder (Bundesrat).
The basis for remuneration is the so-called maintenance principle, which is one of the
principles of the professional civil service guaranteed by the Constitution (Art. 33 (5) of the
Basic Law). According to this, the employer is obliged to provide suitable maintenance
commensurate to the office assigned (but not the specific function) to active civil servants,
also if they become disabled or reach retirement age. Remuneration is intended to ensure
that civil servants are able to devote themselves entirely to their jobs; only a financially
independent civil service is able to fulfil the functions assigned to it by the Constitution.
Unlike that of public employees, the remuneration of civil servants is not a direct payment
for individual work done, but compensation for their service as a whole, in other words for
civil servants making their entire working capacity available to the general public and
carrying out their duties to the best of their ability (civil servants with life tenure).
The parliament does however have considerable scope for discretion in assessing which
remuneration is suitable. The maintenance principle sets a general standard to be given
concrete form in each case in accordance with the circumstances at the time.
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Elements of remuneration
Remuneration, which is paid monthly in advance, consists primarily of the basic salary.
This is supplemented by the family allowance, as well as allowances in specific cases.
Performance bonuses or performance allowances, as well as special allowances in
accordance with labour market conditions may also be paid. Special expatriation
allowances apply to assignments abroad. In addition, civil servants receive annual special
payments and capital-forming benefits.
Basic salary
The basic salary is the main element of remuneration; it is determined in accordance with
the pay grade of the office held. It is therefore not a matter of which function the civil
servant actually performs, but solely of the pay grade of the office assigned to him/her.
The offices and their pay grades are governed by the Federal Remuneration Schemes
(Bundesbesoldungsordnungen), and additionally where appropriate by the Land
Remuneration Schemes (Landesbesoldungsordnungen).
There are four remuneration schemes. Schemes A and B govern the remuneration of civil
servants and military personnel, scheme C that of professors and lecturers at higher
education institutions, and scheme R governs the remuneration of judges and public
prosecutors.
Civil servants in pay grades A 2 to A 16 (the vast majority of all civil servants and military
personnel) and C 1 to C 4 (for professors and lecturers at higher education institutes)
receive incremental salaries, whilst civil servants in pay grades B 1 to B 11 receive fixed
salaries. Scheme B applies to civil servants and military personnel in senior positions
(such as state secretaries, directors general, deputy directors general, head of divisions,
presidents of higher federal authorities, generals, etc.). Remuneration scheme R (for
judges and public prosecutors) contains both incremental and fixed salaries (pay grades
R 1 and R 2 incremental, R 3 to R 10 fixed salaries).
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Remuneration scheme A assigns the following pay grades to the different careers for civil
servants:
ordinary service: pay grades A 2 to A 6

intermediate service: pay grades A 6 to A 9
higher intermediate service: pay grades A 9 to A 13
higher service: pay grades A 13 to A 16, B 1 to B 11.
The top pay grade of a lower class of service is usually the entrance pay grade of the next
class. In contrast to the fixed salaries, with incremental salaries the basic salary within the
individual pay grades is divided into steps. Progression up the steps is governed by the
civil servants age, as a rule from the age of 21 onwards, and performance. As a minimum,
the initial basic salary of the respective pay grade is paid. The basic salary increases
within the respective pay grade up to the fifth step at intervals of two years, up to the ninth
step at intervals of three years, and beyond this at intervals of four years. In the higher pay
grades of the higher intermediate and higher services, the final basic salary can be
reached at the earliest at the age of 49 and 53, respectively1)
Federal Remuneration Scheme A
Basic Salaries
( per month)
valid as per 1 January 2002
Pay Increase at a 2-year interval 3-year interval 4-year interval
grade Step
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
A2 1411.65 1445.74 1479.83 1513.93 1548.02 1582.13 1616.22
A3 1470.53 1506.81 1543.08 1579.36 1615.64 1651.92 1688.2
A4 1503.93 1546.65 1589.35 1632.07 1674.78 1717.49 1760.2
A5 1516.08 1570.77 1613.26 1655.75 1698.25 1740.73 1783.23 1825.72
A6 1551.98 1598.64 1645.29 1691.94 1738.6 1785.26 1831.92 1878.57 1925.23
A7 1620.19 1662.12 1720.83 1779.54 1838.24 1896.95 1955.66 1997.58 2039.52 2081.46
A8 1721.69 1771.85 1847.09 1922.32 1997.55 2072.79 2122.95 2173.1 2223.27 2273.42
A9 1834.32 1883.67 1963.96 2044.26 2124.55 2204.85 2260.05 2315.25 2370.45 2425.65
A 10 1976.48 2045.07 2147.94 2250.82 2353.7 2456.57 2525.16 2593.74 2662.32 2730.91
A 11 2278.37 2383.78 2489.19 2594.61 2700.03 2770.3 2840.57 2910.86 2981.14 3051.41
A 12 2450.28 2575.97 2701.64 2827.32 2953,00 3036.78 3120.57 3204.35 3288.14 3371.92
A 13 2758.01 2893.72 3029.44 3165.15 3300.86 3391.34 3481.82 3572.29 3662.77 3753.25
A 14 2870.44 3046.44 3222.42 3398.41 3574.4 3691.73 3809.06 3926.38 4043.71 4161.04
A 15 3737.16 3930.65 4085.45 4240.24 4395.03 4549.83 4704.62
A 16 4127.57 4351.35 4530.38 4709.42 4888.43 5067.46 5246.49
1)
Prior to the Act to Amend the Public Service Law (Dienstrechtsreformgesetz) of 1997 the basic salary
generally increased at two-year intervals (as is still the case with public employees). Thus, the final
basic salary was reached at an earlier age. The Act to Amend the Public Service Law extended these
- 77 -
Federal Remuneration Scheme B
Basic salaries
(valid as of 1 January 2002)
Basic salary
Pay grade
per month
B1 4,704.62
B2 5,473.00
B3 5,798.27
B4 6,138.96
B5 6,529.83
B6 6,898.94
B7 7,257.99
B8 7,632.22
B9 8,096.87
B 10 9,539.79
B 11 10,353.56
It has been possible since 1997 to advance to the next step in remuneration scheme A (in
case of consistently outstanding performance) in only half the usual time (performance
step). An early increase in the basic salary is irrevocable and is meant for long-term high
performers. If a civil servants level of performance is not suitable, he or she does not
move on to the next step in the basic salary until performance justifies such a move.
Performance steps may not be granted to civil servants on probation. The performance
step may be given in each calendar year to up to 10% of the civil servants, judges and
military personnel in employment on 1 January with an employer under remuneration
scheme A and who have not yet reached the final basic salary. On the basis of its
progress report on the amendment of public service law adopted on 20 June 2001, the
Federal Government intends to improve these provisions; the legislative procedure has not
been concluded yet.
Reform measures ( p. 98)
The following table provides an overview of the allocation of certain functions to specific
pay grades.
intervals from 1997 onwards to 3 or 4 years from the 5th step upwards; conversely, it introduced the
possibility of earlier progression as a reward for outstanding performance.
- 78 -
Functions and pay grades
Function Title Pay grade

Messenger Oberamtsgehilfe / Oberamtsgehilfin A2
Hauptgefreiter (Lance Corporal) A4
Unteroffizier (Sergeant) A5
Office clerk Sekretr / Sekretrin A6
Stabsunteroffizier (Sergeant) A6
Policeman Polizeimeister / Polizeimeisterin A7
Assistant desk officer Inspektor / Inspektorin A9
(e.g. in a tax office)
Policeman Polizeikommissar / Polizeikommissarin A9
Leutnant (Second Lieutenant) A9
Polizeioberkommissar / A 10
Polizeioberkommissarin
Engineer (Fachhochschule) Technischer Regierungsoberinspektor A 10
(starting office)
Company commander Hauptmann (Captain) A 12
Teacher at an elementary school / Lehrer / Lehrerin (Teacher) A 12
Hauptschule
Policeman Polizeihauptkommissar / A 12
Polizeihauptkommissarin
Teacher at a Realschule Realschullehrer / Realschullehrerin A 13
Desk officer in a ministry Regierungsrat / Regierungsrtin A 13
Oberregierungsrat / Oberregierungsrtin A 14
Regierungsdirektor /Regierungsdirektorin A 15
Full-time mayor in a town with up to Brgermeister / Brgermeisterin (Mayor) A 15
10,000 inhabitants
Teacher at a Gymnasium Studienrat / Studienrtin A 13
Oberstudienrat / Oberstudienrtin A 14
Studiendirektor / Studiendirektorin A 15
Commander of a battalion Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-Colonel) A 14
Head of division in a federal ministry Ministerialrat / Ministerialrtin A 16/B 3
Head of an embassy Botschafter / Botschafterin (Ambassador) A 16/B 3
Full-time mayor in a town with up to Oberbrgermeister / Oberbrgermeisterin B6
100,000 inhabitants
Brigade commander Brigadegeneral (Brigadier) B6
Director in a federal ministry Ministerialdirigent / Ministerialdirigentin B6
Division commander Generalmajor (Major General) B7
Director-General in a federal ministry Ministerialdirektor / Ministerialdirektorin B9
State secretary in a federal ministry Staatssekretr / Staatssekretrin (State B 11
Secretary)
- 79 -
The distribution of active civil servants and judges among the different pay grades at the
federal level, the level of the Lnder and at local level is as follows:
Civil servants and judges divided into pay grades
300000
250000
200000
Federation
Lnder
150000
Local authorities
100000
50000
0
A1-A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A 10 A 11 A 12 A 13 A 14, A 15, A 16, B 2, B 3, B4-
C 1 C 2, C 3, B1 R 3, B11,
R1 R2 C4 R4-
R10
For the Lnder, the preponderance of pay grade A 9 is accounted for by the police, and
that of pay grades A 12 and A 13 by teachers. Approximately 95% of all civil servants are
in pay grades A 5 to A 15.
Family allowance
The family allowance (previously: local cost-of-living allowance, which was originally
intended to compensate for the differences in the cost of living of civil servants in individual
posts) is a part of remuneration, in the same way as the basic salary. Its amount depends
on the family situation of the civil servant, and in step 1 also on the pay grade. In line with
the maintenance principle, the family allowance also takes account of the additional
burdens typically involved with having a family in comparison with single civil servants.
The family allowance paid in step 1 (so-called marriage allowance) is paid to married,
widowed and divorced civil servants (if obligated to pay a maintenance allowance resulting
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from the marriage). In the lower pay grades up to A 8 it is 95.96, from A 9 upwards it is
100.78 per month.
For each child to be taken into account, the family allowance is increased by 86.21, from
the third child onwards by 114.35 per month.
In accordance with the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court of 24 November 1998
on the appropriate level of maintenance paid to civil servants with many children, civil
servants receive monthly benefits of 106.39 in addition to the family allowance from the
third child onwards as from 2002.
Independently of the payment of the family allowance, civil servants, judges and military
personnel, as other citizens, are entitled to the general state child benefit payments.
From 2002 onwards, the monthly figure for this is
for the first, second and third child 154 each

for each additional child 179.
Allowances
Allowances are additional payments made in all areas of work, and hence also in the
public service, in addition to the basic remuneration (basic salary/family allowance) in
recognition of specific requirements and services. There are three groups of allowances:
Functional allowances: These serve to differentiate between the offices, are

issued in the remuneration schemes of the offices themselves and are
considered an element of the basic salary. They are automatically included in
the general salary increases and are also taken into account in calculating
pensions. Thus, for instance, in the top pay grade of the intermediate service
pay grade A 9 - up to 30% of civil servants may receive a functional allowance if
they perform functions exceeding the general level of this pay grade.
Post allowance: There are post allowances for performing outstanding

functions, such as the police allowance and fire service allowance ( 127.38),
an intelligence service allowance (depending on the pay grade, between
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115.04 and 191.73), a flight crew allowance ( 294.50 - 460.16) and a prison staff
allowance ( 95.53). There is the so-called ministerial allowance for work in the
federal ministries and at the highest federal courts, the amount of which
depends on the pay grade (e.g. 181.51 in pay grade A 13). Most civil servants
receive a "general post allowance", which was introduced at the time in order to
harmonise the development in remuneration at the federal level and in the
Lnder. After being partly incorporated in the basic salaries, this allowance
ranges between 15.68 and 68.17.
In the past the greater part of the post allowances was pensionable, and was also indexed
along with general salary increases. With the 1998 Pensions Reform Act
(Versorgungsreformgesetz) the pensionability and indexing of the post allowances were
abolished from 1999 onwards.
Extra pay for difficult working conditions/overtime pay: This is remuneration for
work which is carried out either outside normal working hours or under difficult
conditions, e.g. 2.61 per hour for work on Sundays or bank holidays, 1.28
per hour for work at night, between 35.79 and 102.26 per month for
alternating shifts and shift work, between 15.34 and 61.36 for nursing
service, as well as allowances for flying activities, for divers, for certain military
deployment, etc. There are only certain areas (teachers, the police, customs,
the fire brigade) and specific service schedules for which overtime is paid.
Overtime is paid in terms of a flat-rate, proportional hourly wage. Extra pay for
difficult working conditions and overtime pay are not pensionable. In the case of
illness, only such extra pay for difficult working conditions is provided which is
set out in monthly sums.
At the federal level, almost 4% of total expenditure for remuneration of federal civil
servants and military personnel is currently spent on allowances.
Performance bonuses and allowances
The Act to Amend the Public Service Law (Gesetz zur Reform des ffentlichen
Dienstrechts) of 24 February 1997 entitled the Federal and Land Governments to
introduce for their areas by means of legal ordinances performance allowances and
- 82 -
bonuses for outstanding special performance. These performance-related instruments

make it possible to react directly and quickly to service performance and to increase the
motivation of particularly well-skilled and high-performing staff; they supplement the
performance steps in the basic salary, which were also introduced with the 1997 Act to
Amend the Public Service Law. In order to prevent performance bonuses and allowances
becoming set elements of remuneration and to keep them from becoming routine, there
are restrictions in the Civil Servants Remuneration Act with regard to the beneficiaries
(10% of civil servants and military personnel with incrementally rising salaries), the amount
and modes of payment.
The performance bonus as a one-off payment is the clearest way to emphasise its
particular nature as a reward because it is given for an outstanding service which has
already been provided, and hence does not become a routine additional payment. A bonus
may be granted up to the amount of the respective basic starting monthly salary of the civil
servant.
Example: In pay grade A 13 a performance bonus in the form of a one-off payment of

up to a maximum of the basic starting salary of pay grade A 13, in other words at
present 2,758.01, may be paid.
The continuous performance allowance is dependent on a positive performance evaluation

and is time-limited (at most twelve months) and paid monthly up to 7% of the basic starting
salary; it may be revoked.
Example: In pay grade A 13 a performance allowance in the form of a monthly

payment up to a maximum of 7% of the basic starting salary of pay grade A 13 (
2,758.01 x 7%=) 193.06 for at most twelve months (= 2,316.72 in total) may be
paid.
For the federal service, the details have been set out in the Ordinance on Performance
Bonuses (Leistungsprmienverordnung) and in the Ordinance on Performance Allowances
(Leistungszulagenverordnung) of 1997 (BGBl. I, p. 1598).
On the basis of its progress report on the amendment of public service law adopted on 20
June 2001, the Federal Government intends to improve these provisions.
- 83 -
Special allowances to ensure functionality and competitiveness
To deal with acute staff shortages, special allowances may be paid in the framework of
budgetary provisions where this is necessary in a specific case. The special allowance
may not exceed a maximum of 10% of the basic monthly starting salary of the pay grade
of the civil servant or member of the military. The basic salary and the special allowance
together may not exceed the final basic salary. The decision to grant special allowances is
taken by the highest responsible service authority in co-ordination with the ministry in
charge of remuneration or by the body specified by the latter. Details are governed in
Section 72 of the Civil Servants Remuneration Act.
Expatriation allowances
Civil servants, judges and military personnel officially living and working abroad receive the
following expatriation allowances, in addition to their domestic remuneration:
an expatriation bonus for work performed abroad,

an expatriation child bonus, and
a rent subsidy.
Additionally, a portion of this remuneration is subject to calculation of differences in the

purchasing power in terms of additions or subtractions. These arrangements also apply to
public employees, as appropriate.
- 84 -
Salary examples (gross monthly salaries) 2002
Starting salary Final salary

Police officer, intermediate service on entry at age 19 typical career at age 50
Pay grade/salary A7 1,706 A9 2,621

Civil servant in public administration,
higher intermediate service on entry at age 22 typical career at age 54
(e.g. at a tax office)
A 11 3,126
Pay grade/salary A9 1,909 A 12 3,447
Junior school teacher on entry at age 25 at age 54
Pay grade/salary A 12 2,457 A 12 3,379

Civil servant in public administration, on entry at age 29 typical career at age 54
higher service (e.g. lawyer as
professional deputy in an intermediate
authority) A 13 3,104 A 15 4,711
Pay grade/salary
Director in a Land ministry, head of pay grade B 3 (fixed salaries)
division in a federal ministry, mayor in 5,805
a town with more than 10,000 and up
to 30,000 inhabitants
Family allowance for spouse: Pay grades A 1 A 8: 95.96, other pay grades: 100.78
Family allowance per child: First and second child: 86.21, from the third child onwards: 220.74.
2. The pay of public employees
Legal basis
The pay of public employees is governed by collective agreements concluded between the
public employers and the trade unions - as are the terms of employment in general. The
principles of pay are to be found in the Collective Agreement for Salary Earners in the
Public Service (BAT) and in the Framework Collective Agreement for Wage Earners in the
Public Service (MTArb) of the Federation and the Lnder. The pay itself is governed by
collective agreements relating to salaries and wages, which are renegotiated usually
annually between employers and trade unions and may be terminated with a certain
- 85 -
notice period. The current agreements are Agreement no. 34 annexed to the BAT
(governing salaries) and Agreement Nr. 4 annexed to the MTArb (governing monthly
wages) of 30 June 2000, determining salaries and wages from 1 April 2000 to 31 October
2002. Individual agreements may be concluded for senior functions above the highest pay
grades covered by the collective agreements.
In contrast to the remuneration of civil servants, the pay of public employees is not
maintenance but a direct compensation by the employer for the work to be performed by
the employee.
The pay of salary earners in the public service is composed of the following elements:
basic salary,
local cost-of-living allowance,
other allowances.
Basic salary
The basic salary is dependent on the specific work carried out by the salary earners, on
the basis of which they are allocated to a pay grade between X and I. The allocation of
activities to pay grades is in accordance with the Pay Scheme (Vergtungsordnung of
the BAT, which is annexed to the collective agreement. Salary earners have an actionable
claim to be paid in accordance with the pay grade which corresponds to their work under
the Pay Scheme.
The pay grades of the basic salary can be divided into four groups - comparable to the
classes of service of civil servants - to which in each case a specific profile of requirements
can be assigned:
X to VIII Simple work which as a rule can be carried out without qualified vocational
training after a certain instruction phase, comparable to the ordinary service
of civil servants (pay grades A 1 to A 5)
- 86 -
VIII to V b Work for which broad knowledge is required which as a rule is acquired
through three years of professional training, comparable to the intermediate
service of civil servants (pay grades A 5 to A 9)
V b to II a Work for which extensive specialist knowledge is required which as a rule is

acquired in specialist studies at a Fachhochschule, comparable to the higher
intermediate service of civil servants (pay grades A 9 to A 13)
II a to I Work for which an academic degree completed at a higher education institute

is required, comparable to the higher service of civil servants (pay grades
A 13 to A 16)
In the salary tables, there are several steps within the different pay grades depending on
age. As a person gets older the salary increases from the starting step in intervals of two
years, until the final step is reached.
Table of basic salaries

Basic salaries at age:
Pay 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47
(monthly in ) valid from 1 January 2002
I 2,883.14 3,039.43 3,195.76 3,352.07 3,508.39 3,664.73 3,821.01 3,977.34 4,133.65 4,289.97 4,446.30 4,602.60 4,758.90
Ia 2,657.49 2,778.97 2,900.40 3,021.87 3,143.34 3,264.82 3,386.32 3,507.75 3,629.22 3,750.69 3,872.19 3,993.62 4,110.10
Ib 2,362.53 2,479.31 2,596.08 2,712.85 2,829.62 2,946.40 3,063.18 3,179.94 3,296.73 3,413.49 3,530.26 3,647.03 3,763.53
II a 2,094.13 2,201.39 2,308.68 2,415.91 2,523.16 2,630.44 2,737.68 2,844.96 2,952.20 3,059.50 3,166.75 3,273.95
III 1,861.14 1,952.59 2,044.00 2,135.43 2,226.88 2,318.31 2,409.75 2,501.17 2,592.60 2,684.05 2,775.50 2,866.94 2,953.91
IV a 1,687.09 1,770.77 1,854.43 1,938.08 2,021.76 2,105.41 2,189.08 2,272.74 2,356.42 2,440.08 2,523.75 2,607.43 2,689.93
IV b 1,542.58 1,608.97 1,675.32 1,741.70 1,808.03 1,874.41 1,940.77 2,007.15 2,073.52 2,139.87 2,206.26 2,272.62 2,281.44
V a/b 1,364.00 1,416.58 1,469.14 1,525.95 1,584.27 1,642.63 1,700.99 1,759.33 1,817.69 1,876.04 1,934.40 1,992.75 1,996.79
Vc 1,289.36 1,336.75 1,384.19 1,433.95 1,48372 1,535.58 1,590.78 1,646.04 1,701.24 1,756.46 1,810.97
VI b 1,221.00 1,257.63 1,294.23 1,330.86 1,367.45 1,405.16 1,443.61 1,482.06 1,521.19 1,563.87 1,606.53 1,639.92
VII 1,131.17 1,160.90 1,190.65 1,220.38 1,250.13 1,279.86 1,309.59 1,339.36 1,369.08 1,399.63 1,430.88 1,453.41
VIII 1,046.44 1,073.62 1,100.84 1,128.03 1,155.23 1,182.42 1,209.65 1,236.84 1,264.04 1,284.25
IX a 1,012.19 1,039.25 1,066.29 1,093.34 1,120.37 1,147.41 1,174.44 1,201.49 1,228.45
IX b 974.26 998.95 1,023.61 1,048.28 1,072.96 1,097.65 1,122.33 1,147.00 1,167.86
X 904.66 929.33 954.03 978.69 1,003.38 1,028.05 1,052.73 1,077.42 1,102.07
Unlike with civil servants, reaching the next step with salary earners depends exclusively
on age, and hence not performance.
If a salary earner is transferred to a more demanding activity, he/she is automatically

grouped in the correspondingly higher pay grade. In most cases, a salary earner is also
able to reach the next pay grade after a certain time without his/her work changing if
- 87 -
Distribution of salaried employees in pay grades as per 30 June 2000
180000
Federation
160000
Lnder
140000
Local
authorities
120000
100000
80000
60000
40000
20000
0
X IX b IX a VIII VII VI b Vc Vb IV b IV a III II a Ib Ia I
Pay grades
performance has been in accordance with the requirements of the job (known as
promotion on grounds of proven abilities).
A separate pay scheme and salary table apply to nursing personnel.
Separate pay arrangements have also been agreed for wage-earners, which, however, are
similar to the regulations applying to salary earners. Thus, for instance, no vocational
training is required in the lower pay grades for wage-earners, completed vocational
training in the intermediate pay grades and special knowledge and skills in specialist areas
in the higher pay grades.
Local cost-of-living allowance
The local cost-of-living allowance (which has been taken over from the previous civil
servants remuneration law) was originally intended to compensate for the differing cost of
living of staff in different posts. It is now in part an element of the basic pay, and in part an
allowance for spouses and children. The amount depends on the family situation and the
pay grade. All salary earners receive the local cost-of-living allowance of step 1, married
salary earners that of step 2, and salary earners with a child that of step 3.
- 88 -
Table of local cost-of-living allowances

( per month) as per: 1.1.2002
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
Pay grades I to II b 541.15 643.49 730.19

Pay grades III to V a/b 480.93 583.27 669.97
Pay grades Vc to X 453.01 550.49 637.19
With more than one child the local cost-of-living allowance increases by 86.70 for each additional child to
be taken into account.
The partners to the collective agreement have not yet agreed to apply the decision to give up the local cost-
of-living allowance of civil servants in favour of the family allowance by adding the amount of the first step of
the local cost-of-living allowance to the basic salary also to public employees.
Wage earners do not receive a local cost-of-living allowance, but only an allowance for children, in addition
to their monthly wages, in the same amount as the share of the local cost-of-living allowance for salary
earners relating to children (currently 86.70 per month).
Allowances
Public employees largely receive the same allowances as civil servants. The main
differences are as follows:
General allowance: The general allowance for salary earners has not yet been
incorporated into the basic salary. Its amount corresponds with the amount paid
to civil servants prior to the reform of the remuneration system, and is index-
linked. In the case of wage earners, the general allowance was already
integrated into the monthly wages as part of a 1991 reform.
Post allowance: As a rule, post allowances are agreed on in collective

agreements. If they are paid for specific cases only (e.g. police allowance), they
are governed by separate provisions outside the collective agreement.
Functional allowances: Special allowances linked to pay grades can be

compared with the functional allowances of civil servants, which are not paid to
public employees. These are allowances allocated to individual characteristics
of the post and which are either paid after a probationary period or for a
particular function (e.g. to staff in the typing pool). The person concerned is
hence promoted within the level of a pay grade without reaching the next grade.
- 89 -
It would also be possible to refer to these allowances as a kind of intermediate pay grade.
Extra pay for difficult working conditions: Extra pay for difficult working
conditions is in part expressed in percentages, and hence directly linked to the
pay grade (e.g. overtime allowances, allowances for work on Sundays or bank
holidays).
Performance allowances and bonuses: For public employees, such allowances

and bonuses are not dealt with in the collective agreement. However, the
Federation as an employer has introduced this instrument of performance-
related pay for its employees by means of a separate arrangement outside the
collective agreement, and the local authorities and local authority associations
through a framework contract.
- 90 -
Salary examples (gross monthly salaries 2002)

including all elements of payment paid on a regular basis
Starting salary Final salary
Skilled worker on entry at age 20 typical career

pay grade 4 at age 40
1,750 pay grade 7 a
2,344
Typist on entry at age 18 typical career

pay grade VIII at age 43
1,710 pay grade VII
2,214
Nurse working in alternating shifts on entry at age 20 typical career

(not including nurses on call) pay grade Kr. IV at age 40
1,960 pay grade Kr. VI
2,598
Salary accountant on entry at age 23 typical career

pay grade V c at age 45
1,900 pay grade IV b
2,879
Qualified engineer (Fach- on entry at age 23 typical career

hochschule) pay grade V a at age 45
2,040 pay grade III
3,576
Hospital doctor (not including on entry at age 29 typical career

doctors on call) pay grade II a at age 47
3,074 pay grade 1 a
4,700
- 91 -
For married salary earners in pay grades X to V c or Kr. 1 to Kr. VI the monthly gross
salary increases by 97.48 and in the higher pay grades by 102.34. A monthly
supplement of 86.70 is paid per child.
3. Special payments
There are two special annual payments in the public service, in addition to regular salaries:
at the end of the year the so-called "special bonus" (for civil servants) or
"bonus" (for salary and wage earners). It has been paid since 1973 in the
amount of one months salary so that the annual income is in fact a 13th month
salary. This special payment is however not paid if the staff member leaves the
public service in the first quarter of the following year (civil servants) or changes
employers (salary and wage earners).
Since 1993 this payment has been frozen, i.e. the 13th month salary is paid in
accordance with salaries paid in 1993 . It is therefore only 86% of present
salaries in 2002.
In the new Lnder the bonus was introduced at a rate of only 75% of a month's
salary, so that because of freezing since 1993 it is presently 64.5% of a current
month's salary (2002).
The "holiday bonus" paid in the middle of the year, which is however quite
independent of when holiday is taken. It is a standard 332.34 for staff in the
lower to middle pay grades and 255.65 in pay grades from A 9 (civil servants )
and V b (salary earners). The holiday bonus is 255.65 for all staff in the new
Lnder.
Part-time staff receive a proportionate amount of these special payments in the same way
as their regular salaries.
Furthermore, civil servants and public employees receive capital-forming benefits in

accordance with the general Act on Capital Formation (Vermgensbildungsgesetz),
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amounting to 6.65 per month, which must be invested in accordance with the provisions
of this act (e.g. in house savings plans or capital formation plans).
4. Salaries and wages in the new Lnder
In accordance with the Unification Treaty, the previous provisions initially continued to
apply to public employees in the five new Lnder. On 1 January 1991 they were largely
replaced by special collective agreements applying only in the new Lnder, i.e. the BAT-O
(for salary earners), as well as the MTArb-O and the BMT-G-O (for wage earners). From
1 July 1991 onwards, in view of the productivity and financial power of the new Lnder, the
salaries and wages of public employees were initially fixed at 60% of the corresponding
salaries in the old Lnder by collective agreements. Salaries and wages have gradually
increased to move closer to the West-German level (in per cent):
from 01.05.1992 onwards 70

from 01.09.1998 onwards 86.5
from 01.01.2001 onwards 88,5.
from 01.01.2002 onwards 90.
The remuneration of civil servants, judges and military personnel in the new Lnder is paid
on the basis of a legal provision (ordinance) applying exclusively to this group of people.
The amount of remuneration has increased in parallel with the salaries and wages for
public employees in the new Lnder. As in the past, remuneration will continue to be
adapted to the level of payment in the old Lnder in accordance with the economic and
financial circumstances and development in the new Lnder.
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5. Salary and wage increases
In Germany, there are no automatic salary and wage increases, e.g. in accordance with
the development of labour productivity.
In the public service, too, any increase in nominal salaries must be agreed on separately.
For salary and wage earners (as in other economic sectors) this is done in negotiations
between the trade unions and the public employers leading to a new collective agreement
on salaries and wages. For civil servants, the German Bundestag must debate and adopt
an act governing increases in remuneration (Erhhungsgesetz), which requires the
consent of the chamber of the Lnder (Bundesrat). Section 14 of the Civil Servants
Remuneration Act (Besoldungsgesetz) states the following on this matter: "Remuneration
shall be regularly adjusted by a federal law in accordance with economic and financial
developments and taking account of the specific responsibilities governing official
functions".
Public employees
In general, the negotiations for salary and wage earners are held first. The trade unions
terminate the previous collective agreement relating to salaries and wages at the end of
the agreed term, and state their claims. On the employers side the negotiations are held
jointly by the Federation, the Lnder and the local authority employers (who as such are
independent of one another). The joint representation of the Federation, the Lnder and
the local authorities in the negotiations is based on a voluntary, unwritten agreement. The
trade unions may also call upon salary and wager earners to strike in order to achieve their
objectives in the negotiations. Civil servants may not strike, but on the other hand they
may not be put to work as "strike-breakers" in jobs held by striking public employees
either.
If the negotiations are initially unsuccessful, it is possible for conciliation proceedings to be

initiated in which a commission of representatives of the partners to the collective
agreement work out and adopt a recommendation to the parties to the collective
agreement under an impartial chairperson. The recommendation is not binding, but does
entail an obligation to the parties to re-negotiate without delay. No strikes may be held
during the conciliation procedure.
The new collective agreements relating to salaries and wages are then binding on the
employers and trade union members concerned for the period of their agreed minimum
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term. On the basis of the employment contracts, they are also applied to public
employees who are not members of trade unions.
Civil servants
The procedure to increase remuneration for civil servants is generally initiated once the
collective agreement has been concluded for public employees. The Federal Government
submits a draft bill to the parliament. Before the Federal Government adopts the draft, the
Federal Minister of the Interior discusses it with the trade unions of civil servants; this
discussion, however, does not have the status of negotiations. The position of the trade
unions is communicated in the annex to the draft bill submitted to the parliament.
As a rule, the draft bill goes along with the collective agreement because the relevant
aspects of the economic and budgetary situation have been examined in detail during the
collective bargaining. Sometimes, however, the increases for civil servants enter into force
later than those for public employees, so that civil servants suffer a relative disadvantage
in the year in question and conversely there is a lower burden on the public budgets. In
most cases, the act governing increases in remuneration is adopted relatively late in this
procedure, but enters into force retroactively.
It would also be possible for the parliament to decide in advance on increasing the
remuneration of civil servants regardless of the collective bargaining of public employees.
Such a practice is however the exception.
As a result of the procedure outlined above salaries and wages in the public service
generally develop along the same lines, at all levels and for all groups of public service
staff. Having said that, the increase in remuneration for civil servants will be reduced by
0.2 per cent from 1999 onwards on the basis of the 1998 Act to Reform the Pension
System. This 0.2 per cent reduction, used to fund the pension reserves, will be
discontinued from 2003 until 2010, when it will resume until 2017.
Salary and wage increases from 1993 to 2001
The overview below shows salary and wage increases in the public service from 1993 to
2001 in comparison with average pay increases in the economy as a whole and
developments in the cost of living.
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Salary and wage increases in the public service in comparison with the private
sector and developments in the cost of living.
Average increases in the Increase in the

Collective agreements for public private sector cost of living
Year service staff:
% %
1993 +3.0 % from 1.1.93 onwards (civil 3.2 4.5
servants not until 1.5.93)
1994 +2 % from 1.7.94 onwards for 2.2 2.7
lower pay grades, from 1.9.94 for
higher pay grades (for lower and
higher-grade civil servants not until
1.10.94 and 1.1.95, respectively)
1995 +3.2 % from 1.5.95 onwards and a 3.4 1.7

one-off payment of DM 140
1996 no increase, only a one-off 1.8 1.4
payment of DM 300
1997 +1.3 % from 1.1.97 (for civil 1.5 1.9
servants not until 1.3.97, in the
higher pay grades from 1.7.97)
1998 +1.5 % from 1.1.98 2.0 1.0
1999 +3.1 % from 1.4.99 onwards (for 3.1 0.6
civil servants 2.9 % from 1.6.99)
and a one-off payment of DM 300
2000 +2.0 % from 1.8.00 onwards and a 2.5 1.9
one-off payment of DM 400 (for
civil servants from pay grades A 1
to A 11 a one-off payment of 4 x
DM 100 for the months of August
to December)
3)
2001 +2.4 % from 01.09.01 (for civil 2.3 2.5
servants: 1.8 % from 1.1.01 and
2.2 % from 1.1.02)
1)
Source: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Results of important collective agreements for public service staff,
1993-2000
2)
Source: Consumer price index for the cost of living in Germany, Federal Statistical Office, series 17, vol. 7, 2000
3)
Source: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Results of important collective agreements for public service staff for
2001, as per 1 October 2001
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6. The remuneration of members of the government
The remuneration of members of the Federal Government, i.e. the Federal Chancellor and
the federal ministers as well as their supporting parliamentary state secretaries / ministers
of state are basically governed by the Act governing Federal Ministers
(Bundesministergesetz, BminG) and the Act governing the Legal Status of Parliamentary
State Secretaries (Gesetz ber die Rechtsverhltnisse der Parlamentarischen
Staatssekretre, ParlStG). Pursuant to these acts their remuneration consists of the
following elements:
the official salary,

the local cost-of-living allowance and
the official expense allowance (Federal Chancellor: 1,022.58, federal
ministers: 306.78, parliamentary state secretaries: 230.08 per month)
and, if appropriate, compensation for necessary costs of running two households

amounting to 153.39 per month.
The Act governing Federal Ministers links the official salary and the local cost-of-living
allowance to the remuneration of the highest-ranking civil servant (state secretary, pay
grade B 11). Pursuant to this act
the official salary of the Federal Chancellor amounts to 1-2/3 and that of a
federal minister to 1-1/3 of the basic salary of pay grade B 11, while that of a
parliamentary state secretary/minister of state equals the basic salary of pay
grade B 11,
the local cost-of-living allowance for these office-holders amounts to 1-1/3 of the
local cost-of-living allowance of a permanent state secretary.
A number of legislative measures have loosened this ratio. Hence, the monthly
remuneration of members of the government is approximately 1,100 and that of
parliamentary state secretaries/state ministers approx. 850 lower than provided for in the
BMinG and the ParlStG.
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Once they leave office, these officials receive certain benefits, i.e. transitional allowances
and if their term of office lasted more than two years also retirement benefits.
The transitional allowance is paid immediately after the official leaves office for
a period ranging from at least six months to a maximum of three years
depending on the time spent in office. In the first three months the amount of
the allowance is the same as that of the official salary and the local cost-of-
living allowance; for the remaining period the allowance is 50% of that amount.
Retirement benefits, remuneration from current or past deployment in the

national or international public service and, beginning with the second month,
also income from private activities are fully deducted from the transitional
allowance, i.e. the transitional allowance is reduced by these amounts. It will no
longer be paid from the second month onwards if the former office-holder still
receives compensation as a member of the German Bundestag.
The retirement benefit will be paid as from 55 years of age, or from 60 years of
age if the term of office was less than three years. Depending on the length of
term of office the retirement benefits amount to:
15-1/3% for a two-year term,

20% for a three-year term,
29% for a four-year term.
These percentages refer to the official salary and the local cost-of-living allowance.
For each additional year spent in office the retirement benefits increase by 2.5% up to
a maximum of 75% of the official salary and the local cost-of-living allowance. Under
the 2001 Act to Reform the Pension System (Versorgungsnderungsgesetz 2001) the
rates of retirement benefits will also be reduced as from 2003 in line with the
remuneration for civil servants.
Remuneration from current or past employment in the public service is fully deducted
from the retirement benefits. Persons receiving compensation as members of the
German Bundestag will receive only partial payment of retirement benefits.
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7. Reform measures
Modernising the structure of remuneration
The Federal Government has adopted a draft to modernise the remuneration system. It is
intended to loosen nation-wide standards governing the remuneration of civil servants and
to give public employers greater flexibility in staff matters. Furthermore, the new legislation
will give staff members new prospects and increase their motivation.
The progress report on the amendment of public service law of 1997 demonstrated that
the elements of performance-related pay introduced then must be made even more
flexible. For this reason, the legal provisions must be further enhanced: Discontinuing the
rule that staff members remain at a particular salary step for at least half of the intended
time before being eligible to advance to the next step will make it easier to award
performance steps. The quotas for people receiving performance steps, performance
bonuses and performance allowances, currently 10%, will be increased. To make the
system more flexible the quota for performance steps may be used alternatively for
performance bonuses or allowances. Special provisions for teams will also clearly improve
the possibilities of awarding performance-related pay.
Reform of the remuneration of professors
The Act to Reform the Remuneration of Professors (Gesetz zur Reform der
Professorenbesoldung) has replaced the former remuneration steps depending on a
persons age with a new remuneration system consisting of a fixed basic salary and
variable performance-related pay. In addition to a minimum remuneration in the form of the
fixed basic salary there will be variable elements of remuneration in the new pay grades W
2 ( 3427) and W 3 ( 4522) depending on academic performance. These two pay grades
can be introduced at both universities and Fachhochschulen, providing the same
competitive conditions in terms of remuneration for both.
The possibilities for German higher education institutes to appoint top academics from abroad, from the
private sector or non-university research institutions have improved, since it is now possible to exceed the
former upper limit of remuneration grade B 10.
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In accordance with the guiding model of the enabling state, the new legislation gives the
Federation and the Lnder substantial flexibility concerning the performance-related
elements of remuneration, particularly in awarding performance-related pay.
8. Developments in personnel expenditure
The following table shows developments in overall and personnel expenditure of the
Federation, the Lnder and the local authorities, along with personnel expenses as a
share of total expenditure.
Total personnel expenditure in the Federation, the Lnder and the local authorities in billions of
Federation Lnder Local authorities
Year
Total Personnel Share Total Personnel Share Total Personnel Share
expenditure expenditure in % expenditure expenditure in % expenditure expenditure in %
1970 45.0 7.4 16.5 39.7 16.2 40.7 28.9 7.8 26.9
1980 110.3 16.4 14.9 106.7 44.7 41.9 74.4 21.9 29.5
1990 194.4 22.1 11.4 153.2 64.0 41.8 106.9 33.3 31.2
1991 205.4 24.9 12.1 208.9 78.5 37.6 141.7 45.9 32.4
1992 218.4 26.3 12.1 225.5 86.7 38.4 161.4 51.4 31.8
1993 233.9 26.9 11.5 238.3 91.9 38.6 168.3 53.0 31.5
1994 240.9 26.9 11.2 242.7 94.0 38.7 171.1 52.7 30.8
1995 237.6 27.0 11.4 250.4 98.2 39.2 174.5 54.0 31.0
1996 232.9 27.0 11.6 256.9 99.9 38.9 170.7 53.5 31.4
1997 225.9 26.8 11.9 255.4 100.6 39.4 165.7 52.7 31.8
1998 233.6 26.6 11.4 243.2 91.4 37.6 141.9 39.0 27.5
1999 246.9 26.9 10.9 245.2 93.0 37.9 144.1 39.3 27.3
2000 244.4 26.5 10.8 249.3 93.8 37.6 145.1 39.2 27.0
1) As from 1998, not including hospitals and university hospitals using commercial accounting
Source: Federal Ministry of Finance; until 1997 final figures/results of annual accounts, 1998/2000 cash results)
While in 2000 personnel expenditure as a share of total expenditure at the federal level
was only 10.8%, it was 37.6% in the Lnder and 27% in local authorities because of their
specific labour-intensive responsibilities. Of the total personnel expenditure of territorial
authorities in 2002 ( 159.5 billion), 16% went toward federal personnel, 59% Lnder
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personnel and 25% personnel of the local authorities. These core budgets do not include
the revenue and expenditure of joint local authorities, owner-operated municipal
enterprises and commercial enterprises of local authorities.
V. The pension systems in the public service
1. The pensions of civil servants
Pensions of civil servants in the Federation, the Lnder and local authorities are
determined uniformly by the Act Governing Civil Servants' Pensions and Allowances
(Beamtenversorgungsgesetz - BeamtVG); corresponding provisions also apply to judges.
Pensions for professional military personnel are governed by the same principles under
the Military Pensions Act (Soldatenversorgungsgesetz - SVG).
Pensions are a part of personnel expenditure and are paid exclusively by public employers
and directly from their current budgets. Civil servants do not have to contribute to the
general statutory social security and pension scheme; under the special tax-funded system
no contributions are levied. This is however taken into account in the gross remuneration
of civil servants. Civil servants entitlement to an appropriate pension is one of the
traditional principles of the civil service and is protected by the Constitution.
Civil servants receive a pension once they are retired. This happens:
when the general retirement age (at age 65) or a special retirement age (for
police and prison staff, as well as professional fire brigades: at age 60) has
been reached,
on request from age 63 onwards (severely disabled: from age 60 onwards) or
if permanent invalidity has been established.
On 1 January 2001 there was a total of approx. 864,000 pensioners (including their
surviving dependants) at the federal level, in the Lnder and the local authorities.
- 101 -
Pensioners as per 1 January 2001
105,000
222,000
537,000
Of the 864,000 pensioners at the federal level, in the Lnder and local authorities, 544,000
(almost 62.9%) are former civil servants, judges or military personnel; the others are
surviving dependants (widows/widowers and orphans). Also in other areas of employment
the majority are direct beneficiaries, as opposed to their surviving dependants: With the
former Deutsche Bahn there are approx. 146,000 (59.9%), with the former Deutsche
Bundespost approx. 206,000 (76%) and in the indirect public service approx. 13,000
(63.2%) direct beneficiaries.
Since civil servants are not protected by the general statutory accident insurance, the
pension scheme for civil servants also includes accident benefits. Where civil servants are
injured or killed by accidents at work, the employer reimburses them or their surviving
dependants for medical and nursing care and material costs, and compensation is
provided where appropriate for a reduction of earning capacity. If a civil servant has retired
because of an accident at work, he/she receives an increased accident pension under
certain conditions.
Pension benefits are adjusted to general developments in the economy and in income in
the same way as remuneration, in each case through a federal act.
In contrast to pensions from the statutory pensions insurance and the supplementary
pension scheme for public employees, pensions for civil servants are regarded fiscally as
income from work and - apart from an annual tax allowance of 3,000 - are fully taxable.
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To be entitled to a pension, a civil servant must have served a minimum of five years or
must have become an invalid in the course of an accident at work. The entitlement
generally requires the civil servant to be employed in the public service until retirement.
Should the civil servant leave the public service prior to retirement, he/she will be insured
retroactively with the general statutory pension scheme (but not in the supplementary
pension scheme for the public service).
Calculating pensions
Pensions are calculated on the basis of pensionable years of service and pensionable
remuneration.
Pensionable years of service are in particular times spent in the public service,
in the professional or non-professional armed services, in employment in the
public service under private law, as well as required training periods.
Pensionable remuneration includes the last basic salary, which the civil servant
received for at least three years, and, where appropriate, the family allowance
(step 1) and certain allowances expressly referred to in the law as being
pensionable. These are the so-called functional allowances which can be paid
for the permanent exercise of more demanding activities, but do not include
post allowances, extra pay for difficult working conditions or allowances for
expenses and overtime.
Currently, the pension is 1.875% for each pensionable year of service up to a total of 75%
of pensionable remuneration. The maximum pension is reached after 40 years. By 2010
the rate for each pensionable year of service will be reduced to 1.79375% and the
maximum pension to 71.75% of pensionable remuneration.
For part-time work, only the respective share of full working hours is counted as
pensionable years of service. Nonetheless, the full-time remuneration is taken as the basis
for determining the pensionable remuneration.
- 103 -
The special age limits for professional military personnel constitute a special case, resulting
from the specific requirements in terms of physical fitness, and also from the requirements of
the armed forces themselves. Generally, it is not possible for them to reach the maximum
pension of 75% solely on the basis of years of service; this disadvantage is compensated for
by an increase in the pension rate according to age.
Times of unpaid leave (e.g. child-raising leave) are generally not pensionable unless it was
recognised in writing in advance that the leave was also in the interest of the public service
(e.g. in the case of leave to accept a position in other national or international institutions,
such as the EU or UN organisations, something which is in the German public interest ).
For times of child raising - as is also the case in the statutory pensions insurance -
a supplement to the pension is paid under certain conditions.
If the civil servant retires before reaching the statutory retirement age, the pension will be
reduced by 3.6% for each year by which the civil servant retired before reaching the
statutory retirement age (65 years of age, for police officers 60 years of age) (maximum
reduction of 10.8%). For severely disabled civil servants and civil servants unfit for work
the statutory retirement age is 63 years.
In the event of early retirement because of invalidity the following provisions apply:
If the civil servant becomes an invalid before reaching the age of 60, two-thirds
of the time until the age of 60 is added to the pensionable years of service to
calculate the pension.
If the civil servant has become an invalid as a result of an accident at work, the
accident pension is at least 66-2/3% of pensionable remuneration.
Retired civil servants receive a minimum pension if this is more beneficial to them. It is
35% of pensionable remuneration (including the full family allowance), but as per January
2002 at least 1,237.18 (in the old Lnder) and 1,116.53 (in the new Lnder).
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As is the case with active civil servants, all pensioners are entitled to an annual special
bonus, which in 2002 amounted to approx. 86% (in the old Lnder) and approx 64.5% (in
the new Lnder) of one month's pension (known as the Christmas bonus).
The annual special bonus is not an additional payment made to pensioners, but a share of
their annual pensions which is paid out only in December. It is mainly the employer who
benefits from this special mode of payment by earning interest on this amount; otherwise
the employer would have to pay a higher pension each month and thus up to 11 months
earlier. By contrast, statutory pensions are paid out in 12 equal monthly shares.
Provisions regarding other pensions
If civil servants or their surviving dependants receive other pensions or benefits from
statutory pension schemes or from a supplementary pension scheme for public employees
or surviving dependants in addition to their regular pensions, these are deducted from their
regular pensions where the total of all benefits exceeds a maximum of 75% of the last
remuneration (as per 1. January 2002).
If retired civil servants or surviving dependants earn money through gainful employment,
this is deducted from the pension where the sum of the income from work and the pension
exceeds the previous remuneration in active service. If, however, the civil servant has
retired because of invalidity or on request because of severe disability, he/she may keep
the extra earnings only if the income from work and the pension together do not exceed
75% (as per 1 January 2002) of the previous remuneration in active service, plus an
amount of 325 per month. After the civil servant reaches the age of 65, his/her income
earned from work outside the public service is no longer subject to such deductions,
though income earned in the public service remains subject to deduction.
Surviving dependants
In addition to one-off payments (remuneration for the month of death and a death
allowance) surviving dependants receive a widow/er's benefit, orphan's benefit or
subsistence payments as a pension.
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The surviving spouse receives 60% of the pension of the deceased civil servant, which in
2002 amounted to at least 754.58 (in the old Lnder) and 682.19 (in the new Lnder)
(minimum widow/er's benefit).
The orphan's benefit is a portion of the pension of the deceased civil servant, amounting to
12% for the loss of one parent, 20% for the loss of both parents and 30% for children who
have become orphans as a result of an accident.
On 1 January 2001, approx. 295,000 widows/widowers and 25,000 orphans of former civil
servants of territorial authorities were drawing a pension for surviving dependants.
Special groups
Because of their special situation, separate regulations apply to local government officials
elected for a limited period of time, particularly to mayors and chief executives of a county.
Their pensions are based on more favourable pension rates than those of civil servants
with life tenure; they also have greater freedom to earn extra income in the private sector.
Additionally, statutory provisions under Land law apply, which may vary in the different
Lnder.
Special provisions also apply to political civil servants who may be suspended at any time
even without their consent. Depending on their years of service, they then receive a
pension of 75% of pensionable remuneration (as per 1 January 2002) for at least six
months up to a maximum of three years. After this period their pension is governed by the
general provisions applying to pensions of civil servants. However, they receive a pension
on a permanent basis only if they have been in service for at least five years. If additional
income earned outside the public service and the pension together exceed the last
remuneration from active service, only half of the excess is deducted from the pension.
Pension expenditure
Since 1970 the pension expenditure of territorial authorities has developed as follows:
- 106 -
P e n s io n e x p e n d itu re in b illion
22.0
1 8.9
14.7
11 .0
4 .5
1970 1980 1990 1995 2000
Source: Federal Statistical Office
Total expenditure in the Federation, the Lnder and local authorities has developed as
follows:
Pension expenditure by the Federation, the Lnder and local authorities

in billion Euro
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Source: Federal Statistical Office
In 2000 the pension expenditure by the Federation, the Lnder and local authorities was
22.0 billion. The Federation accounted for 4.8 billion, the Lnder for 14.6 billion and the
local authorities for 2.7 billion.
In 2000, pension expenditure for civil servants as a proportion of total staff costs was 18%
in the Federation, 16% in the Lnder and 7% in local authorities.
In 2000, pension expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure was 2% in the

Federation, 6% in the Lnder and 2% in local authorities.
- 107 -
Reform of the pension system for civil servants
Because of demographic developments, expenditure for the pensions of civil servants - as

for other pension schemes - is expected to increase considerably. The main reason is
increasing life expectancy coupled with lower average retirement age. The average
retirement age - both for the pensions of civil servants and for the statutory pensions
insurance scheme - is approx. 59 years, and hence six years lower than the general
mandatory retirement age. Furthermore, the effects of the considerable increase in staff in
the 1970s necessary at the time because of societys increased demands on the state
represents an additional burden on the public service pension system. According to the
second Pensions Report of the Federal Government of 2001, the pension expenditure of
the Federation, the Lnder and local authorities will more than quadruple, rising from
approx. 22 billion in 2000 to approx. 90 billion in 2040. This will represent an increasing
burden on the budgets of the Lnder, in particular.
To make expenditure for the pensions of civil servants sustainable for the long run, the
system has been changed several times since 1992. To this end, the reform measures
introduced for the statutory pension insurance, which are intended to reduce costs, have
been introduced accordingly for the pension system of civil servants. With the introduction
of pension reserves in 1998 the first steps were taken towards a fully funded pension
system.
The amendments to the Act Governing Civil Servants' Pensions and Allowances, which
entered into force in 1992, the 1997 Act to Amend the Public Service Law and the 1998
Act to Reform the Pension System contained comprehensive new regulations: Amongst
other things, the pension scale was extended from 35 to 40 years, the age limit for pension
applications was increased from 62 to 63 years and the inclusion of training periods was
restricted, the pension in case of invalidity was further reduced, reductions were
introduced in the event of early retirement and the regulations on additional income were
made much stricter. In order to reduce the number of early retirements, so-called old-age
part-time work has been introduced, initially on an experimental basis.
A core item of the 1998 pension reform was the introduction of a provision to create
pension reserves. This was done by lowering the increases in remuneration and pensions
- 108 -
for civil servants by 0.2% since 1999. For the Federation, the resulting amount is placed
in a special fund, which is invested by the Bundesbank in tradable federal bonds and
managed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Lnder have set up their own
provisions for creating and employing their reserves. The public budgets will be able to
draw on these interest-yielding reserves, which cannot be used for any other purpose, in
the future when they are faced with enormous pension expenditures, and thus these
reserves will contribute to making pensions sustainable in the long run.
By lowering the increases in remuneration and pensions by 0.2% a gradual reduction of

the levels of remuneration and pensions by approx. 3% will also be achieved by 2014 in 15
steps. By 2002 a reduction of 0.6% was achieved in three steps. The savings resulting
from these reductions will also be added to the benefit reserves every year.
Because of the increasing number of early retirements, pensions are paid for increasingly
longer periods. For this reason - as in the statutory pension insurance - pensions have
been reduced by 3.6% for each year of early retirement (but not exceeding 10.8%), also
for early retirement because of invalidity or severe disability, as from 1 January 2001.
The 2001 Act to Reform the Pension System (Versorgungsnderungsgesetz 2001) applied
the comprehensive pension reform with the same effect to the civil servants pension
scheme. The main elements of the reform of the civil servants pension scheme, which
entered into force on 1 January 2002, are the following:
From 2003 onwards, the rate of increase for pensions is reduced by 0.5%
annually for the following eight years. As a result, the maximum pension of
currently 75% will be gradually reduced to 71.75% by 2010. No pension benefits
will be cut, no one will receive less.
Fifty per cent of the savings resulting from these reductions in public spending
will be added to the benefit reserves and will thus continue to be used for the
civil servants pension scheme.
Those civil servants who provide for old age by putting aside additional savings
on a voluntary basis will receive specific allowances or tax benefits by the state
as from 1 January 2002 in accordance with the Retirement Assets Act
- 109 -
(Altersvermgensgesetz) and the Supplementary Retirement Assets Act

(Altersvermgensergnzungsgesetz), similar to public employees under the
statutory pension insurance scheme.
To avoid any double burden for civil servants and pensioners, the 1998 Act to
Reform the Pension System stipulates that the 0.2% reduction in the annual
increase in the remuneration of civil servants and pensioners to be added to the
benefit reserves will be suspended for eight successive steps from 2003
onwards, and resume from 2011 until 2017.
The widow/ers benefit will be increased by child benefits. At the same time the
pension rate for surviving dependants will be reduced from 60% to 55%;
however, couples who were married before 31 December 2001 will not be
affected, if at least one spouse is more than 40 years of age.
The result of the reform is that in future the financial burden will be equally shared between
old people and young people, and that civil servants will be guaranteed an appropriate
standard of living in old age.
2. The pensions of public employees
The pensions of public employees (including invalidity pensions and pensions for surviving
dependants) are based on three pillars: the statutory pensions insurance, the
supplementary pension scheme for the public service and the fully funded private pension
scheme eligible for tax benefits.
Statutory pensions insurance
Public employees are insured under the general statutory pensions insurance, in the same
way as employees in private industry. It is financed by equal contributions from employees
and employers (in 2002 a total of 19.1% of gross salary and wage income up to a specific
income threshold) and by public funds. The amount of the pension is not governed by the
total amount of contributions paid in, but by the relative amount of the income on which
contributions are based, measured against the average income of all insured parties.
- 110 -
Pensions are adjusted annually. These adjustments are linked to the developments in
general economic net average salaries (so-called index-linked pensions).
Supplementary pension scheme for the public service
Additionally, public employees are insured under the supplementary pension scheme for
the public service. The supplementary pension scheme is based on a collective agreement
and is the public services equivalent of occupational pension schemes. In the past, the
supplementary pension was based on an overall pension, which was intended to
supplement the statutory pension up to a maximum of 91.75% of the net salary of a
comparable active employee. The aim was to bring the pensions of public employees into
line with those of civil servants. Because of demographic developments (the increasing
number of pensioners in relation to the number of active employees in the statutory
pension scheme), the development of pay systems (civil servants law, statutory pensions
and taxes) and because of a supreme court ruling, the funding of the supplementary
pension scheme came under increasing pressure. The Federal and Lnder Government-
Service Supplementary Pension Agency (Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Lnder)
alone faced a projected deficit of 7.7 billion by 2008. This development would have
threatened the very existence of the supplementary pension scheme itself. For this reason,
the collective bargaining partners thoroughly overhauled the supplementary pension
scheme of the public service.
The new collective agreement on the occupational pension scheme for public employees
(Tarifvertrag ber die betriebliche Altersversorgung der Beschftigten im ffentlichen
Dienst ATV) of 1 March 2002 consists of the following main elements:
The former comprehensive pension system was discontinued retroactively on

31 December 2000 and replaced by an actuarial model of pension credits.
This model of pension credits is based on occupational pension schemes

typically offered by private employers. Benefits are determined independently of
any reference systems such as statutory pensions, the pensions of civil
servants or taxes.
- 111 -
In this model, benefits are calculated as if contributions of 4% of the employees pay

eligible for the supplementary pension scheme were being paid into a fully
funded system.
The amount of benefits resulting from the model of pension credits reflect the
employees actual career. The determining factor for the total amount of
benefits is now lifetime income. Each employee receives pension credits for
each year of employment. They are determined on the basis of an employees
individual annual income by measuring the individual annual income against a
reference income of 1,000.
Then the pension credits are weighed against the so-called age factor. The
younger the employee, the more pension credits he/she will accrue, i.e. the
pension account will be credited with more pension credits.
Upon retirement, the benefit amount is determined by multiplying the sum of all
acquired pension credits by 4.
A pension is paid under the same conditions as for the statutory pension insurance (old-
age pension, invalidity pension, pension for surviving dependants). If the occupational
pension is claimed prematurely, benefits will be reduced by 0.3% for each month the
pension is paid out prematurely, with a maximum reduction of 10.8% - as in the statutory
pension insurance scheme.
For invalidity pensions and pensions for surviving dependants, pension credits
will be added for each year before the age of 60.
If employment is temporarily suspended because of statutory child-raising

leave, pension credits will be accrued for each child for which the parent is
entitled to take child-raising leave. The number of pension credits is based on a
fictional income of 500.
Occupational pensions are index-linked and increase by 1% annually. Since the new
supplementary pension system is no longer linked to the amount of statutory pensions,
- 112 -
any increase in statutory pensions will no longer be deducted from occupational

pensions, but will be paid out in full to pensioners.
Pensions and claims to future pension benefits acquired up to the present will be
guaranteed by transitional legislation.
There will be no changes to pensions currently being paid out.
Claims to future pension benefits acquired under the old system by employees
who are still in employment will be converted to the new system.
The following special provisions apply to employees in the old Lnder, who were 55 years of age on 1
January 2002 (age groups close to retirement):
On the basis of legislation governing the supplementary pension scheme for the public service
applicable on 31 December 2000 the basic value to determine the amount to be transferred to the model
of pension credits is the employees individual supplementary pension at age 63 (for severely disabled
persons the age depends on the respective provisions of the statutory pension insurance scheme). The
provisions on minimum pensions and minimum supplementary pensions must also be taken into account
in this respect. The statutory pension is based on personal data; from this basic value determined by
factors applicable as per 31 December 2001 the occupational pension to be acquired under the model of
pension credits must be deducted to obtain the current pension entitlement; this entitlement is converted
into pension credits and transferred to the credit model.
Under the old system the supplementary pension was determined as part of an overall pension, which
after 40 years of employment in the public service amounted to 91.75% (net pension rate) of the net
income of active employment. The statutory pension is deducted from this overall pension. The
differential is the supplementary pension to be paid by the insurer. Under certain conditions the overall
pension is raised to the level of the minimum pension of a civil servant (minimum pension). If the
conditions of the law governing occupational pensions in the version applicable until 31 December 2000
are met, a supplementary pension of at least 0.4% of the last income will be paid for each year in which
contributions for the supplementary pension were paid (the minimum supplementary pension pursuant to
Sect. 44 a of the Statutes of the Federal and Lnder Government-Service Supplementary Pension
Agency).
This special provision also applies to all employees in the statutory insurance scheme, including those in
the new Lnder, who agreed to old-age part-time work prior to 14 November 2001.
- 113 -
Replacing the comprehensive pension system with an ordinary occupational pension

scheme gives public employees similar to employees in the private sector - the
opportunity to make their own contributions to set up a private, fully funded pension eligible
for tax benefits pursuant to Section 10a and Section 82 of the Income Tax Act
(Einkommensteuergesetz).
Insurers and pension benefits
The most important insurer is the Federal and Lnder Government-Service Supplementary
Pension Agency (Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Lnder, VBL) in Karlsruhe. This
is where public employees of the Federation and the Lnder, as well as a number of public
employees of local authorities and of other public sector employers, are insured (in 2000
nearly 2 million employees insured under the statutory pension scheme; the number of
pensions was 931,000 with a volume of approx. 3.48 billion). Most employees of local
authorities, as well as of churches and other institutions, are insured with local authority or
church insurance funds (in 2000 2.8 million insured employees; the number of pensions
was 767,000 with a volume of approx. 2.77 billion).
The pension benefits of the Federal and Lnder Government-Service Supplementary

Pension Agency and local authority or church insurance funds have developed as follows:
P e n s io n b e n e fits in b illio n
6 .2 5
6 .0 8
5 .4 2
4 .1 3
1 .8 5
0 .2 9
1970 1980 1990 1997 1999 2000
Funding
Until the end of 1998 only public employers contributed to the supplementary pension
scheme on behalf of their insured employees (for the VBL the last rate was 5.2% of
taxable gross income). Since the beginning of 1999 public employees have also paid into
- 114 -
the supplementary pension scheme. Since 1 January 2002 the contribution rate for the
VBL has been 7.86% for the old Lnder. Employers pay 6.45%, while employees only pay
1.41%. In addition, employers pay a tax-free flat rate of 2% to pay for the costs of
converting the pension system to the pension credit model. The local authority and church
insurance funds have different contribution rates. As from 2002, employers must pay taxes
on contributions to the VBL (for the old Lnder) up to an amount of 92.03 per month at a
flat-rate of 20%. Taxes on contributions to other insurers will have to be paid at a flat rate
up to an amount of 89.48 per month. For any amount going beyond this limit employees
must pay taxes individually. For the VBL (in the new Lnder) the contribution rate has
been 1.0% since the introduction of the supplementary pension scheme in the East on 1
January 1997. The contribution is paid only by the employer.
Taxes and social security contributions imposed on the supplementary pension
Health insurance and old-age nursing-home insurance contributions are deducted from
pensions (approx. 7.6% in 2001).
Taxes are imposed only on the interest portion of both the statutory and the supplementary
pensions. For tax purposes, pension benefits consist of an interest portion and a capital
portion. Only the interest portion of the pension is taxable, as are all other interest
earnings. The amount of the interest portion depends on the age of the pensioner on
retirement; on retirement at age 65 the interest portion is 27% of the pension. This means
in fact that pensions are not taxable in most cases.
In accordance with the Federal Constitutional Courts decision of 6 March 2002 2 BvL 17/99 on the
taxation of pensions, the legislator must amend the provisions on the taxation of pensions by 1 January
2005. This decision says that the unequal treatment of pensions of the statutory pension insurance scheme
and pensions of civil servants as regards taxation is incompatible with the principle of equality. For this
reason the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs have
announced that
tax deductions for employee pension contributions will gradually be increased.

during the next legislative period the necessary legal amendments will be initiated and enter into force by
the date specified by the Federal Constitutional Court.
the major part of pensions will remain tax-free, which will guarantee the reliability of pension benefits
also in the future.
- 115 -
VI. Annex
Summary of the most important sources of legislation

(The majority of legislation can be found under www.staat-modern.de, while the BAT and
salary tables are available under www.bmi.bund.de)
Statutes, collective agreements Contents
Grundgesetz fr die Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Art. 33: Rights and duties of German citizens,
(Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany) eligibility for public office, reservation of office,
due regard to the traditional principles of the
professional civil service
- Art. 9, paragraph 3: right to form associations
Statutes and ordinances applying to civil servants, judges and military personnel
Beamtenrechtsrahmengesetz (BRRG; Act - Framework legislation relating to civil servants

Defining the Scope of Civil Servants Rights and for the Federation and the Lnder
Duties) - Provisions governing employment as a civil
servant
- Legal status of civil servants
Deutsches Richtergesetz (DRiG; German - Framework legislation relating to judges for

Judiciary Act) the Federation and the Lnder
- Special statute applying to professional
judges of the Federation
Soldatengesetz (SG; Act on the Legal Status of - Provisions governing employment in the
Military Personnel) military
Bundesbeamtengesetz (BBG; Act on Federal Civil - Applies to federal civil servants

Servants) - Provisions governing employment as a civil
servant
- Legal status of civil servants
Bundeslaufbahnverordnung (BLV; Federal - Provisions governing the careers of federal

Ordinance on Careers and Promotion of Civil civil servants
- 116 -
Servants)
Bundesgleichstellungsgesetz (BGleiG; Act on - Act on gender equality in the federal

Gender Equality) administration and the federal courts
Bundespolizeibeamtengesetz (BPoIBG; Act on - Special statute applying to police officers of

Federal Police Officers) the Federation
Bundesdisziplinargesetz (BDG; Federal - Provisions governing the formal disciplinary

Disciplinary Act) procedure for active and retired civil servants
of the Federation
Bundespersonalvertretungsgesetz (BPersVG; - Provisions governing the right of staff

Federal Staff Representation Act) representation for federal civil servants and
framework provisions for Land legislation
Bundesbesoldungsgesetz (BBesG; Act on the - Provisions governing the remuneration of civil

Remuneration of Civil Servants) servants, judges and military personnel
. Gesetz ber die Gewhrung einer jhrlichen
Sonderzuwendung (SZG; Act on Annual
Special Bonuses)
. Gesetz ber die Gewhrung eines jhrlichen
Urlaubsgeldes (UrIGG; Act on Annual
Holiday Bonuses)
. Gesetz ber vermgenswirksame
Leistungen fr Beamte, Richter,
Berufssoldaten und Soldaten auf Zeit
(VermLG; Act on Capital-forming Benefits for
Civil Servants, Judges, and Professional and
Fixed-Term Military Personnel)
. Verordnung ber die Gewhrung von
Erschwerniszulagen (EZuIV; Ordinance on
Extra Pay for Difficult Working Conditions)
. Verordnung ber die Gewhrung von
Mehrarbeitsvergtung fr Beamte (MVergV;
Ordinance on Overtime Pay for Civil
Servants)
. Zweite Verordnung ber
besoldungsrechtliche bergangsregelungen
nach Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands
(2. BesV; Second Ordinance on
- 117 -
Transitional Remuneration Arrangements

after German Unification)
Beamtenversorgungsgesetz (BeamtVG; Act - Provisions governing benefits for civil

Governing Civil Servants' Pensions and servants, judges and surviving dependants
Allowances)
Soldatenversorgungsgesetz (SVG; Military - Provisions governing the pensions of military

Pensions Act) personnel, as well as their surviving
dependants
Beamtenversorgungs-bergangsverordnung - Special provisions on the pensions of civil

(BeamtVV; Transitional Ordinance on the servants and judges in the new Lnder
Pensions of Civil Servants)
Soldatenversorgungs-bergangsverordnung - Special provisions on the pensions of military

(SVV; Transitional Ordinance on Military personnel in the new Lnder
Pensions)
Collective agreements and statutes for employees
Collective agreements
Bundes-Angestelltentarifvertrag (BAT; Collective - General working conditions, and in particular

Agreement for Salary Earners in the Public pay grades
Service)
Tarifvertrag zur Anpassung des Tarifrechts - in the old Lnder
(Collective Agreement to Adapt the Collective
Agreements in the new Lnder to the BAT) - in the new Lnder
Manteltarifliche Vorschriften (BAT-O;

Framework Collective Agreement for Salary
Earners in the Public Service in the new
Lnder)
Manteltarifvertrag fr Arbeiterinnen und Arbeiter

des Bundes und der Lnder (MTArb; Framework
Collective Agreement for Wage Earners in the
- 118 -
Public Service)
Tarifvertrag zur Anpassung des Tarifrechts fr

Arbeiter an den MTArb (MTArb-O; Collective
Agreement to Adapt the Collective
Agreements of the new Lnder to the MTArb)
Bundesmanteltarifvertrag fr Arbeiter
gemeindlicher Verwaltungen und Betriebe (BMT-
G II; Federal Framework Agreement for Wage
Earners in Local Authority Administrations and
Operations)
Tarifvertrag zur Anpassung des Tarifrechts

Manteltarifliche Vorschriften fr Arbeiter
gemeindlicher Verwaltungen und Betriebe
(BMT-G-O; Collective Agreement to Adapt the
Collective Agreements of the new Lnder to
the Federal Framework Agreement for Wage
Earners in Local Authority Administrations and
Operations)
Additional collective agreements
Lohn- und Vergtungstarifvertrge (Collective

agreements on wages and salaries)
Tarifvertrag ber eine Zuwendung (Collective
agreement regarding bonuses)
Tarifvertrag ber Zulagen (Collective
agreement regarding allowances)
Tarifvertrag ber Lohnzuschlge fr Arbeiter
(Collective agreement regarding wage
allowances for wage earners)
Tarifvertrag ber Urlaubsgeld (Collective
agreement on holiday bonuses)
Tarifvertrag ber vermgenswirksame
Leistungen (Collective agreement on capital-
forming benefits)
Tarifvertrag fr Ausbildungsverhltnisse
(Collective agreements relating to
traineeships)
- 119 -
Tarifvertrag zur Regelung der

Alterszeilzeitarbeit (Collective agreement
governing old-age part-time work)
Tarifvertrag ber Rationalisierungsschutz
(Collective agreements on protection against
rationalisation)
Versorgungstarifvertrag (Collective agreement
on pensions)
Tarifvertrag Altersversorgung (ATV; Collective
agreement on old-age pensions)
Altersvorsorge-TV-Kommunal (ATV-K;
Collective agreement on old-age pensions
paid by local authorities)
Statutes under labour law
Brgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB; Civil Code) - General principles governing rights and duties
constituted by employment
Arbeitsschutzgesetz, (ArbSchG; Act on - Occupational safety measures to improve the

Occupational Safety) safety and occupational health of employees
at work
-
Arbeitszeitgesetz (ArbZG; Act on Working Hours) - Provisions governing permissible working

hours
Bundesurlaubsgesetz (BUrlG; Federal Act on - Governing the minimum leave of employees

Leave)
Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz (EFZG; Act Governing - Governing the continuation of payment in case

the Continuation of Payment) of illness
Mutterschutzgesetz (MuSchG; Maternity - Governing maternity leave and the

Protection Act) continuation of payment
Bundeserziehungsgeldgesetz (BErzGG; Federal - Governing child-raising leave and child-raising

Act on Child-Raising Benefit) benefits by the state
Jugendarbeitsschutzgesetz (JArbSchG; Act to - Governing the minimum age of employment,

Protect Young People at Work) limitation of working hours, etc. for young
- 120 -
people
Kndigungsschutzgesetz (KSchG; Act Governing - Governing the permissibility of dismissals

Protection against Dismissal)
Siebtes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch (SGB VII; VII - Provisions on the prevention of, recovery from
Social Code) and compensation for occupational accidents
Gesetzliche Unfallversicherung (Statutory or illnesses
accident insurance)
Tarifvertragsgesetz (TVG; Act on Collective - Governing the content, form and legal
Agreements) consequences of collective agreements
Gesetz zur Verbesserung der betrieblichen - Provisions to regulate occupational pensions,

Altersversorgung (BetrAVG; Act to Improve particularly in case of termination of
Occupational Pension Schemes) employment prior to retirement

The Public Service in Germany December Id 24273 en

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The Public Service in Germany December Id 24273 en

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The public service in Germany

The public administration of the Federation, the federal states

The public service in numbers (as per 30 June 2000)

Federal Republic of Germany

Area 357,000 km2

Source: Federal Statistical Office, population statistics 2000

I. The structure of the state and of the public administration in

1. Tiers of state governance and administration

the separation of powers,

the legal system, which is largely uniform throughout the Federation,

the administration of the Federation,

Proportion of public service staff as a percentage of the entire

2. The administration of the Federation

Highest federal authorities

Organisation of a federal ministry 1)

Parliamentary State Secretary

State Secretary State Secretary

Directorate- specialized specialized specialized

Division Division Division Division

Division Division Division Division

Division Division Division Division

Officer for Gender Equity Staff Council

Areas of federal administration

Federal financial administration: The areas of fiscal and customs administration,

Federal waterways and shipping: The Waterways and Shipping Administration,

3. The administration of the Lnder

territorial states (Baden-Wrttemberg, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Hesse,

city-states (Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg).

government commissioners or regional governments as an intermediate instance and the

Higher special authorities have the function of an intermediate authority between

Source: Federal Statistical Office, series 11, vol. 1, 2000

Public service staff in the direct Land service as per 30.06.2000

Schools and pre-school 817,400 36.0

Higher education 237,900 10.5

Fiscal and financial 153,600 6.8

Judicial institutions 189,700 8.3

Police 273,600 12.0

Others 601,100 26.4

Total 2,273,300 100.0

4. The administration of local authorities

Local authority administrations make up the third pillar of administration in Germany.

Staff employed by municipalities,

General administration 249,000 15.8

5. The indirect public administration

Specifically, these are:

(Bundesversicherungsanstal fr Angestellte) and 17 Land Insurance Institute for Salaried

the employment administration, carried out by the Federal Institute for

the statutory accident insurance institutions (93 Berufsgenossenschaften and in

the federal miners' insurance fund (Bundesknappschaft), with a staff of 14,000.

6. The non-public institutions

Approx. 45,000 teachers were working at a total of 2,326 independent private

The number of higher education institutions operating as independent agencies

Judges and public prosecutors at federal and local level as per

Source: Federal Statistical Office, series 14, vol. 6, 2000

II. Modernising the Public Administration

1. Modern State - Modern Administration (www.staat-modern.de)

Another particularly effective means to enhance the public administration's operational

A modern administrative apparatus requires modern service regulations which encourage

2. BundOnline 2005 (www.bundonline2005.de)

Efficient and effective administration is no longer conceivable without the use of

Following a comprehensive review, the Federal Government adopted an interministerial

Today, 21 services are fully available on the Internet already.

III. The foundations of employment in the public service