European Policy Analysis
employed in line with the principle of the freedom to provide services in the EU , which makes it possible for foreign agencies to send their employees to other member states and offer services there . The competitive advantage within this legal arrangement is that the working conditions from the country of origin apply and only basic German employment rights are effective which are listed in article two of the Law on Posted Workers ( Arbeitnehmerentsendegesetz [ AEntG ] 2009 ). One example of these basic rights is the Act on Working Hours ( Arbeitszeitgesetz [ ArbZG ] 2012 ) which limits the possible working hours per day to 8 – 10 hours . Another basic regulation in Germany , which took effect on the 1st of January 2015 is the general minimum wage of 8.50 € per hour , which also applies to live-ins ( Mindestlohngesetz [ MiLoG ] 2015 ). However , in many cases these basic regulations are surpassed because of difficulties in law enforcement , uncertainties about the content of the work and the protection of private homes , which make a control of the working conditions of live-ins nearly impossible ( sueddeutsche . de 2014 ; Tießler-Marenda 2014 ).
When exploring the example of live-ins it becomes apparent that the freedom to provide services within the EU enables this circular migration of informal care workers . But even though this circularity is promoted by EU regulations , when speaking of circular migration , there is no mention of liveins and their circular movements . This reflects the criticism about the political discussion and its detachment from the actual phenomenon . The aim of this article is to close this research gap by exploring the circular migration of live-ins and answering the following questions . What is the impact of the circularity on the employment situation and working conditions ? How does it relate to the statement of Vertovec ( 2007 ) about social mobility ? Is it an example of managed migration like it is suggested in EU debates or are movements spontaneous like the academic definitions propose ? How does the employment fit into the context of the elderly care sector in Germany and demographic change ?
Methods
To answer these research questions , this article is based on a research study on the consequences of demographic change for regional development , especially in the elderly care sector . In order to understand the situation of the circularity of liveins , a total of over 35 interviews were conducted with migrants , placement agencies in Germany , families who hired a live-in via an agency like that , elderly care institutions , agencies organizing recruitment programs for nurses in elderly care , employers unions , the Federal Employment Agency , care unions , employee unions , and educational centers , etc . The interviews were semi-structured and conducted in German language . Several interview guides were used depending on the interviewee and the relevant topics . These guides systematically pursued certain topics while leaving enough space for the interviewee ’ s own ideas outside these guidelines . In order to analyze the data , the interviews were transcribed and analyzed through a developed relevant codes system according to Mayring
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