The German Bundesrat has proposed reducing the minimum duration of subsidised employee further training programs from 120 to 90 hours. As reported by the Bundestag’s hib news service on October 1, this initiative is contained in the chamber’s formal opinion on the federal government’s draft bill to modernise and digitise employment promotion (Drucksache 21/7870).
- The chamber of federal states proposes lowering the minimum duration for subsidised training to 90 hours.
- The Bundesrat considers the existing 120-hour requirement a significant hurdle for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
- Additional costs resulting from the legislation should be financed from general federal budget revenues rather than solely from unemployment insurance contributions.
Proposal on Training Duration
In its formal opinion, the Bundesrat states that certain funding conditions under Book Three of the Social Code (SGB III) present substantial hurdles for employees as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. In particular, the states’ chamber criticises the current statutory requirement for a minimum training volume of 120 hours, according to hib.
In the Bundesrat’s assessment, smaller firms often struggle to release employees from work for such extended periods, a challenge exacerbated by ongoing skilled labour shortages. Meanwhile, the actual training requirements of companies and employees often involve more compact formats.
The chamber expects that reducing the threshold to 90 hours would enable support for shorter modules and expand the range of enterprises able to benefit from the Skills Development Opportunities Act (Qualifizierungschancengesetz). This represents the Bundesrat’s legislative recommendation, not a finalized statutory amendment.
Interoperability of Digital Systems
According to hib, the Bundesrat is also calling for full technical interoperability between the IT infrastructure of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) and the specialised software applications used by other stakeholders. Municipal authorities and employment service providers were specifically highlighted in the opinion.
The federal states link this requirement to recommendations made by the commission for modernising the social state, specifically the establishment of a modular administrative digital platform (Deutschland-Stack) and a central digital social portal serving as a unified access point for social benefits and services. According to the Bundesrat, establishing consistent data links across existing IT systems must be the initial step.
Funding of Additional Expenditure
The Bundesrat insists that additional public spending arising from the bill should be covered by general federal tax revenue rather than exclusively through contribution revenues received by the Federal Employment Agency, hib reports.
The Bundesrat’s statement was forwarded by the Federal Government in document 21/8301. The Bundestag report does not specify an effective date for a possible 90-hour minimum, nor does it confirm whether the proposal will be adopted by parliament.