Administration: the burden of bureaucracy

Companies have to invest a lot of time and money in dealing with bureaucratic work. But the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated the importance of efficient bureaucracy. Let's take stock.

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

The Announcement came early, the Payment notWhen the second lockdown appeared on the horizon, politicians had already announced First aid for corona-affected businesses in October But instead of the promised November aid, the Bureaucracy, including an intermediary tax advisorwho was allowed to submit the application. They verbally promised December and then January aid, but nothing more than advance payments. Payments have only been made since January 11, 2021.

Paralyzing bureaucracy as a permanent construction site

The November aid is just one example of how paralyzing bureaucracy can be. Because there has to be order, there has to be bureaucracy. But it's the how that's done that counts – and bureaucracy quickly proves to be a permanent construction site. Even ancient Rome is said to have Downfall due to excessive bureaucracy It doesn’t have to be that brutal, but every single existence that in Corona times also threatened by bureaucratic burdens is, one endangered existence is too much.

And indeed, there are always attempts to fight against the administration. In 2007, the first Bureaucracy Reduction Act, the Bureaucracy Reduction Act II followed in the same year – and Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier With the Bureaucracy Reduction Act III, the Federal Government announced the end of paperwork. The lockdown has impressively demonstrated the extent to which public administration has put an end to paperwork and switched to digital channels.

The smaller the company, the higher the bureaucratic effort

The work for the authorities primarily affects small businesses. The smaller a company is, the higher the time expenditure, which is associated with the fulfilment of bureaucratic tasks, has the Institute for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Research years ago. How time-consuming it is to deal with it is demonstrated, for example, Andreas Halle from Dortmund regularly.

His bad luck: When Master optician and owner of a business With four employees, he not only has to overcome the bureaucratic hurdles prescribed by companies: "As Health craftsmen I also have to deal with the Medical Devices Regulation struggle around and fight my way through the Privacy regulation." Background: For the production of glasses, he handles patient data that is particularly sensitive according to the GDPR, which is reflected in stricter regulations.

Long waiting times for a piece of paper

He also points out the importance of completing and timely uploading data for the State Statistical OfficeHalle does not deny that surveys are useful. "But sometimes I really think that we have nothing more important to do." Because the Administrative work can take up to two hours per day What particularly annoys him is: "If colleagues or I need a necessary certificate from the office, we can wait up to eight weeks for the piece of paper."

This was just a simple extract from the Commercial Central Register. Health professionals must have this in order to be able to carry out the mandatory Prequalification to obtain if they want to enter into a contract with a health insurance company. This is essential if they want or need to bill the insurance company directly for services.

ZDH: Bureaucracy relief laws too timid

The small and large bureaucratic tasks of companies add up to almost 45 billion eurosThis was investigated on behalf of the Federal Government in 2012 in order to Bureaucracy cost index This index has been updated ever since to see how the reduction of bureaucracy is progressing. However, the index, set at exactly 100 in 2012, was most recently Federal Statistical Office at 98,56, which is one Reduction of 943 million euros requirements.

But that doesn't sound like real progress. Politicians had embraced the "one in, one out" principle of legislation: if a new bureaucratic burden is introduced, another must be eliminated. The catch: Politicians have only Brake installed, which prevents bureaucracy from getting out of hand, but has not been reduced further. "The last three bureaucracy relief laws were far too timid in terms of content," therefore Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the Central Association of German Skilled Crafts (ZDH)"In practice, they have not brought about any noticeable changes."

Simplify application and payment

This is primarily about the Time factor: On the way through the bureaucratic mill, gaps become apparent, as with the emergency aid during the second lockdown. This was followed by the Terms and conditions, Dann the changes to the terms and conditions, then Changes to the changes.

"The application process must be simpler and the payment must be made much faster," criticizes Hans Peter Wollseifer, President of the Central Association of German Crafts, bureaucratic effort of emergency aid"But what we see is that with each revision, the conditions for assistance become less understandable." His conclusion: "This is far removed from the reality in companies; it's far too bureaucratic."