Globalization Insider

In this issue…

Managing Change in Corel (premium) • John Rowley, Director of European Localisation, Corel Corporation Limited.
Director’s letter (premium) • Michael Anobile
LISA Profile - Jaap van der Meer
LISA Plans to En-LEIT-en Localization Trainers • Sue Ellen Wright, Kent State University
Towards Objective QA (premium) • Siu Ling Koo, Managing Director, L&L Informatie
Cross the River by Feeling the Rocks (premium) • Tony Perkins, General Manager, Beijing, McKinsey & Company Inc. China
Freelance? Self-Employed? Are You Certain? (premium) • Michael Reiter, Senior Project Manager, Fry & Bonthrone Partnerschaft
The LISA Secretariat and Executive Committee
Piecing the Puzzle (premium) • Anne Chudobiak
TMX has been Implemented! • Alan K. Melby, Brigham Young University

Freelance? Self-Employed? Are You Certain?

New German Social Security and Labor Legislation Redefines Traditional Market Relationships

Michael Reiter, Senior Project Manager, Fry & Bonthrone Partnerschaft

German translators, technical authors, editors, programmers, consultants, and many others who thought they were self-employed may be in trouble, along with their clients. Amendments to the country's social security legislation, in force since January 1, 1999, mean that a good number are now considered to be "pseudo self-employed". The result: both they and their customers may be forced to pay contributions to the State-run health, invalidity and pension insurance programs - possibly even retroactively for several years. Additional legislation on casual working and foreign contractors - the implications of which are in many cases still unclear - also looks set to reduce flexibility on the German labor market still further. The language industry, with its peaks and valleys in demand and traditional heavy reliance on external suppliers, is one of the sectors most affected by the changes.

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