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One quick example: Germany has a 3 month required severance period. So if you are doing something where funding may be uncertain, a German employee is somewhat

by woah 3y ago

One quick example: Germany has a 3 month required severance period. So if you are doing something where funding may be uncertain, a German employee is somewhat risky. A startup in California that fails to raise funding can cut staff and take another swing in 6 months. In Germany, this is less likely. You could just budget for this up front and sock away 1/4 salary for every hire, but along with the employer taxes, that really starts to negate any cost advantage vs California. It also cuts the other way. German hires often cannot start for 3 months, so in addition to the time it takes for a developer to start learning the codebase once they’re hired, it might take 6 months between the time that you realize you need a developer and when they are hired and up to speed. I’m not sure, but I believe it is also more complex to freelance in Germany, requiring more of an official business entity, vs the US where you can just send someone an email with an invoice and everyone’s happy. Adding this all together, German employment law is heavily tilted towards larger businesses with longer time horizons and the funding and scale to absorb uncertainty.

jacquesm 3y ago
An alternative viewpoint for you to consider: Germany recognizes that employing someone is much more a risk for the employer than for the employee. So they protect the employee's interest. That there are countries where employees have fewer rights gives the employers in those countries and edge, but that's only because there is a 'race to the bottom' element here. In spite of all that Germany is an economic powerhouse and even if the companies don't make profits as ridiculous as those in countries where such protections do not exist your average employee in Germany is going to have a far less stressful life on account of this than elsewhere. Freelancing all over Europe is best done through a business entity, it offers some basic liability protection and allows you to defer taxes.
- woah 3y ago
  That's nice, just pointing out that German employment law gives large and predictable businesses an edge over small ones

by woah 3y ago

jacquesm 3y ago

An alternative viewpoint for you to consider: Germany recognizes that employing someone is much more a risk for the employer than for the employee. So they protect the employee's interest. That there are countries where employees have fewer rights gives the employers in those countries and edge, but that's only because there is a 'race to the bottom' element here. In spite of all that Germany is an economic powerhouse and even if the companies don't make profits as ridiculous as those in countries where such protections do not exist your average employee in Germany is going to have a far less stressful life on account of this than elsewhere. Freelancing all over Europe is best done through a business entity, it offers some basic liability protection and allows you to defer taxes.

woah 3y ago
That's nice, just pointing out that German employment law gives large and predictable businesses an edge over small ones