The public service
Working in the federal public service
In Germany, civil servants, judges, military personnel and other staff are employed in the public service.
Whether civil servants or not, all public service staff strive to achieve the same goals: providing the public with high-quality and cost-effective service.
The number of staff in the federal public service
Since the first phase of federalism reform was completed in September 2006, there have been approximately 131,000 civil servants and approximately 158,500 other employees in the federal public service, plus approximately 184,000 military personnel.
Eligibility for the public service
All Germans are eligible for every public service position if they have the necessary skills and qualifications and can perform the necessary tasks. This is guaranteed by Article 33 (2) of the Basic Law.
Citizens of any European Union member state have the same eligibility as Germans, if the position is not reserved for a German national.
To ensure that staff are qualified to deal with the wide variety of public administration tasks, the public service offers systematic preliminary and in-service training for the different service classes. For civil servants, there are four service classes, each requiring a different educational degree: ordinary service – school-leaving certificate or equivalent (Hauptschulabschluss); intermediate service – school-leaving certificate and successful completion of appropriate vocational training or the equivalent; higher intermediate service – university entrance qualification (Abitur) or equivalent; higher service – appropriate university degree for the relevant career path.
There is no equivalent system of service classes for other public employees, although the salary structures are somewhat similar: They are also based on educational degrees; the necessary qualification has to be obtained prior to recruitment either during in-house apprenticeships or at technical colleges or universities.
The difference between civil servants and other public employees
Most positions in the core areas of traditional administration are held by civil servants, especially supervisory positions and those involving powers of intervention, such as law enforcement and the tax administration. On the other hand, most positions in health care, social services and technical occupations are held by other public employees. Public employees who are not civil servants also have secure employment and a status comparable to that of civil servants.
Federal ministers and parliamentary state secretaries
Federal ministers are not civil servants with life tenure, but are in an official relationship under public law for the purpose of holding public office. They manage their portfolios independently and on their own responsibility as office-holders who are responsible to Parliament in the framework of the general policy determined by the Federal Chancellor.
The office of Parliamentary State Secretary is also governed by public law. Parliamentary state secretaries are members of the German Bundestag who are assigned to the federal ministers. They represent the ministers in the Federal Cabinet and in public and assist them in carrying out their political duties. In particular, they work to maintain good relations with the Bundestag and Bundesrat and their committees, with the parliamentary groups and their task forces, and with the political parties.
