Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I experienced as a freelance trainer at so-called “AZAV-certified education providers”—the German accreditation for state-funded training. As part of AVGS coaching, paid for with vouchers from the Jobcenter, I had the privilege of supporting wonderful people. I felt deeply committed to these coachees as human beings, and I shared all my experience and resources with them to open up real perspectives.
But while the work was extremely fulfilling on a human level, I kept running into massive contradictions in the framework and the bureaucratic rules.
One central point still bothers me today: the final reports for the Jobcenter and for the AZAV certification bodies. As a freelancer, I’m expected to write detailed reports according to strict guidelines—some of them completely arbitrary and, in my view, hopelessly out of date. And this is where the contractual confusion begins. My freelance contract is based purely on teaching units (Unterrichtseinheiten), so I’m paid for time. Classic contract law, however, draws a clear line between a service contract paid by time (Dienstvertrag or Honorarvertrag) and a contract for work (Werkvertrag), where a specific piece of work is owed. How can I be required to produce a complex piece of work—according to criteria that often aren’t even spelled out in my contract?
It gets even more explosive when it comes to data protection. I was expected to send these reports, with the coachees’ full real names, by unencrypted email. That goes against my own principles, and it goes against the basic rules of the GDPR. Sensitive data simply does not belong on the open internet without encryption.
I have now asked the academy for a written breakdown of the relevant contract clauses. I want to know exactly where it says how this report writing is paid—and how it is supposed to be compatible with data protection. I’m not trying to accuse anyone. I’m asking for contractual and ethical clarity. If we talk about quality in adult education, we can’t hand in data protection and fair contracts at the cloakroom.
What do you take away from this thought?
Thank you. Every answer fits – take it with you into your day. Would you like to share something yourself?
