Topics
Welfare State and Work
This topic covers the welfare state (Sozialstaat) and working life in Germany. The Sozialstaat is a basic principle of the Grundgesetz: the state is meant to provide social security and soften social inequality. In practice, this mainly works through Sozialversicherung, social insurance made up of five branches: health insurance, pension insurance, unemployment insurance, long-term care insurance, and accident insurance.
For the test, it matters which insurance covers which risk. Health insurance covers treatment costs, pension insurance pays out in old age, unemployment insurance helps after job loss, long-term care insurance helps when someone needs care, and accident insurance covers workplace accidents. Employees and employers usually split the contributions to these insurance branches.
A common trap: the five insurance branches are easy to mix up, especially health insurance and long-term care insurance, which are related but cover different things. Terms around working life also come up often, such as the difference between a Gewerkschaft (trade union, representing employees) and an employer association, or between a Tarifvertrag (collective agreement) and the Mindestlohn (minimum wage). The minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate set by law, while a collective agreement can set different, usually higher, wages for a specific industry.
Questions in this topic
- 23. In Germany, most employed people are…
- 35. How does the German state finance social insurance?
- 36. Which measure creates social security in Germany?
- 45. To which insurance does long-term care insurance belong?
- 50. The economic system in Germany is called...
- 97. What do you automatically pay in Germany when you are permanently employed?
- 99. Who pays for social insurance in Germany?
- 100. Which of the following is not part of the statutory social insurance?
- 101. Trade unions are interest groups of ...
- 104. A woman in Germany loses her job. What cannot be the reason for this dismissal?
- 135. Whom do the trade unions represent in Germany?
- 171. Social market economy means the economy...
- 241. Ms. Seger is having a child. What must she do to receive parental allowance?
- 247. A woman is pregnant. She is particularly protected by law shortly before and after the birth of her child. What is this protection called?
- 250. In Germany, you have the best chances of obtaining a well-paid job if you...
- 284. What one needs to know for work will change very quickly in the future. What can one do?
- 285. Ms. Frost works as a permanent employee in an office. What does she not have to pay from her salary?
- 286. Which organization in a company assists employees with issues concerning the employer?
- 287. You wish to terminate your employment with a company in Germany. What must you consider?
- 291. Why must one indicate in the tax declaration in Germany whether they belong to a church or not? Because …