Emigrate or wait and see? Uncertain future for German freelancers

Mandatory pensions and pseudo self-employment worry freelancers. At the Freelance Unlocked conference, it was clear that the government's plans are too vague.

The German government's current plans regarding compulsory insurance for the self-employed met with undivided attention from the audience. However, the audience did not become much wiser.

(Image: Freelance Unlocked)

May 22, 2024 at 4:31 pm CEST

5 min. read

iX Magazin

By

Nicolas Kopp

The German government is planning to include the self-employed in the statutory pension insurance scheme in future. That much is already clear, explained Dr. Rolf Schmachtenberg, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, at the Freelance Unlocked conference in Berlin. Only the "how exactly" and "when" remained unclear in his presentation: Schmachtenberg was ultimately unable to provide any concrete answers as to what exactly is in store for freelancers in Germany.

Politicians drum up support for compulsory pensions for the self-employed

At times, the state secretary's presentation seemed like a sales pitch for the statutory pension. However, when asked by the audience whether the problem of bogus self-employment would be solved by including it in the pension insurance scheme, Schmachtenberg conceded that the problem could only be mitigated.

Dr. Rolf Schmachtenberg began by outlining the current status of the German government's plans and illustrated the status of a living document based on the differences between legislative periods.

(Image: Freelance Unlocked)

Self-employed people would therefore still have to live with uncertainties, even if inclusion in pension insurance could certainly offer a certain degree of protection. The invited audience, which mainly consisted of solo self-employed people, did not seem to be averse to a fundamental pension obligation - as long as legal certainty and a certain amount of leeway in the specific structure of the pension were guaranteed in return. "Only the Rürup pension actually meets the current political requirements," Schmachtenberg explained. However, certain adjustments within this model would of course be possible.

Pseudo-self-employment not fully understood as a problem

The political panel on bogus self-employment and the future of freelancing in Germany offered a glimmer of hope for freelancers. Jens Teutrine (FDP), Marc Biadacz (CDU) and Dr. Andreas Lutz from the Verband der Gründer und Selbständigen Deutschland (VGSD) discussed the challenges and opportunities for freelancers. The panel engaged in a lively discussion and ended with an invitation to the Bundestag.

The political panel on bogus self-employment ensured full rows of chairs and the high level of interest was promptly used to carry out a few statistical evaluations directly on the audience.

(Image: Freelance Unlocked)

Jens Teutrine began by criticizing the fact that the self-employed in Germany are treated as "second-class workers" and that the country is too focused on employee relationships. Dr. Andreas Lutz, speaking on behalf of the conference participants, also emphasized the urgent need for legal certainty for freelancers. Marc Biadacz initially missed the opportunity to speak on specific topics, but ultimately recognized that active listening must be the necessary political strategy at this point. Finally, he extended a cross-party invitation to the freelancers to come to the Bundestag and explain their everyday work to the politicians. Many MPs are too far removed from the topic to make informed decisions.

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First and foremost, the discussion made it clear that there is still a lot of ambiguity and pent-up demand in politics regarding the needs and challenges of the (solo) self-employed - a pent-up demand that was also used extensively and actively to gather opinions from the audience. When Biadacz asked the audience who felt that Germany was less attractive than other countries due to the political situation, he was visibly surprised and concerned. Teutrine also appealed: "Write to your MPs. Tell them what you are doing and what is important to you. They have no idea, you have to explain it to them."

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Around 500 solo freelancers in one place

In addition to the political discussions, the first-ever conference with a strong tech focus offered a comprehensive insight into current issues and challenges facing the self-employed. The contributions by Jon Younger, who spoke about the global freelancing economy and the role of platforms in several contributions, and Matthew Mottola, whose keynote speech got the participants in the mood for the conference with an educated look into the future of freelancing, were well received.

Of course, the topic of AI (here with a contribution by Alessandro Pedori) was not to be missed: The two-day conference was designed as a multitrack event and, as a rule, three presentations ran in parallel.

(Image: Freelance Unlocked)

Dr. Benno Grunewald, who has been shedding light on the legal aspects of self-employment for over 25 years, complemented the political statements with his specialist presentation. Marco Wilde, Business Developer in the Innovation and Digitalization department at Airbus, spontaneously gave a presentation on the customer perspective and the challenges faced by large corporations when using freelancers, which was met with great interest.

Finally, Thomas Marbella rounded off the conference on a hopeful note with his presentation and showed strategies and ways in which freelancers can successfully win clients even in difficult times. The two-day conference featured over 50 speakers and a high density of information. "A repeat is firmly planned," says Manuel Meurer, co-initiator of the conference, visibly satisfied.