Hi all!
In Germany there is a social system, I think most of you know that. One part of it is the Health Ensurance system and every employed person have to pay a defined amount to one ensurance-company. There are different companies and 20 years ago it depended on your job or the company you worked for which Health-Ensurance-Company you joined to. In the 1990th the German government decided that you can chose yourself the company which you would like to join to. So if you were employed you could change the ensurance-company everytime and if you started a new employment you could chose the ensurance-company which you would like to join to and the personal department of your company only had to announce you to the company you decided for. That is the rule.
Another rule is that if you are unemployed and don?t get any financial soppurt from the work-agency you are not longer member of one ensurance-company and you were possibly ensured as a family member by your husband or wife or parents if they were member of a company. That?s what happened to me for a few month recently.
Now, one week ago, I got a new job and the rule is that I join to one ensurance-company and become a member myself again. As I?ve been ensured as a family member at my wife?s company, which is a different from my formerly, and the lady from the personal department of my employer asked me which ensurance-company I?d like to join to, I decided -as didn?t have a own membership and to make it easy- that she should announce me at my wife?s ensurance-company. I?ve been working for one day only when I received a phone call from the lady of the personal department in which she explained to me that she couldn?t announce me at my wife?s ensurance-company as there were a rule that I first had to take my formerly company, must cancel that contract, having a period of notice, and can decide then for another company. As I hadn?t been dissatisfied with my formerly company I requested the lady from the personal department to announce me at my formerly ensurance company. Until now for me everything was allright!
But now something happened what makes me curious. As the lady from the personal department had spoken to both ensurance-companies, yesterday I received a letter from both. My wife?s company promises my wife and my a small advertising-amount when I change the company and my formerly company sent a letter in which stood that I have decided for them and that I must give this letter to my employer therewith the lady can announce me at their company. [color=red]Now I?m curious what happened here! :? As I have been no member at any company at my own, did my formerly company promise the lady from the personal department an amount in order to take influence on my decision, is the above described way of getting a member again the rule in fact or is that a sillyness of the German system only? :? I mean I?ve neither had a chance for a free decision nor have got an advertisement-bonus.
Has anybody an idea?
Michael