General employment law
Who does employment law actually apply to?
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Employment law applies to employees but not to self-employed people.
Do I have the same rights as other employees in Germany?
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Germany’s Prostitutionsgesetz (ProstG or Prostitution Law) means that it has been legal to be employed in prostitution in Germany since 2002.
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If you are employed as a sex worker, you have the same working rights as any other employee in any other job. Under certain circumstances, an accident at work will mean you have the right to a pension, pregnancy will mean you have the right to maternity leave, and unemployment will give you the right to unemployment benefits.
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If you need free legal advice about this, contact us at cara*SH.
What is my boss allowed to demand of me if I am employed?
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Even if you are employed, your boss is only permitted to give you a certain amount of instructions. When it comes to prostitution, their authority is limited only to where and when you work. They may not dictate which sexual services you offer.
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If you are unsure about whether you are being treated properly, ask us at cara*SH.
How do I know whether I am employed or self-employed?
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If you are employed, then you will have a working contract (either verbal or written). Furthermore, you will receive your wage from the person in charge of you, in return for making yourself available for sexual services. You will also be working as part of a business (such as a brothel). If someone is in charge of you, that means they, as your boss, can tell you when and where you have to work. But in reality, only very few people are employed in sex work.
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Most sex workers are self-employed. You are self-employed if your clients pay you directly and if you yourself decide where and when you work.
Here are a few other things which will apply if you are self-employed:-
You will not receive a fixed salary
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You will have no right to paid holiday or social welfare services
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You will carry the risk for your business
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You may well work with an operator of an establishment such as a brothel. But they will not be your boss, and will not be able to say when you come to work.
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I am self-employed, but my operators always tell me what I have to do. What can I do about it?
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That is not allowed. Nor should you put up with it, since as a self-employed person it is you alone (unlike employees) who decides where and when you work.
I am self-employed – what happens if I am out of work?
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Normally speaking, if you give up your self-employed work as a prostitute, you have no right to unemployment benefits.
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However, before beginning self-employed work as a sex worker, you can take out unemployment insurance from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Federal Employment Agency).
This voluntary unemployment insurance for self-employed people has to be applied for within three months of beginning your self-employed work, at the work agency. Furthermore, you can only take out this insurance if you have worked for at least 12 months as an employee during the last two years, and if you were registered as unemployed immediately before taking up self-employed work (it does not matter how long for).
So, this will suit you if you want to switch from another job and do sex work (for example, you worked behind the bar before, or in a completely different job). Your insurance premium will vary between 40 and 90 euros a month, depending on your income. -
Should you have any questions about that or should you wish to find another way around it, contact us at cara*SH.
I want to change or stop my job. Who can help?
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You can receive advice about your career direction, about getting out or changing your work from the advice centre for sex workers run by the Frauennetzwerk zur Arbeitssituation (Women’s Working Situation Network).
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You do not have to fear that your new employers will find out about your work as a prostitute. You have the right for your details not to be passed on to any employer.
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If you require free legal advice, then you can also contact us at cara*SH.
Map
Advice near you
Beratungsstelle für Erziehung-, Familien- und Lebensfragen Beratungsstelle zum §218 StGB
Mühlenstraße 34
24392 Süderbrarup
Beratungsstelle für Erziehungs-, Familien- und Lebensfragen Schwangeren- und Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung zum §§218/ 219 StGB Diakonisches Werk des Kirchenkreises Schleswig-Flensburg
Norderdomstraße 6
24837 Schleswig
Beratungsstelle in Erziehungs- und Lebensfragen Diakonisches Werk des Kirchenkreises Plön- Segeberg GmbH
Friedrich-Speck-Straße 10a
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Beratungsstelle in Erziehungs- und Lebensfragen Diakonisches Werk des Kirchenkreises Plön- Segeberg GmbH
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Christianstr. 6
24534 Neumünster
Diakonisches Werk Flensburg Schwangeren- und Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung
Johanniskirchhof 19
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Diakonisches Werk Herzogtum Lauenburg Beratungsstelle für Schwangere und Schwangerschaftskonflikt, Bundesstiftung Mutter und Kind, Soziale Beratung, Paar- und Lebensberatung, Migrationssozialberatung
Am Markt 7
23909 Ratzeburg
Diakonisches Werk Rantzau- Münsterdorf gGmbH Schwangeren- und Schwangerschaftskonfliktberatung
Alter Markt 16
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Integrierte Beratungsstelle des Diakonischen Werkes Herzogtum Lauenburg
Ernst-Barlach-Platz 9
24193 Schwarzenbek
Integrierte Beratungsstelle des Diakonischen Werkes Herzogtum Lauenburg
Hohler Weg 2
21481 Lauenburg/ Elbe
Kreis Dithmarschen Beratungsstelle "Kompass" im Ärztehaus im Westküstenklinikum Heide
Esmarchstraße 50
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Barlachstraße 2
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Meierstraße 3
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Elbstraße 145
21481 Lauenburg/ Elbe
Kreis Herzogtum Lauenburg Fachbereich Jugend, Familie, Schulen und Soziales Fachdienst Soziale Dienste
Otto-Brügmannstraße 8
21502 Geesthacht
Kreis Ostholstein Fachbereich Soziale Dienste Schwangerschaftkonfliktberatung
Lübecker Straße 41
23701 Eutin
Landeshauptstadt Kiel Amt für Gesundheit Beratungsstelle sexuelle Gesundheit
Fleethörn 18-24
24103 Kiel
Medibüro Lübeck Vermittlung medizinischer Hilfe für Geflüchtete, Migrantinnen und Migranten ohne Zugang zur Gesundheitsversorgung
Große Burgstraße 51
23552 Lübeck
Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen Elmshorn e.V. Beratungsstelle für Frauen, Familien und Schwangere in Elmshorn
Feldstraße 24a
25335 Elmshorn
Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen Kiel e.V. Beratungsstelle für Frauen, Familien und Schwangere Flensburg
Dr.-Todsen-Straße 4
24937 Flensburg
Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen Kiel e.V. Beratungsstelle für Frauen, Familien und Schwangere Kiel
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Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen Kiel e.V. Beratungsstelle für Frauen, Familien und Schwangere Neumünster
Linienstraße 1
24534 Neumünster