@itsOasus We like to pretend the free market will somehow take care of this but the truth is it just won't. We fear that "small businesses" will be hurt by this but refuse to question whether a business should exist if it can't take care of its own employees.
@itsOasus to be fair, they only pay half of your health insurance, the other half is taken from your paycheck. But since all of that happens automatically in the background, you'll never really notice.
Welcome to the free world. Where not only the doctors are free, but you are also free to enjoy a cold beer in the sun after work, without first consulting a lawyer about the local regulations.
@itsOasus It took me a second read to get it, because I first thought the complaint was those are all the benefits the law enforced in the US, which seemed just fine. Then I realized I misread the first paragraph, and OP actually moved from the US to Germany, so what they meant to say is that the US doesn't have those and I had to look that up.
Those are almost exactly same benefits I get in Canada, and I am literally an hour drive away (like more than half the country is) from the US. Wild.
@itsOasus wait till you hear about up to 3 years of protected parental leave (up to 28 months at least partially paid) and (depending on where you leave) free day care. oh, and they can't just fire you.
@itsOasus As in, "what do you mean, 'benefits'? These are your minimum rights."
Here (german site of a multinational) there is the story, we hired an italian PhD and she stated her salary expectation.
Hiring Manager: I cannot do this.
She: ?
Hiring Manager: I cannot pay you below tariff.
@lobingera @itsOasus I went through this once. Since then I refuse to state my expectation before hearing them first.
Things are set up in America, I fear, to encourage a patron-client model of society, in which you have to suck up to a powerful protector in order to get reasonable housing, medical care, education, and so on ― and you can lose it all in a moment if you fail to be an adequate sycophant.
And this is reflected again in electoral politics, where many people will vote for the biggest bully, because that's what they're used to.
It's not feudalism because there's not even a pretence of reciprocity, of downward loyalty. It's patricians and plebeians.
@tsukkitsune @itsOasus True..though Trump’s cultists seem to think it’s reciprocal and he’ll give them prosperity and wealth in exchange for returning him to power by any means necessary.
In this case, what they don’t know will hurt them.
Everyone has had a chance to see how that man operates, and if they think he has any inclination to reward or protect his supporters, they're deluding themselves. With him, it all flows one way.
@itsOasus and if you organize in your labour union, you might even get MORE benefits than just the bare legal minimum
criticism of unions
@Dingsextrem @itsOasus
Yeah, except when you happen to work for that very Union.
@itsOasus Yes, feels great to be treated like a Human being huh? I have relatives in Germany that get all of this...and even the Walmarts over there are union & get same benefits.
We could do that here, if our government gave a rats ass about our healthcare system but...they don't.
#healthcareisahumanright except in the USA
@itsOasus @EeveeEuphoria You have to buy health insurance in Germany?
In Norway everybody is insured by the government. Some companies have private health insurance as a perk, but it’s only to get an appointment faster (and hence your ass back on your chair faster)
@jornane @itsOasus @EeveeEuphoria yes and/but no. Like in the majority of countries, can get fully public or private health care through work. If it works as I understand it, if you have public health care, you pay more tax than if you have private health care, but need to pay the insurance from your earnings. Also, may have fewer treatments or limited cover available. And the possibility of pay now get a refund later - with all sorts of questions in between, in the private.
@jornane @itsOasus @EeveeEuphoria it’s mostly a technicality in Germany. Just choose a provider and tell payroll (if you have any) your account details. Then use the healthcare services in a similar way to how you do in Norway.
@itsOasus So, yeah, about that: we're in Ireland now. Private insurance is a thing. It's fairly cheap, and my employers paid for me, and this year for my spouse as well.
But... the private insurance will not cover any pre-existing conditions for 5 years.
Counterpoint, though: so far, we haven't had to use it, since the various visits we've had have been... €60-100. Prescription drugs aren't too bad... and there's a thing we signed up for, that limits it to €86/month/family.
@itsOasus My kid just said today : "The USA are so fucked up, they think that Germany is good."
@itsOasus I'm just gonna leave this here... no, this is not satire.
https://vimeo.com/639318528
@itsOasus I work for a US company but in Germany. Yep, infinite sick leave, month of vacation and of course all insurances paid. I need a doctor, I see no money moving. Just show your card and it is all handled behind the scenes.
Especially nice with Type 1 diabetes. All pumps, sensors, insulins, all equipment paid without me seeing any money changing hands.
@itsOasus Except your employer is not at all required to pay for your complete health insurance in Germany. They only pay half. And you only get 20 days off. Not 30, so while this piece sounds nice. It's entirely fictional.
@Schouten_B @itsOasus
20 is the minimum required by law.
But most employees have contracts with 30 days.
@Schouten_B @itsOasus still sounds amazing
surprised ? that's what kkkristians nations are about ...
What can we say about your experience? I guess, "I jealous would do it
My employer provides no medical, 5 days vacation a year and sick leave isn't something anyone I know in the US gets. And the US is a 1st World Nation? I think we need to reevaluate our working lives before placing the 1st World moniker on our country.
@itsOasus What US-americans call "benefits" are just "simple bare necessities" over here...
@itsOasus benefits everybody
@itsOasus just one correction, the employer pays half of the health insurance
Corrective greetings from supposed worker's paradise.
Sick leave is limited to 6 weeks per year, after which there is a greatly reduced sick pay from the health insurance company for a maximum of ~78 weeks in three years, not unlimited.
The statutory holiday entitlement is 20 days (with a 5-day week), but is often adjusted to 25-30 days by collective agreements.
And the employer only pays half of the health insurance.
(Still light years away from the US, I know)
@itsOasus And, of course, it's also true that, even uninsured, you generally pay less for medication and medical appointments outside the US, than you pay after insurance in the US
@itsOasus Health insurance works differently in Germany, though. Your employer covers roughly 50% of the costs (or 70% and more for public servants), and there are major differences between public ("gesetzlich") and private healthcare insurance.