The Institute for Management and Innovation at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences has conducted a study on the effects of legislation (employee leasing & bogus self-employment) on the transfer of knowledge between external experts and companies. carried out.
Not factored in by policymakers, the AÜG reform of 2017 has led to uncertainty in the field of knowledge-intensive services (e.g. in the areas of consulting, project management, qualification or in the IT environment). Even though the legislator had still specifically excluded high-quality and knowledge-intensive services in its first draft bill for the Employee Leasing Act, this point was not taken into account in the final legislative reform. Legislation on bogus self-employment has also been the subject of intense debate for years. The Institute for Management and Innovation (IMI) has conducted a nationwide survey to investigate whether the current legislation may have an impact on the quality and quantity of knowledge transfer between external experts and companies. For this purpose, a total of 638 persons were interviewed, of which n=323 cases related to clients of knowledge-intensive services (i.e., client companies), n=125 cases related to knowledge-intensive service companies (i.e., e.g., consulting companies, qualification providers, project management service providers), and n=190 to freelancers. The survey was conducted in October 2018. To recruit study participants, we used reputable online access panels in which executives and freelancers with an interest in scientific studies thematically related to their professional activities are registered. The resulting sample thus contains typical representatives of the respective populations without claiming to be fully representative. Moreover, the survey referred exclusively to the field of knowledge-intensive services. The importance of legislation for the protection of workers in the low-wage sector was not doubted at any point. The thesis that current legislation has a negative impact on the quantity and quality of knowledge transfer between external experts and client companies is largely supported by the results.
With regard to legislation on bogus self-employment, the following results are worth mentioning:
- Approx. 45% of the clients surveyed stated that they deliberately reduce the number of freelancers due to the current legislation.
- Approx. 52% of the principals stated that the current legislation makes it more difficult to use freelancers.
- One in three freelancers stated that the number of assignments written down has decreased and their own income has decreased.
- 50% of the surveyed clients stated that knowledge-intensive projects are delayed due to the reduction or abandonment of cooperation with freelancers.
With regard to the legislation on employee leasing, the following results, among others, are worth mentioning:
- 45% of the surveyed service companies stated a decrease in turnover as an effect of the law reform, 40% confirmed a decrease in demand.
- 52% of the service providers surveyed have had to deal with complications in project acquisition since the AÜG reform.
- 40% of the respondents stated that the quality of advice for AÜ projects (compared to processing via work contracts) is worse.
A more detailed presentation of further results will appear in the May issue of Personalwirtschaft. If you are interested in the study and its results, you are also welcome to contact the Institute for Management and Innovation at any time.
Technical contact:
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences
Institute for Management and Innovation
Matthias Sellinger
Tel. 0621/5203-506
E-mail: matthias.sellinger@ 8< SPAM protection, please remove >8 hwg-lu.de
