livable retirement benefits which don’t require investment
I wasn’t aware that Europe has such a thing. Which European countries? All of them? Certainly it’s being paid for somehow. Americans get retirement in the form of social security. That does require that you pay into it, but I’m assuming the European version does as well, just as a general tax instead of a specific charge. Is the European version based on how much you made while working? What is the program called?
It’s paid for in Germany through a tax, but not personal investment in a retirement account (maybe my phrasing was unclear). The level of retirement pay is dependent on the time you worked and your pay, but it’s complicated. Someone who works full time for minimum wage will still get enough for healthful survival into old age. Each European country handles things differently.
Also, parental leave, I don’t know how I missed that one.
I was pretty shocked when I learned that Germany offers 6 months of paternity leave, fully paid. When my son was born I got half a Friday off and was back at work on Monday. That isn’t most people’s experience here though. Most decent jobs have similar benefits to all the ones you mentioned, but they’re attached to the job, not workers rights. So those were some good points you made.
I’m an American immigrant in Germany, and in my work experience in the US, it’s hit or miss. I worked as a server, in a call center, and as an insurance adjuster. As an insurance adjuster, new fathers got two weeks, and new mothers got six months parental leave. As a server, I worked with a woman who came back the day after giving birth. I worked at three different restaurants, and not a one offered anything for parental leave outside of FMLA without pay (nor did the call center). New mothers have the option for disability, but that’s not full pay.
It’s definitely a good job vs. bad job thing, which is really fucked up, IMO, because the “bad jobs” are the ones where people actually need the money/time without paying for childcare. As an insurance adjuster, I could have relatively easily taken unpaid time off, as long as I had warning, because my pay was pretty high for my area (for heavily litigated, high value commercial liability claims, like asbestos exposures- an auto or homeowners insurance adjuster doesn’t make as much). As a server, missing one shift was difficult.
I’m currently working part time in a bakery in Germany, while getting my master’s degree. They just made me a wedding cake for free, which blew my mind. Most of the Germans I’ve told about it feel like it’s expected. That’s not a right that Europeans have, obviously, but workers here are generally valued more by their companies, even in bad jobs (which a part time student job almost always is in the US).
For another example, my boss changed the schedule last week, and I asked in our group chat if anyone could cover my new shift. My boss realized she hadn’t asked me first, and took me off the schedule for that shift. I’ve been called in for a shift in the US with two hours notice and told that if I couldn’t make it work, I would be fired. They can’t do that here because everyone has contracts. They could only fire me without three months notice if I committed a crime against them (because it’s a bakery, but a teacher convicted of, say, pedophilia which occurred outside of their work hours or a heavy equipment operator with a DUI could still be fired for those, because they’re relevant crimes to the job).
Vacation, illness/disability benefits that pay you for sick days regardless of your job, livable retirement benefits which don’t require investment…
I wasn’t aware that Europe has such a thing. Which European countries? All of them? Certainly it’s being paid for somehow. Americans get retirement in the form of social security. That does require that you pay into it, but I’m assuming the European version does as well, just as a general tax instead of a specific charge. Is the European version based on how much you made while working? What is the program called?
I said livable. Social security is not livable.
It’s paid for in Germany through a tax, but not personal investment in a retirement account (maybe my phrasing was unclear). The level of retirement pay is dependent on the time you worked and your pay, but it’s complicated. Someone who works full time for minimum wage will still get enough for healthful survival into old age. Each European country handles things differently.
Also, parental leave, I don’t know how I missed that one.
I was pretty shocked when I learned that Germany offers 6 months of paternity leave, fully paid. When my son was born I got half a Friday off and was back at work on Monday. That isn’t most people’s experience here though. Most decent jobs have similar benefits to all the ones you mentioned, but they’re attached to the job, not workers rights. So those were some good points you made.
I’m an American immigrant in Germany, and in my work experience in the US, it’s hit or miss. I worked as a server, in a call center, and as an insurance adjuster. As an insurance adjuster, new fathers got two weeks, and new mothers got six months parental leave. As a server, I worked with a woman who came back the day after giving birth. I worked at three different restaurants, and not a one offered anything for parental leave outside of FMLA without pay (nor did the call center). New mothers have the option for disability, but that’s not full pay.
It’s definitely a good job vs. bad job thing, which is really fucked up, IMO, because the “bad jobs” are the ones where people actually need the money/time without paying for childcare. As an insurance adjuster, I could have relatively easily taken unpaid time off, as long as I had warning, because my pay was pretty high for my area (for heavily litigated, high value commercial liability claims, like asbestos exposures- an auto or homeowners insurance adjuster doesn’t make as much). As a server, missing one shift was difficult.
I’m currently working part time in a bakery in Germany, while getting my master’s degree. They just made me a wedding cake for free, which blew my mind. Most of the Germans I’ve told about it feel like it’s expected. That’s not a right that Europeans have, obviously, but workers here are generally valued more by their companies, even in bad jobs (which a part time student job almost always is in the US).
For another example, my boss changed the schedule last week, and I asked in our group chat if anyone could cover my new shift. My boss realized she hadn’t asked me first, and took me off the schedule for that shift. I’ve been called in for a shift in the US with two hours notice and told that if I couldn’t make it work, I would be fired. They can’t do that here because everyone has contracts. They could only fire me without three months notice if I committed a crime against them (because it’s a bakery, but a teacher convicted of, say, pedophilia which occurred outside of their work hours or a heavy equipment operator with a DUI could still be fired for those, because they’re relevant crimes to the job).