Abstract

The present study analyses the development and structure, including the employers’
motives and the legal implementation, of fixed-term contracts in the German public
sector during the last decade from 2004 to 2014. The private and the non-profit sector
serve as a benchmark.
The challenge for scientific research on the German public service is the lack of a
comprehensive data source that contains information on fixed-term contracts as well
as information on the specific features and structures of the German public sector.
Therefore, the analyses are based on the available data - the IAB Establishment
Panel, the data on public service personnel, and the micro-census – each allowing
for a different perspective on fixed term employment in the public sector. Expert surveys
of personnel managers and personnel councils of 15 selected public service
organizations complement the quantitative analyses. The interviews are particularly
powerful to provide an insight to the employers’ motives and the legal implementation
of fixed-term contracts in the public sector.