Glossary

There are statutory benefits and those that are regulated by wage agreements and employment contracts. Employees are legally entitled to statutory benefits and those that are regulated by wage agreements. There is no such entitlement to benefits that are regulated by employment contracts, because these benefits are granted on a voluntary basis. Statutory benefits include the employer’s contribution to health insurance, long-term care insurance, pension scheme, unemployment insurance, sickness pay and maternity pay. Benefits regulated by wage agreements essentially include holiday entitlement, additional salary payments and any industry supplements. Benefits regulated by employment contracts may include a company pension scheme, workplace health promotion, training measures, continuing professional development programmes, and salary supplements (such as a company car and provision of a laptop for private use).

Temporary employees now also enjoy the benefits of collective wage agreements. These benefits principally guarantee employees a minimum wage. The contracts are agreed between the relevant trade unions and leading associations in the temporary employment industry.

A contract for work and services is agreed between an employer or client and an employee on a temporary basis. In the contract both parties agree to render a certain service. However, the client doesn’t just pay for the job to be done, because payment is only made when the project has been successfully concluded. A contract for work and services is temporary and is not based on a regular position.

Direct Search is a service provided by EPOS. The service is similar to traditional headhunting. EPOS generally uses Direct Search to search for and recruit candidates for a specific position. This kind of personnel placement is primarily used to search for top executives and highly qualified specialists. The service is free of charge for the candidates. The company that commissions the service provider pays a fee.

E-learning is short for electronic learning. It refers to staff training courses based on modern information and communication technology. This primarily involves PCs and tablets. Computer-assisted tutorials and video conferences are typical e-learning methods.

Executive search refers to the process of specifically searching for and recruiting a top executive for a certain position. This involves directly approaching suitable candidates following intensive research. Executive search is essentially an alternative name for headhunting. At EPOS this service is called Direct Search.

Freelancers work independently and are not integrated into any corporate structure. They are contracted by clients to work on individual projects or jobs and receive a pre-agreed fee. Freelancers must make their own social security arrangements, such as health insurance and pension scheme. Freelancers mostly work in creative and artistic professions or are consultants.

This is a term used in the area of recruitment. A headhunter works on behalf of the client and specifically searches for and recruits a suitable employee for a special position. This is generally a management position or a job that requires specialist knowledge. The headhunter identifies suitable individuals, checks their suitability, negotiates the terms and ultimately introduces the most promising candidates to the client. Since this process frequently involves luring away suitable candidates from other companies, it is an extremely discrete matter. EPOS uses the term Direct Search to describe this service.

This term is used to describe employees who possess above-average development potential as a result of their knowledge, qualifications, capabilities and social skills. They also have the potential to perform management duties and successfully occupy top positions.

This term is used to describe the entire personnel management system within a company.

These are inducements and rewards offered to employees in addition to their salary. They may take the form of benefits in kind, extra payments, trips or bonus programmes.

The Industrial Code is a German law that sets the framework for all commercial activities. Among other things, it governs the general principles of employment law for the relevant activities, such as the structure of an employment contract, the employer’s authority to issue directives, the issuing of certificates and the prohibition of competition.

Industrial employees are subject to an industrial code. This primarily applies to skilled trades, irrespective of the employer’s industry.

Temporary workers in certain industries receive a supplement on top of their salary. This is graded by industry and length of employment. Such supplements are currently paid in the following areas: metal and electronic industry, chemical industry, rubber industry, plastic processing industry, textile and clothing industry, woodworking industry, railway industry, paper and cardboard processing industry, paper manufacturing industry, printing industry and potash and rock salt mining. Possible supplements for other industries are currently being negotiated.

An interim manager works on a freelance basis and is contracted by a company to work for a limited period. The fee is agreed in advance. There is no obligation to pay social security contributions, but there are also no associated benefits. In classic cases, an interim manager may be used, for example, to oversee a special project or stand in for a top executive who is unable to work.

At EPOS applicants can find interesting vacancies using the job search form. The form has a filter function to narrow the search to a specific industry, area of activity or region.

Job-sharing is a tool designed to make working hours more flexible. The term describes the sharing of a full-time position between several employees.

A master vendor relates to a ‘general contractor concept’. A service provider is solely entrusted with all personnel procurement tasks by its client. As the ‘master’, the service provider handles all of the assignments, even if it also has to deal with other suppliers. The client has just one point of contact that is responsible for them. The ‘master’ settles the account with its client and pays other service providers that have been called in.

The EPOS Matching System is a piece of database-managed software that can search quickly and accurately for suitable candidates for a certain job. To this end, the program matches the candidates’ relevant professional data with the corresponding job profile. Among other things, this data includes details on training, qualifications, experience and, if applicable, previous jobs.

The statutory minimum wage refers to the least amount of salary to which an employee is entitled. It is designed to protect employees from exploitation. Such a provision exists in virtually every European country. The statutory minimum wage in Germany has been set at 8.50 euros per hour since 1 January 2015 and no employer is permitted to pay less than this. Exceptions are possible until the end of 2016 where collective wage agreements are concerned.

On-site management is a special service provided within the context of temporary staff provision or interim management. It involves the recruitment agency’s employees setting up their desks at the client’s place of work, where they coordinate needs, job advertisements, candidate selection, staff planning and personnel management. The HR advisers get to know the company’s processes in great detail and are integrated into the structure. They are in a position, for instance, to identify impending bottlenecks and react immediately. On-site management is especially a good idea for companies that need a high number of employees.

Online application is a general term used when someone applies for a job on the Internet. This may take the form of directly responding to a job advertisement, choosing from a list of jobs or filling in an online form.

Outplacement is an advisory service provided to employees who are being made redundant. In such cases, a company commissions a recruitment agency to work out a fair and attractive solution for the affected employee. The focus is on developing a career-based perspective, ideally by finding them a new job. The company pays for these services.

Outsourcing refers to the practice of transferring individual departments or fields of activity to a service provider. The service provider supplies the necessary staff and takes responsibility for coordinating and managing all tasks. This may take place at the client’s place of work or elsewhere.

With personnel placement the client commissions the recruitment agency with the task of filling certain vacancies with suitable individuals on regular contracts. This generally involves specialists and executives. The recruitment agency searches for suitably qualified candidates and helps its client to select the right individual and draw up the contract.

Potential analysis is a tool used to assess the skills, strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and motivation of employees and compare the results with the employer’s requirements. This allows the employer to establish how suitable an applicant is for the vacant position. Potential analysis also helps to highlight employees’ prospects so that their career path can be better planned.

Recruitment agencies deal with the task of human resource management on behalf of their clients. In the first instance this involves searching for and recruiting employees as well as providing temporary staff. But the agencies also provide advisory services on matters such as personnel concepts, personnel development, personnel management, training measures and outplacement. There are agencies that provide the entire range of services and others that specialise in certain areas.

A permanent position refers to open-ended or fixed-term employment with a regular income and the usual benefits. Such employment is subject to social security contributions. Only civil service positions are exempt from social security contributions. The employee is employed by the company, integrated into its corporate or governmental structures and subject to the employer’s authority to issue directives.

A speculative application is one which does not relate to a specific job advertisement. It is more like a general enquiry about a potential vacancy.

Subcontracted labour is a somewhat outdated term for temporary staff provision.

Temporary staff provision involves a recruitment agency supplying its client with employees for a limited period of time. The client has no obligations as an employer and does not have to deal with personnel management tasks. Instead, the client is only invoiced for the actual hours worked. That’s because the personnel are employed by the recruitment agency. They have a regular employment contract including the usual benefits.

A vacancy is an unfilled position.