The DFG first obtained certification from berufundfamilie Service GmbH under the audit berufundfamilie initiative in 2001. After re-audits in 2004, 2007, 2011 and 2014, the DFG Head Office was once again awarded the audit berufundfamilie certificate on 20 June 2017 in Berlin by the then Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Katarina Barley, and John-Philip Hammersen, managing director of the non-profit Hertie Foundation.

Prior to this, the DFG successfully completed the dialogue process which forms part of the audit: this is available to employers who have adhered for at least nine years to a strategically planned personnel policy that takes family commitments and life phases into account, subject to audit. The purpose of the dialogue process is to maintain the high standard of a personnel policy that is sensitive to family commitments and life phases while at the same time fine-tuning certain specific aspects. This was followed by two further dialogue processes at the beginning of 2021 (slightly delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and also in 2024, when the DFG was awarded the “long-term orientation” certificate. This makes the DFG one of only a small number of enterprises and institutions in Germany to have been awarded this seal of quality for their family-friendly HR policy for the eighth time.

berufundfamilie Service GmbH stated the following in its certification of the DFG Head Office: 
“The compatibility of work and family life has long been a reality at the DFG. Family-friendly human resources management is well established. There are hardly any issues “solely” involving compatibility that need to be addressed. The challenge now is to maintain the standard achieved and ensure its continuous advancement in line with changing requirements. The conditions for this to happen are favourable, since the issue of work and family is already well established within the structures and processes of both HR and leadership. This means that the DFG is very well positioned in this area and is confronting the challenges of a workforce landscape that is subject to rapid transformation.”

berufundfamilie also commended the DFG for its ongoing dedication to reinforcing the sustainability of its well-established, family-friendly initiatives in the area of employee support. These include the following:

A flexible system of working hours

Flexible working hours apply to all employees at the Head Office. As long as professional duties are carried out and the organisation’s operational capacity is maintained, employees are free to determine their daily working hours within the defined core period themselves (from 6 am to 9 pm). This enables them to balance work and family life flexibly on a day-to-day basis.

Individual part-time models and options

DFG employees also have the option to work part-time. The share of part-time employees was 26 per cent in 2016. The DFG endeavours to meet individual requests to work part-time, both in terms of working hours and the distribution of working hours throughout the week. This means that the agreed weekly hours can be distributed across a different number of days each week, for example.

Mobile work

Since 1 December 2019, all DFG employees had had the option of being able to work on a mobile basis providing work responsibilities permit. The aim is to create a modern working environment that actively promotes a healthy work-life balance and meets individual needs for greater flexibility while at the same time ensuring a high level of employee motivation and satisfaction. A revised version of the collective agreement came into force at the end of April 2021 which now enables a significantly increased share of mobile work. The Head Office will continue to be a place where all DFG employees can meet and interact. For this reason, the new regulations stipulate that employees must be physically present at the Head Office on at least two days; the specific number of attendance days are set down in the relevant team agreement.

Childcare places at Rheinaupänz daycare centre

The DFG further expanded its childcare services in 2013 and now offers 30 places at Rheinaupänz daycare centre at the Johanniter Hospital in Bonn. 10 of these are available for children aged 4 months to 3 years and 20 for children aged 2 to 6 years. Fees are geared toward the parents’ annual income. Vacancies are allocated once a year by an internal commission.

Cooperation with pme Familienservice

The DFG Head Office offers general counselling and placements through pme Familienservice. The company’s comprehensive range of information and counselling services include placements with childminders, nannies, crèches and daycare centres (including after-school care), where available. It organises back-up care and emergency childminder services in the case of short-term and temporary assignments, if a child, their carer or their parents are ill, for example, if the parents are attending seminars or training events, or in the case of substitution assignments or official trips.

In addition, the company offers holiday programmes for children aged 6 to 12. pme Familienservice also provides support in the area of home care/care for the elderly – here the company’s holistic counselling and support concept is individually tailored to meet the needs of those receiving care and their relatives. Support is provided for employees who are ill themselves and need temporary help with housework or nursing care, for example, as well as for employees who take care of sick relatives of any age. With its network of branches throughout Germany, pme Familienservice is able to provide support wherever the employees in question or their relatives are resident. The DFG bears the cost of the counselling and placement services provided by the company.

General Information about the Berufundfamilie Audit

Available to organisations of all sizes in all sectors, the audit covers the measures already offered that take family commitments and life phases into account, systematically develops the individual potential of the organisation in question, and ensures that family awareness is anchored in the organisational culture. On successful completion of this process, the audit berufundfamilie certificate is awarded by an independent board of trustees made up of prominent representatives from the areas of business, academia, politics and associations. More than 1,600 employers have been awarded the certificate since the audit was introduced in 1998, including universities. There are currently some 1,000 employers who have obtained the audit berufundfamilie or the audit familiengerechte hochschule certificate, including 442 commercial enterprises, 450 institutions and 104 universities and benefiting more than 2.08 million employees and more than 1.37 million students.