Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

Part Two: Selected Cases
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Martin-Lalande (undated), p. 23/24.

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Case No. 6: Germany - The Federal Ministry of Education
and Science
Policy environment
In general the rate of increase of telework has until recently been rather low in Germany.
However, a number of companies are running successful teleworking pilots (IBM, BMW,
Siemens, Bönders Gmbh, Deutsche Telekom, Translation Services Company, Pragma Text,
Fotosatz Froitzheim GmbH, Dresdner Bank Commerzbank and the insurance companies LVM,
Allianz, Württembergische Versicherung). A study of 272 companies in the state of Nordrhine
Westphalia found that 20% of the organisations claimed to have teleworking employees, mostly
engaged in alternating home/office working.
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At Federal level, telework initiatives started in the late 1980s when the Federal Ministry of
Regional Development, Housing and City Planning commissioned research projects in the area of
the impact of new technologies on regions. One of the consequences has been the foundation of
telehouses in rural areas of Germany. These activities did not have any success in establishing
sustainable teleworking opportunities; they are still dependent on public funds and concentrate on
offering telework training courses and conference activities. In 1993/94 the Deutsche Telekom
AG developed their general teleworking strategy and now aim for a number of internal pilot
projects. 
Federal State government and ministries have started or are about to start their own programmes
and activities regarding ICT-applications, which also include telework under the title ‘Initiative
Telearbeit der Bundesregierung’. The Ministry of Economic Affairs offers the opportunity to
present prototypes of teleworking on an internet server, which was built up in the frame of the G7
pilot project ‘Global Inventory’.
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The German information society initiative (IID) was launched
in 1996 by the Ministry of Economics. The Council for Research, Technology and Innovation
(comprising representatives of the German scientific community, industry, and politics) has been
charged with the task of providing a comprehensive overview of applications, problem areas, and
activities in important fields of innovation and to make recommendations on that basis. The
Council started its work in 1995 with three working groups: ‘Research, Technology, Application’,
‘Legal Framework’, and ‘Cultural Challenges’.
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Order entrusted the Frauenhofer Research Institute for
Labour Economy and Organisation with a study on the impact of labour legislation on telework.
The final report was delivered in August 1997.
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Potential needs for regulation for telework were
identified in following areas: status of the pseudo self-employed (the faux indépendent),
individual contracts for teleworker, accessibility of home offices, issues of occupational health