A verdict – and the fear that it will make integration of migrants more difficult

It sounds like a massive problem, which the Berlin newspaper “Tagesspiegel” reported on at the end of May. Due to a ruling by the Federal Social Court, “thousands of language and integration courses are in danger.” Naturalization tests may have to be “stopped.”

In 2022, the court made a ruling that received little attention for a long time. But it is now causing quite a stir among providers of continuing education programs. According to the ruling, a music school had to pay social security contributions in 2022 for a music teacher who had offered piano and keyboard lessons on a freelance basis for years. She was actually employed, the judges found.

The Federal Social Court only ruled in this specific case. However, the decision could have an impact on numerous integration courses, as WELT reported at the end of May. The majority of the more than 20,000 language course teachers also work on a freelance basis. And the questions that arise are: will they also have to be employed full-time in the future because of the ruling? Will the entire integration course system, which already costs taxpayers more than a billion euros a year, become even more expensive in the future? Or are the courses at risk of being cancelled?

So far it has worked like this: The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) determines the content of the courses. It also approves the teachers. The courses are then run by providers such as adult education centers or private educational institutions. These employ the language teachers themselves: either as permanent employees, but much more often on a fee basis. They usually teach in the provider’s rooms, at specifically agreed times of the week. They cannot choose the participants.

Whether such employment on a fee basis is acceptable or is not actually “bogus self-employment” is examined in Germany by the German Pension Insurance (DRV) as part of a so-called status determination procedure.

The spicy part: In interpreting the music school ruling, the DRV is now apparently increasingly coming to the conclusion that integration course teachers must also be treated like permanent employees. This reassessment of the limits of self-employment in the further education sector, which goes back to a meeting of the DRV, the health insurance companies and the Federal Employment Agency in summer 2023, potentially affects all freelance lecturers at all educational institutions who were previously considered self-employed. And that is currently causing uncertainty in the educational institution sector.

“All providers have a problem with the transition,” says Sören Kosanke, managing director of the Federal Association of Vocational Training Providers, WELT. Anyone who applies for a status determination procedure now can be sure “that they will have a permanent employee in their pocket afterwards.” Existing fee-based contracts would have to be converted into jobs subject to social insurance contributions, and social insurance contributions would have to be paid back for years in some cases. “The providers have not factored in this money. There is great concern in the industry that they will be left with the costs.”

The problem can be solved for new contracts. But that can have an impact on the integration course offering. “If it doesn’t work for providers, they won’t do it,” says Kosanke. “This can lead to not being able to offer all integration courses, especially in rural areas.” Many people are not aware of the costs that employers have to pay for permanent employees. “You have to provide a workplace, a break room, but above all, personnel management.”

The providers are compensated for the courses by the BAMF. For each participant and 45-minute lesson, there is 4.58 euros for integration courses and 5.12 euros for professional language courses. This would “cover all costs in a flat rate,” writes a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior. In the end, each provider decides for themselves: is it worth it for them to offer the courses under these conditions? If Kosanke is to be followed, some of the providers could answer the question with “no” in the future. Namely if they were forced to switch to permanent positions that might be more expensive.

The federal government has so far responded calmly to the crisis situation. According to its argument, it is not necessary to employ all integration course teachers on a permanent basis. In its music school decision, the Federal Social Court pointed out “that the distinction between employment and self-employment should not be made in the abstract for certain professions and activities,” writes a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

In principle, it is still possible “for teachers and lecturers to work independently”. In any case, the system of integration courses is not at risk as a result of the above-mentioned ruling. A spokesman for the BAMF points out that several state social courts have already ruled in favour of freelance work. “The legal situation still allows for some flexibility.”

In concrete terms, this means that the providers must design the fee contracts in such a way that they do not give the impression of bogus self-employment. A provider from Thuringia, which employs lecturers both on a freelance basis and as permanent employees, reports how this can be done. She makes sure that the freelancers work for several clients and that they actually only come to the institution to teach and do not also take on administrative tasks, says the managing director, WELT. What works in Thuringia, however, does not necessarily work everywhere. Because there needs to be enough teachers who want to work under these conditions.

So far, there is no problem with skilled workers. The BAMF reports that the number of active teachers in integration and vocational language courses has “continuously increased” in recent years, “from around 12,000 at the beginning of 2022 to more than 20,000 currently”.

However, there is an age problem. As a study by the BAMF itself shows, the average integration course teacher is older than 50 years. They are often women. A lecturer tells WELT that younger people are hardly interested in working as freelancers under the conditions mentioned. Many are aiming for permanent employment. It is unclear whether the providers will be able to cope with the existing reimbursements to offer attractive employment. If necessary, there will be calls for the federal government to provide more money.

Against this background, the Union faction in the Bundestag is now accusing the government of jeopardizing the future of the courses. “Providers of integration courses fear for their future, but the federal government sees no problems,” complains Nina Warken (CDU), parliamentary manager, to WELT. The assessment of the situation is “neither understandable nor comprehensible” – after all, the government says it has received reports from the providers.

According to Warken, one thing is clear: “Either many courses will be eliminated in the future, fees will increase, or teachers’ pay will fall due to the change from freelance to employment contracts. The losers will therefore be either the immigrants willing to integrate, the taxpayer, or the teachers.”

Kosanke also believes that the federal government has a role to play. “It has made very clear provisions for integration courses. For example, the lecturers cannot organize their participants themselves; the content of the lessons is predetermined. In effect, this means that freelance work is no longer possible.” One way out of the crisis could be to “regulate by law that lecturers can work as freelancers, but must nevertheless pay into social insurance.” The courts would then also have to adhere to such a law.