Fachstelle Migration und Gute Arbeit Brandenburg

We offer information and advice on questions related to labour rights. Our services are confidential and free of charge. We speak German, English, Russian, Polish, French and Arabic.

We support you in defending your labour rights by giving you information about your options. If you wish, we can contact your employer in writing or on the phone. In a so-called legal assertion, we claim the money - that you are entitled to - for you. If our efforts do not lead to a solution, we support you in reaching out to labour courts where you can take legal action to claim your rights.

We provide advisory service to all migrants, who live or work in Brandenburg or who commute to work in Brandenburg. You can also seek our advice if you no longer work at the job in question. Even if you do not have a work permit or are not a member of a trade union, we support you. Everything you tell us is confidential: we do not pass on any information about you to anyone without your consent.

You haven’t received your (full) salary?

You don’t know if the work contract is correct?

You have received a written or oral dismissal or want to resign yourself?

You don’t get vacation days, or your vacations days are not being paid?

You have had an accident at work, or your health is jeopardised through your work?

You are treated worse than your colleagues at work because you are not from Germany?

There are labour rights that protect you, for example:

Since 2015 there is a minimum wage. Since the 1st of October 2022 the general minimum wage amounts to 12 € gross per hour. For a few sectors, there are higher minimum wages, for instance in the construction sector, in facility management and cleaning services or for work through temporary employment agencies. You find those here: www.boeckler.de.
Overtime must be paid, or you must be allowed to take time off in compensation.
In the event of illness, your boss or health insurance must continue paying a salary.
A dismissal is only valid in writing and if the legal statutory notice period is being respected.

These rights apply to you, even if you are not from Germany or are not living in Germany. And there are many more labour rights that protect you!

WRITE DOWN YOUR WORKING HOURS: Make a note of when you start and finish working, when and for how long you take breaks and where you work (street, construction site…). Write down how much money you have received (in cash) and when you received it. This will help you in case of a conflict with your employer.

COLLECT EVIDENCE: WhatsApp messages, letters and e-mails from your boss help you in emergencies to prove that you were working. Use your phone to take pictures of yourself at your workplace or of the company’s sign.

DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET INTIMIDATED: Do not sign anything that you do not understand or that you do not want to sign (for example work contracts, pay rolls or blank forms).

REUNITE WITH COLLEAGUES: Together you are stronger. Colleagues can help you; they are your witnesses. If you need to have a difficult conversation with your boss, try to have it together with or in presence of your colleagues.

When you come see us at our offices, please try to bring all documents that are related to your work. For example:

Your work contract or training contract
Pay rolls
Letter of dismissal/ resignation
If possible, an overview of all the hours you have worked

Our office in Potsdam is open Mondays to Thursdays from 10am to 4pm, and our office in Frankfurt/Oder is open Wednesdays, but we might have appointments elsewhere. Therefore, please agree with us on an appointment via phone, WhatsApp or e-mail.

About us

The couselling centre “Migration und Gute Arbeit Brandenburg” aims to achieve fair working conditions for EU citizens, refugees and third country nationals working in federal state of Brandenburg. We are an interdisciplinary team that provides advice and training on German labour rights in different (native) languages.

Our centre was established by “ARBEIT UND LEBEN DGB/VHS Berlin-Brandenburg e.V.” and receives funding from the “Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Energie” of Brandenburg (MWAE). It works closely with the German Federation of Trade Unions “Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund” (DGB), its member unions and adult education centres.

Striving to achieve decent work in Brandenburg

Labour laws exist to protect people in jobs. For example, you have the right to be paid wages at the rate that is customary to the region and the sector. You also are entitled to resting periods between shifts, paid vacation, and paid sick leave in case of illness. These rights apply to all people, regardless of their orgin or of residence status. Including people working without official working permit or people working without an employment contract.

The labour related rights of migrant workers are sometimes severely infringed. Labour exploitation occurs particularly in cleaning and care services, the agricultural sector, the construction business, in the catering and the logistics sector.

Therefore the couselling centre “Migration und Gute Arbeit Brandenburg” works to establish dignified and fair working conditions in Brandenburg. Their activities include:

providing individual advice on labour law
trainings on general labour rights for migrants
building networks and co-operation with relevant stakeholders

We offer multilingual, individual advice, confidentially and free of charge, in our offices in Potsdam and Frankfurt/Oder. Additionally, we talk to you on the phone, through e-mail or by visiting you. We provide information to migrant workers seeking advice about their rights and support them in case of difficulties, for example:

unpaid wages
non-transparent and unregulated working hours
entitlements to paid leave
dismissals
work related accidents
bogus self-employment

We also offer support in cases of coercion, violence or fraudulence at work, and in cases of (suspicion of) forced labour, human trafficking and labour exploitation.

We offer confidential advice regardless of residency status and as far as possible in native languages (in German, Polish, French, Arabic, Russian, and English). Beside migrant workers we also offer advice for job agents and social workers.

In order to be able to assert your rights, you must know what they are, and also how to proceed in claiming them. We organise free workshops and trainings, for example in German language classes, refugee accommodation, neighbourhood projects and language cafés.

In our trainings we provide information about important German labour laws and rights of workers. We discuss problems at work and ways to formally claim one's labour rights. Workshop participants learn to identify signs of exploitation and ways to react.

We offer trainings to migrant workers and refugees (in different languages) as well as persons who work with migrants and refugees (multipliers such as social workers, language teachers, civil society actors and employees of public authorities).

In order to achieve decent work for all and prevent exploitation at work, various stakeholders need to work together: besides workers themselves these stakeholders include advice centres, trade unions, public authorities and administration.

We are committed to directing public attention towards labour exploitation and forced labour, as well as the problem of precarious working conditions amongst migrant workers and in general. Our overall aim is to improve working conditions for all employees in Brandenburg.

Our partners are: