Signite's Magazine

Patient advocates and nursing associations in Germany have expressed alarm at the increasing shortage of staff in nursing homes. Christine Vogler, President of the German Nursing Council, emphasised: ‘In many places, nursing care in Germany is no longer guaranteed’.  In inpatient long-term care alone, there is a shortage of around 115,000 full-time professional carers. At […]

Rashid Hamid now has over 300,000 followers on Instagram. It all started with the fact that he wanted to post a few videos from his everyday life as an outpatient carer, showing excerpts from his working day. He hadn’t expected it to go so viral. The success of the “carer with heart and soul” lies […]

Companies active in the building cleaning trade in Germany remain pessimistic about the future. According to a survey by the industry association, business is stagnating for around half of all companies, with a quarter even expecting a slight decline. This is not due to the poor order situation. The biggest obstacle to future growth is […]

In Germany, the statutory minimum wage is the absolute lower limit for the payment of labour. In many sectors, trade unions and employers have agreed on minimum wages that are higher than the statutory minimum wage, in some cases very significantly. We show you the industry minimum wages for some sectors and explain in advance […]

The number of people in need of long-term care in Germany has continued to rise as expected. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), 4.96 million people in Germany were in need of long-term care at the end of 2021. In December 2019, there were still 4.13 million. The vast majority of these people in […]

If you have decided to work as a physiotherapist, you want to actively help people so that they can live their lives without pain and discomfort. This brings satisfaction and is one of the main reasons for choosing this profession. There is currently a great need for physiotherapists throughout Germany, and there will be an […]

What is in store for you? Anyone who wants to work as a nursing professional in Germany in the future must, in addition to proving their professional competences (through a knowledge test or adaptation course), also take a compulsory language test. This means that a normal B2 language certificate (e.g. from the Goethe Institute or […]

The Federal Ministry of Health is currently working on a fundamental reform of the health care system. The focus is primarily on hospitals and their financing. But other ideas are also being discussed. One proposal is that there should be hospitals that are run entirely by nurses. Even if this would go very far, the […]

A study has analysed the future need for skilled workers in elderly care and the results have now been published. By 2035, more than 130,000 additional full-time skilled nursing staff will be needed in Germany. Already in 2025, a shortage of almost 60,000 nursing professionals is predicted, especially in nursing homes and in the outpatient […]

Unions and public employers have reached an agreement: The more than 2.6 million federal and municipal employees – including nursing staff in municipal facilities – will receive more money from March 2024 and inflation compensation payments before the end of this year. In total, employees will benefit from a pay increase of up to 17 […]

Since this month, i.e. since May, the second of a total of three stages for higher minimum wages in elderly care has taken effect. This means that the nursing staff there receive more money for their work. The minimum wage still differs according to the qualification of the staff and is now as follows: auxiliary […]

The federal state of Bavaria has decided to postpone the start of the specialist language examination for nursing staff by half a year. Originally, the introduction was planned for 1 July 2023. Now the first examinations are to take place at the beginning of 2024, when implementation must take place in all federal states anyway. […]

Economic downturn or not, the metal and electrical industry in northern Germany is still in great need of skilled labour. Depending on the company, there is currently a shortage of between 10 and 20 per cent of skilled workers. According to a survey by the Nordmetall trade union, around 42,000 skilled workers are currently being […]

Carers employed in public institutions, i.e. those belonging to the state, will receive more money in the first half of 2024. From 1 March, nursing staff employed in public institutions will receive more money. This is the result of the agreement reached in collective bargaining for the public sector at federal and municipal level. Their […]

According to the latest Skilled Labour Report from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), more than 80 percent of German companies fear negative consequences for their economic development due to labour shortages. The labour shortage is already forcing 40% of companies to reduce their own range of services, while others are losing orders, […]

The German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK) has accused hospital employers of not taking enough action against the shortage of nursing staff. There is too often a lack of introduction of more attractive roles for nursing staff and modern, i.e. more flexible working time models. The reform of hospital structures currently being discussed by […]