# Trying to get a job in Germany?



## Berlinerin (20 Jun 2009)

Hi there,

me and my husband had to close our business a few weeks ago and are both now revcieving JA. We have 2,5 years old twins and are living in a council house for the past 2 years. I am originally from Germany and we are strongly considering moving over there. I know we wouldn't be able to transfer our benefits over there, but is there anything else we can do? We don't want to give up our house and our benefits just to find out that we can't get anywhere over there. Would it be possible to hang on to the house for a few month and get a furnished place over in Germany and try our luck? Can we claim straight away in Germany? I guess thats tricky as you have to be registered there. Can we go back on JA if we came back to Ireland after a few month? 

Thanks for your answers, SL


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## Lou34 (22 Jun 2009)

If you leave Ireland to live and/or work in another country, you may be entitled to receive social security benefits in the country you are moving to. 

If you move to live or work in a country covered by EU Regulations, this means that for social security benefits/services, you are entitled to be treated in the same way as the nationals in the EU member state/EEA country that you move to. On a practical level, this means that you and your family are entitled to apply for any benefits or assistance available in the country in which you reside. If you are applying for insurance-based payments, any contributions made in other EU member states/EEA countries should be taken into account. 

You should submit the following form to EU Records at the Department of Social Welfare in order that they can issue an E301 and E104. These forms provide details of your Irish Social Insurance Record and you will need them in order to claim sickness or unemployment benefits abroad. 

http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Forms/Documents/e301.pdf


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## dontaskme (1 Jul 2009)

If it was Jobseekers Benefit and not Jobseekers Allowance you might be entitled to transfer it to Germany for up to 3 months. But JA you can't transfer.  If you are a German citizen you should presumably be entitled to Sozialhilfe in Germany, but I don't know that for a fact. Unemployment assistance and Sozialhilfe is much lower in Germany, something like €360 per month for a single person.


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## Airtight (12 Oct 2009)

Does your husband speak German? What about a security job or some thing at that sort of level? Do either of you have any qualifications? 

Keep us posted, I am very interested in hearing how your story turns out as my wife(German) and I(Irish) are considering the same as you and your husband.


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## enoxy (13 Oct 2009)

Berlinerin said:


> me and my husband had to close our business a few weeks ago and are both now revcieving JA. We have 2,5 years old twins and are living in a council house for the past 2 years.


 
I'm in a similar boat. I'm married, on JA and have young kids. I was earning a good salary before and am now getting by on welfare. I calculate roughly you are getting about €1700 per month JA (or more?) between the pair of you and about €500 in Child Benefit. A council house saves you a fortune compared to a commercial rate of rent. You also probably get a medical card. You are also not having to pay for childcare if you are off. 

 I would think long and hard about leaving that to go to germany unless you have something really solid lined up in advance for at least one of you. I know it's a total drag living here currently with little prospects of getting a job but will things be much better in Germany at the moment? I would use the time you have to put some time and effort into looking at all angles iro paid employment in Ireland. There are also some great FAS courses available which could get you thinking about these kinds of options.

Best of luck with it.


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## alaskaonline (13 Oct 2009)

As a German citizen, you will straight away receive Hartz IV if you return to your country. Your husband wouldn't though as he isn't a German citizen and/ or paid any contributions in that country. As the previous poster suggested, think long and hard about going back - job wise, Germany is much worse off than Ireland (has been for years and no changes to date) - let alone the much lower salaries. Also, you will have to wait until your kids are three before you're assured a creche place. A lot to consider. Does your husband speak German? Why not check the job offers online and apply, see what responses you/ your husband get (if any) and then think again about a possible move.


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## krissovo (13 Oct 2009)

Plenty of English speaking jobs in Germany.  Lots of British military camps in the North require English speaking low to middle skilled work and most German international business now opperate in English exclusively for meddium to higher skilled roles.


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## Airtight (14 Oct 2009)

krissovo said:


> Plenty of English speaking jobs in Germany.  Lots of British military camps in the North require English speaking low to middle skilled work and most German international business now opperate in English exclusively for meddium to higher skilled roles.



Is there any particular website for these type of jobs?


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## Setanta12 (15 Oct 2009)

I have a German g-f and have been over a few times. My German is non-existent and hasn't been helped by the German fondness and predilection for English - many ads are purely in English !   Do not go over without a job - your 'advantage' (being English) ... is an advantage but marginal at best.


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## Airtight (15 Oct 2009)

Setanta12 said:


> I have a German g-f and have been over a few times. My German is non-existent and hasn't been helped by the German fondness and predilection for English - many ads are purely in English !   Do not go over without a job - your 'advantage' (being English) ... is an advantage but marginal at best.



Having English will only been seen as an advantage (by most employers), if you have German (the basic means of communication)

Has the OP looked into the E301, this transfers all social entitlements to Germany, you just need to find out what your entitlements are specifically. My guess is €359 each pm + a place to live (free of charge) + Children allowance c. €300pm (not much), compared to what you have in Ireland (based on Social welfare) Germany would be a step back for you.

Kindergarten over there might only be €50 - €100 per month for each child (cheap), but if your living on €1018 pcm, it would be very difficult to make ends meet. I have only done a little research, so I am open to correction.


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## krissovo (15 Oct 2009)

Airtight said:


> Is there any particular website for these type of jobs?



Unfortunately there is no one stop shop and it requires a little effort.  For the British military roles you need to identify the garrisons like Hohne, Paderbourne, Munster and Fallingbostal etc.

This site for example is the Hohne garrison community site http://www.bfgnet.de/Community/bergen_hohne.htm 

Within that site is the jobs section
[broken link removed]

Some roles will require security clearance with the Brit Government but it is no problem for Irish to get these unless you were ever a member of a paramilitary organisation.

For the corporate roles target the big players web sites and look for the job section.  I did the same and now work for the largest firm in Germany working between Ireland and Munich.


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## Airtight (23 Oct 2009)

Thanks Krissovo

What sort of pay do you think these jobs might attract?


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## krissovo (23 Oct 2009)

For the military roles these are based on civil service pay scales so could be between about €19k > €50k.  Some of them will come with cut price rental for a family home i.e. married soldiers units where the rent is only €200 a month or so for a 3 bed semi/flat but they are generous in size.  Its actually like living in a UK community in Germany where there is English shops and pubs.


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## Airtight (27 Oct 2009)

krissovo said:


> For the military roles these are based on civil service pay scales so could be between about €19k > €50k.  Some of them will come with cut price rental for a family home i.e. married soldiers units where the rent is only €200 a month or so for a 3 bed semi/flat but they are generous in size.  Its actually like living in a UK community in Germany where there is English shops and pubs.



Are there any based near or in Stuttgart?


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## krissovo (27 Oct 2009)

Airtight said:


> Are there any based near or in Stuttgart?



No, Stuttgart is in the US area.  The British bases would be North of Dortmund.


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## dontaskme (7 Nov 2009)

alaskaonline said:


> As the previous poster suggested, think long and hard about going back - job wise, Germany is much worse off than Ireland (has been for years and no changes to date) - let alone the much lower salaries.  Why not check the job offers online and apply...



Actually German unemployment rate (~9%) is significantly lower than Ireland's (~12%) at the moment. And Germany's has been trending downwards, and Ireland's upwards.

There are plenty of regional variations - Berlin for instance has 17% unemployment rising to 33% for immigrants. Munich has much lower unemployment but higher cost of living. 

Checking out monster.de or similar makes sense but even if the job advert is in English, that is usually to test the English skills of German applicants.


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## alaskaonline (14 Dec 2009)

> Actually German unemployment rate (~9%) is significantly lower than Ireland's (~12%) at the moment. And Germany's has been trending downwards, and Ireland's upwards.


 
that is not correct. they (OECD, Arbeitsagentur) expect a 2,5% increase of unemployed people in germany for 2010. currently there are over 4 million people unemployed in germany! mind the other important factor(s) how the german government influences the unemployment figures e.g.:

high number of internships instead of official full time registered jobs
1 Euro Jobs
Jobs with subsidiary ALG II (Hartz IV)
students are kept much longer in universities
longterm maternity/ parental leave (three years)
350.000 pensioners (60-65 years) who should be working but not neccessarily do so (because there are no jobs)
480.000 early retirement people (not neccessarily by choice)
80.000 people registered but sick

these groups don't fall under the unemployment category even though none of them are in proper employment. these numbers added up bring the total by far over 8 million people.

one of the many interesting article to back the above up is here

i have many friends and relatives in germany who struggle and confirm every month that germany is not a country to get a good job in to make it worth while. there is a mix of college graduates, people who completed a three year training etc. - they all find it though, so based on the info and experience i have, i would advise OP to think hard about moving and IF moving, only with a guaranteed job over there.


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## dontaskme (22 Feb 2010)

alaskaonline said:


> that is not correct. they (OECD, Arbeitsagentur) expect a 2,5% increase of unemployed people in germany for 2010. currently there are over 4 million people unemployed in germany! mind the other important factor(s) how the german government influences the unemployment figures e.g.:
> 
> high number of internships instead of official full time registered jobs
> 1 Euro Jobs
> ...


 
What I said was right. German unemployment has been trending down over the past 2 or 3 years. It increased in December last year for the first time in 7 months.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...ses-first-time-since-june-as-winter-hits.html

The figure was 4 million a few years ago now it's 3.4 million
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8484934.stm

You are right that plenty of people are excluded from the statistics but every government plays that game - Ireland excludes people on FÁS courses, CE schemes and back to college schemes.

German figures also include part-time workers as unemployed who would be counted as working in other countries' figures.

There are apparently 80000 people registered sick in Ireland at the moment, so the figures are equal in at least one way 

Germany has a larger more diverse economy than Ireland so there are plenty of niches. But people should do their research beforehand and search job sites before coming over. Look for areas of economic growth.


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