Marginal employment: should it be extended or abolished?: Statement of the IAB on the public hearing in the Committee for Labour and Social Affairs of the German Bundestag on 22 February 2021

Abstract

"On the one hand, the statement contains an account of mini-job arrangements (the scope thereof, vulnerability to crises, risks and problems). On the other hand, it evaluates the three motions that were discussed during the public hearing in the Committee for Labour and Social Affairs of the Bundestag on 22 February 2021. Accordingly, extending the scope of mini-jobs (i.e. increasing the mini-job threshold and its dynamic adjustment) would only exacerbate the existing problems relating to mini-jobs. The stepping stone effect of mini-jobs has proved to be significantly lower than anticipated when the mini-job was introduced in 2003 and has only met expectations for a minority of the unemployed. Although completely abolishing mini-jobs may solve the related issues, and the fiscal impact would likely prove beneficial, a somewhat different picture emerges with regard to the effect on the labour supply. A total abolition would thus go too far. Fine-grained levels of regulation are required for certain groups of people, such as pupils, students and pensioners. Moreover, dispensing entirely with a de minimis limit would appear to be impractical." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Walwei, U. (2021): Geringfügige Beschäftigung: Ausweiten oder Abschaffen? Stellungnahme des IAB zur öffentlichen Anhörung im Ausschuss für Arbeit und Soziales des Deutschen Bundestags am 22.2.2021. (IAB-Stellungnahme 01/2021), Nürnberg, 14 p.