Job Sharing is a flexible working time model, in which two employees share one role. In this working time model, you work closely together with your tandem partner and divide your working hours and tasks individually.

Complex jobs that cannot be carried out part-time are feasible through job sharing. By organizing work and time, even complex tasks can be mastered. This not only teaches shared responsibility for these tasks but also for your employees. Hence, even management positions are possible through Job Sharing, something highly unlikely in regular part-time positions.

External candidates should seek partners before applying for joint positions. Leverage collaboration to enhance your chances of success!            

Your individual contract specifies how many hours you will work per week. It is up to you and your tandem partner how you divide the working hours within a working week. Based on the slogan “One is always there” it is RECOMMANDABLE that a minimum of 100 percent is spread over the weekdays from Monday to Friday.It is very common for job-sharers to agree on a joint work plan. The work plan typically states how the partners want their working relationship to function over the short and medium term. For example: it specifies the individual working hours. The work plan is binding for everyone involved: the two job-sharers and the employer. Making the work plan available to colleagues and managers via a shared calendar can also be a useful tool.

Job Sharing is an appealing work model for anyone who wants to work flexibly but doesn’t want a typical part-time job. You should have a desire for close teamwork, be able to communicate clearly and be loyal and reliable. Job Sharing is also suitable for Beiersdorf employees who would like to do their job part-time and who enjoy intense teamwork.

Most jobs are suitable for Job Sharing. There are already a number of Job Sharing arrangements at Beiersdorf for various specialist and managerial roles. Some of them including very extensive, complex and demanding scopes of duties. The most important is that you can see yourself being able to carry out the tasks expected of you at Beiersdorf conscientiously and in good teamwork with your tandem partner.

Unfortunately, no! Job Sharing only works with the matching tandem partner by your side. Since only you can decide who is your perfect match and with whom you want to carry out your future job side by side, it is essential to have found the suitable partner before applying for Job Sharing. Only then can your application be considered.

Beiersdorf has decided to actively promote and support Job Sharing. Once you and your tandem partner have found the right position on our careers page, all you have to do is upload your completed applications (don't forget to include the name of your tandem in your CV) and the first step towards job sharing is done. Our recruiters will take over the subsequent steps and you will receive feedback from us.

Our sole objective as an employer is to fill every position at Beiersdorf with the perfect fit. It does not matter whether it is an individual application or a tandem application. There won't be a disadvantage for you.It is important to represent yourself as one team! Make it clear to us in your application why you are the perfect fit for the job as a tandem. What makes you special as a tandem and how can we as an employer benefit from you?

The Job Sharing partners need to establish beforehand how much transparency will be necessary for their particular case. Some Job Sharing partners work very closely together, while others only discuss the most important issues and milestones. The degree of transparency that is required depends not only on the role that they are sharing, but also, crucially, on the Job Sharing partners’ personalities and ways of working. A certain amount of transparency is inherent to Job Sharing and, hence, inevitable. In practice, Job Sharing partners usually keep in touch regularly via email, phone, instant messaging, intranet platforms such as TEAMS. There are also transfer-slots possible during which one partner can pass on information and tasks to the other in person – for example, at times when their working hours overlap.

That depends on the degree of transparency you have agreed on for your Job Sharing arrangement. We would recommend dealing with this issue and other potentially sensitive issues with as much openness as necessary and as much discretion as possible.

Generally, you and your Job Sharing partner will have your own individual part-time contracts, which can also be negotiated individually. If your skills and experience are very similar, it may make sense to negotiate your contracts and salaries jointly. However, if the partners have different skills and experience (and correspondingly different salary expectations), it may make more sense to negotiate individually. However, in a well-functioning Job Sharing arrangement it generally shouldn’t be a problem to be as transparent as necessary in this regard. In addition to the two individual part-time contracts, it is also possible to conclude a joint agreement clarifying issues such as representation regulations. However, in practice these agreements are often only made verbally, and despite this are almost always respected by both partners.

Don't worry about this! You have an individual employment contract and are therefore contractually independent of your tandem partner. If such a scenario ever occurs, a solution would be found which would satisfy both you as an employee and Beiersdorf as an employer.

There is no legal obligation to do so, but a requirement to this effect can be included in the Job Sharing agreement. In practice, partners often only make verbal agreements about such matters, which is pragmatic and usually works well. After all, it is in your mutual interest (and in the interest of the job sharing arrangement) to be able to rely on having a well-informed colleague to cover for you while you are ill.

Of course, in individual cases, your tandem partner may not be able to cover for you. However, this can also be the case for individually organized employment relationships. Advantage job sharing: 50% of the work is nevertheless done while you are ill!

There are already a number of employees at Beiersdorf who have successfully progressed in their career while job sharing. Since Job Sharing makes it possible to carry out even highly demanding roles and management responsibilities on a part-time basis, Job Sharing is fully compatible with career progression. It’s important that the Job Sharing partners are aware of the opportunities for development in their shared role and agree on the details of how they want to proceed.

If you have any questions not covered in our FAQs, please contact our Diversity Expert at Christina.Braase@Beiersdorf.com or two_share@Beiersdorf.com.