Germany: SAP introduces the right to work on a part-time basis for a fixed period time

While Germany’s Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, Andrea Nahles (SPD) is doing her utmost, albeit currently with little success, to introduce legislation giving workers working on a part-time basis the right to return to full-time work, SAP, the German multinational and global leader in enterprise software has taken the initiative and as of 01 April the 19,000 employees in its German offices can scale back their working time for a fixed time period (running from 1 to 36 months) at the end of which they can go back to full-time work. With this move SAP is looking to respond to a demand by its employees for customized working hours and in this way it can also boost its image as an employer.