The coalition agreement between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, titled “Responsibility for Germany,” was announced on April 9, 2025. It outlines the future political strategy for Germany, addressing several aspects of employment law. While the agreement does not include any major breakthroughs or groundbreaking reforms, it initiates several “small-step” changes. Notably, more drastic measures proposed by the SPD, such as the abolition of fixed-term employment without objective reasons, are not included in the final coalition agreement. The key points relevant to businesses operating in Germany are also summarized below:
- Inclusion of new self-employed contractors in the statutory retirement system: As already envisaged in the joint paper published after the exploratory talks, the coalition intends to require all new self-employed individuals that are not part of a specific professional retirement scheme (e.g., physicians, lawyers, architects, dentists, etc.) to contribute to the statutory retirement scheme. This will reduce certain financial risks related to ‘false’ self-employment. However, this change is expected to increase costs for businesses working with individual self-employed contractors, as the costs will likely be passed on to the contractors’ business partners.
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