"Bureaucratic burden is alarming"

According to a recent ZDH survey, bureaucracy is the biggest burden for more than three-quarters of craft businesses. The association calls for "urgently needed relief for craft businesses."

This article is part of the special topic Bureaucratic madness in the craft industry

The bureaucratic burden has loud Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH) has reached a level that enables the craft businesses to their limits Too often, the corresponding duties are not insignificant time and financial expenditure connected.

Where is there potential for relief?

To gain insights into how the Stress situation current look, the ZDH, together with the 53 Chambers of Crafts, has published a Survey on bureaucratic burden in the skilled trades The survey asked the craft businesses what the increase in bureaucracy resulted in and where Relief potential lie. 10.630 companies took part in the survey.

Key findings of the survey:

• For 74 percent of the participating craft businesses, the bureaucratic burden has increased over the last five years.
• Constant adjustments to new legal regulations are the greatest burden for 76 percent of craft businesses, followed by the effort required to fulfill proof and documentation obligations (54 percent).
• Fifty-eight percent of businesses report that self-employment in the skilled trades is becoming increasingly unattractive due to the bureaucratic burden. Sixty-eight percent of skilled trades businesses that communicate digitally with authorities perceive the digital exchange as a relief.
• However, 35 percent of companies do not communicate with authorities digitally. The main reason: the authorities' lack of digital communication channels.

Survey resultsHere you can find all the results of the ZDH survey."The results of the ZDH survey are a clear emergency call to the legislature," emphasizes ZDH General Secretary Holger Schwannecke"The amount of documentation, proof and information requirements that have been reached is literally choking the economic development of craft businesses in already difficult times. In view of this worsening situation It is not surprising that many young people are taking the step into self-employment precisely because of the immense bureaucracy shy away."

Act quickly and decisively

Politicians must recognize that things cannot continue like this. "The announced Bureaucracy Reduction Act is important, but can only one building block of many be to the urgently needed relief for craft businesses to actually achieve in practice. What is required is a broad approach, which consistently reduces existing burdens, systematically avoids new bureaucracy and includes efficient and digital local administration." The Federal Government must act quickly and decisivelyso that bureaucracy is not seen as Transformation brake acts.

Source: ZDH

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