Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Paid vacation use: The role of works councils

The article investigates the relationship between codetermination at the plant level and paid vacation in Germany. From a legal perspective, works councils have no impact on vacation entitlements, but they can affect their use. Employing data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), the study finds that male employees who work in an establishment, in which a works council exists, take almost two ...

Trade union membership and paid vacation in Germany

In Germany, dependent employees take almost 30 days of paid vacation annually. We enquire whether an individual’s trade union membership affects the duration of vacation. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the period 1985 to 2010 and employing pooled OLS-estimators, we find that being a union member goes along with almost one additional day of vacation per year. Estimations ...

Social Custom, Free Riders, and Trade Union Membership in Germany and Great Britain

Norm-Based Trade Union Membership: Evidence for Germany

Severance Pay and the Shadow of the Law: Evidence for West Germany

Trade Union Membership and Works Councils in West Germany

Der Anteil der Gewerkschaftsmitglieder an allen Mitgliedern eines Betriebsrates ist erheblich höher als der gewerkschaftliche Organisationsgrad der Arbeitnehmer. Stellen Betriebsräte das Aushängeschild der Gewerkschaften dar, sollte die Gewerkschaftsmitgliedschaft der Beschäftigten positiv mit der Existenz von Betriebsräten und deren Nähe zu Gewerkschaften korreliert sein. Auf der Basis von Daten des ...

The Effects of Income Taxation on Severance Pay

An Economic Analysis of Dismissal Legislation: Determinants of Severance Pay in West Germany

Severance pay is a vital part of employment protection legislation (EPL). We investigate the incidence and level of severance pay for dismissed employees. Our theoretical model predicts that not only the law and its interpretation by labour courts but also the costs of a suit have an impact. Using West German panel data for 1991-2006, we find that the employees' costs resulting from a suit and ...

Take It or Go to Court": The Impact of Sec. 1a of the German Protection Against Dismissal Act on Severance Payments

In 2004, a section was added to the German Protection against Dismissal Act, establishing a new procedure to dismiss an employee, given a predetermined severance payment. Most legal scholars presume the change to be without impact, while a minority of experts claims it to be either beneficial or unfavorable to employees. Our theoretical model suggests that firms will use the new procedure, but that ...

Trade Union Membership and Dismissals

In Germany, there is no trade union membership wage premium, while the membership fee amounts to 1% of the gross wage. Therefore, prima facie, there are strong incentives to freeride on the benefits of trade unionism. We establish empirical evidence for a private gain from trade union membership which has hitherto not been documented: in West Germany, union members are less likely to lose their jobs ...