Signite's Magazine

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 shortage of skilled labour in Germany is an issue in many sectors. In the transport sector the lack has recently grown the most in relative terms. According to a study by the Competence Centre for Securing Skilled Labour (Kofa) of the Institute of German Business (IW), which is closely linked to employers, the demand […]

The government of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg has agreed to set up a state agency for the immigration of skilled workers (LZF), which will also take on coordination and counselling tasks. As part of this reform, there will also be a central immigration authority for foreign skilled workers, replacing the 137 local immigration authorities […]

Since 1 March, the new Immigration Act for Germany has made it possible for future skilled workers to obtain a visa without a notice of deficiency. We explain exactly how this works here. Since the beginning of this month, applications for a work visa can also be submitted without a decision on deficits. Even with […]

The renowned Bertelsmann Foundation has published a new study according to which Germany needs hundreds of thousands of immigrants per year to meet its labour needs in the coming decades. Around 280,000 international workers would have to start each year until 2040 in order to prevent the potential of the labour force from collapsing. The […]

A major reform is to create a new basis for hospital care in Germany. The Bundestag (lower house of parliament) was followed today by the Bundesrat (upper house representing the federal states) in approving the reform. A number of hospitals have experienced financial problems in the recent past, partly due to the previous system, and […]

The federal state of Brandenburg has launched a digital platform to facilitate the recruitment and integration of international nursing professionals. The online portal ‘Working in Nursing’ offers comprehensive information for professional nursing staff from abroad. The platform offers advice and support as well as practical assistance on topics such as entry, work permits and German […]

The Institute for Employment Research in Nuremberg announced that in June 2023, almost 1.7 million employees subject to social security contributions were working in nursing care. According to the study, the increase in specialist nursing staff is due exclusively to foreign employees working in Germany. Between 2013 and 2023, the number of foreign employees in […]

The number of occupations in short supply in Germany fell slightly in 2023, but remains at a very high level. This is the result of the annual analysis of the shortage of skilled workers by the Federal Employment Agency (BA), which has now been published. Shortages in filling vacancies are evident in 183 of the […]

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 […]

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 […]

German hospitals have a massive staffing problem in nursing. Almost every hospital (94%) has vacant nursing positions on general wards that are not filled. Three quarters of intensive care units have vacancies in intensive care. And in two thirds of hospitals with paediatric wards, positions remain unfilled. The figures are the result of a representative […]

The new Immigration Act will make it easier for job seekers and people from the Western Balkans to immigrate to Germany. In this third and final part, we look at the laws that will apply from June 2024. Introduction of the job search opportunity card An opportunity card will be introduced for job-seeking residence. There […]

Staff shortages continue to be one of the biggest problems in Germany. And it will become even more acute in the future. This has a lot to do with the ageing German society. According to a study by the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, 5.7 million people in need of care can be […]