Guide · Framework
In briefIn top-sharing, employment- and organisational-law points must be cleanly regulated: employment contracts and hours split, deputising and signing authority, liability and responsibility. The concrete arrangements depend on the case and should be checked legally.
What matters organisationally
Top-sharing rarely fails on the collaboration and more often on unresolved formal questions: who may sign what? Who deputises for whom? How is availability regulated? These points belong clarified before the start – not because they’re complicated, but because their ambiguity gets expensive later.
Typical points to regulate
- Employment contracts & hours split: two part-time contracts that together map the position.
- Deputising & signing authority: who may act legally bindingly outward for what.
- Responsibility & accountability: a clear assignment of who is responsible for which area.
- Cover during absence: rules for holiday, illness and transitions.
- Co-determination: depending on the organisation, involve the works or staff council.
Important: this article contextualises the relevant topics but is not legal advice. The concrete employment-, company- or civil-service-law arrangements depend on your situation, legal form and – in the public sector – on region and career track. Have the design checked legally in the individual case.
Practical notes
- Regulate responsibility and signing authority in writing before you start.
- Define clear handovers at the interfaces.
- Involve co-determination bodies early.
- Check legal details with qualified advice.
Aus meiner Praxis
In my experience, the collaboration in top-sharing is usually the smaller issue. The real work lies in cleanly clarifying responsibility, deputising and signing authority – that’s what later decides how friction-free it is.
For the public sector, further special features apply: Shared leadership in the public sector.
Frequently asked questions
Does top-sharing need two employment contracts?
Usually yes – two part-time contracts that together map the position. The concrete design must be checked legally.
Who is liable in top-sharing?
That depends on responsibility, signing authority and legal form and should be clarified legally case by case.
Is this legal advice?
No. The article contextualises the topics; the concrete design belongs in qualified legal hands.
Sources & further reading
- Pearce, C. L. & Conger, J. A. (2003): Shared Leadership. Reframing the Hows and Whys of Leadership. Sage.
- Carson, J. B., Tesluk, P. E. & Marrone, J. A. (2007): Shared Leadership in Teams. Academy of Management Journal, 50(5), 1217–1234.
- Wang, D., Waldman, D. A. & Zhang, Z. (2014): A meta-analysis of shared leadership and team effectiveness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(2), 181–198.
How this article was written
This article is based on my own experience as a leader in a job-sharing model and 15 years of leading in banking, as well as the established research on shared leadership (see sources). Where I speak from practice, it is marked as such.
Amrit Rescheneder
Amrit Rescheneder helps organisations and leadership tandems build shared leadership that works. She led in a job-sharing model herself for years – after 15 years of leadership responsibility in banking. She knows shared leadership from practice, not from textbooks.
Updated: 25 July 2026