Editing Civil service (section)

====Germany====
The '''Public Service in Germany''' (''[[:de:Öffentlicher Dienst|Öffentlicher Dienst]]'') employed 4.6 million persons {{as of | 2011 | lc = on}}.<ref>[http://www.dgb.de/themen/++co++01027f58-f007-11e0-51a9-00188b4dc422 Index Gute Arbeit: Sonderauswertung Öffentlicher Dienst 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206081127/http://www.dgb.de/themen/++co++01027f58-f007-11e0-51a9-00188b4dc422 |date=2017-12-06 }} DGB (PDF, German)</ref> Public servants are organized<ref>{{cite web |title=Beschäftigte im öffentlichen Dienst |url=https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/oeffentlicher-dienst/zahlen-daten-fakten/zahlen-daten-fakten-node.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911093250/https://www.bmi.bund.de/DE/themen/oeffentlicher-dienst/zahlen-daten-fakten/zahlen-daten-fakten-node.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 September 2019 |publisher=Bundesministerium des Innern, für Bau und Heimat |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref> into hired salaried employees (''Arbeitnehmer''), appointed civil servants (''[[Beamter|Beamte]]''), judges, and soldiers. They are employed by public bodies (''Körperschaften des öffentlichen Rechts''), such as [[Districts of Germany|counties (''Kreise'')]], [[states of Germany|states]], the [[politics of Germany|federal government]], etc. In addition to employees directly employed by the state another 1.6 million persons are employed by state owned enterprises<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/OeffentlicheFinanzenSteuern/OeffentlicherDienst/Personal/Tabellen/Gesamthaushalt.html|title=State employees as of June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221103425/https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/OeffentlicheFinanzenSteuern/OeffentlicherDienst/Personal/Tabellen/Gesamthaushalt.html|archive-date=2015-02-21}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Category !!Federal Government!! Regional Government!!Municipal Government !! Social Security !! Total
|-
| State employees||458||2,114.4||1,220.7||378.6||4,171.7
|-
| government owned enterprises||240.4||387.1||950.2||24.5||1,602.1
|-
| Total||698.4||2,501.5||2,170.9||403.1||5,733.8
|}

[[Beamter|''Beamte'']] has been a title for government employees for several centuries in German states, but became a standardized group in 1794.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} Soldiers other than [[Conscription in Germany|conscripted soldiers]] are not Beamte but have similar rights. Judges are not Beamte but have similar rights too.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beihilferatgeber.de/service/faq/beihilfe-fuer-richter|title=Beihilfe für Richter gilt wie für Beamte – beihilferatgeber.de|website=www.beihilferatgeber.de|access-date=2015-11-21|archive-date=2015-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122085112/http://www.beihilferatgeber.de/service/faq/beihilfe-fuer-richter|url-status=live}}</ref> Public attorneys are all Beamte, whereas most (but not all) professors are Beamte. The group of Beamte have the most secure employment, and the amount they are paid is set by national pay regulations (''Besoldungsordnungen'').<!-- The actual payment varies by employer. --> Beamte are prohibited from [[strike action|striking]].

''Arbeitnehmer'' have work contracts, whereas ''Beamte'' are appointed, employed, and removed in accordance with the Public Sector Service and Loyalty law (''öffentlich-rechtliches Dienst- und Treueverhältnis''). Most tasks can be either done by ''Arbeitnehmer'' or ''Beamte'', however some specific tasks of official nature are supposed to be handled by ''Beamte'' since they are subject to a special loyalty obligation.

''Beamte'' are divided into four levels:
* ''Einfacher Dienst'': ordinary civil service, corresponding to [[enlisted ranks]] in the military, now largely obsolete
* ''Mittlerer Dienst'': medium-level civil service, corresponding to [[non-commissioned officer]]s in the military
* ''Gehobener Dienst'': senior civil service, including civil servant positions such as ''Inspektor'' and above, corresponding to [[commissioned officer]]s from [[Second lieutenant|lieutenant]] to [[captain (armed forces)|captain]] in the military
* ''Höherer Dienst'': higher civil service, including civil servant positions such as ''Rat'' (Councillor) and above as well as academic employees such as Professors, corresponding to [[Major (rank)|major]] and above in the military

''Gehobener Dienst'' and ''Höherer Dienst'' both require a university education or equivalent, at the very least a bachelor's or master's degree, respectively.