Freelance and contract workers in Germany

Abstract

"The paper deals with forms of employment that belong to the grey area between dependent employment and self-employment. Both self-employed workers without employees of their own as well as freelancers or contract workers are to be considered here. From a legal point of view this employment group has received considerable attention with the label 'nominally self-employed'. The term is frequently used to describe workers whose employment relationships largely correspond to forms of work usual for workers in dependent employment but who are not entitled to basic rights of employee protection due to the actual form of the contractaul relationship. The utilisation of freelance and contract workers is analysed from a companies point of view. The data basis for this is the IAB Establishment Panel. This paper looks into issues such as: the development in the use of freelance and contract workers in recent years; which enterprises in particular request freelance or contract workers; is it possible to identify any specific patterns of logic of use of freelance and contract workers in companies. Based on the personal and company-related findings, the final chapter contains a synoptic presentation and interpretation of the findings." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Dietrich, H. (1999): Freelance and contract workers in Germany. Enterprise perspectives form the IAB Establishment Panel. In: J. Merz & M. Ehling (Hrsg.) (1999): Time use : research, data and policy. Contributions from the International Conference on Time Use (ICTU), University of Lüneburg, April 22-25, 1998 (Publications of the Research Institute on Professions, 10), p. 227-240.