The European employer of domestic labor is at a distinct advantage in comparison with the employer of such labor in America in that little or no baking is done in the individual household, and washing as a rule is done out of the house,[335] or if done in it, is often made a serious matter like the semi-annual housecleaning,[336] while the continental breakfast of coffee and rolls practically reduces the first meal of the day to a negative quantity. It is indeed an open question whether the simplification of household work thus secured is not more than counterbalanced by the lack of modern conveniences for doing housework, by the absence of any system of uniform heating and the consequent necessity of carrying fuel to every room that is to be warmed, by the absence of elevators and the hard work thereby entailed on employer and employee alike, and by the necessity apparently encumbent on every member of many households of crocheting endless yards of trimming, working on canvas, and storing away for future use countless piles of household linen. But these are at least variations from our own problem, and both employer and employee in Europe have certain advantages in their work even if these are counterbalanced by corresponding disadvantages. The employer in Europe, especially in Germany, is at an advantage in being able, indeed often compelled by law, to make a contract specifying the term of service for which the employee is engaged. In Germany[337] contracts are usually made in the city by the quarter, in the country by the year. If the contract is made by the quarter, notice of a change on either side must be given six weeks in advance; if made by the year, three months’ notice must be given; where the contract is made for only a month, notice must be given fourteen days in advance; in all cases notice must be given before twelve o’clock at noon.[338] If an employee is dismissed without due notice before the expiration of the contract, the employer must pay wages and board for the remainder of the time.[339] If an employee leaves without giving the legal notice, he can be brought back by the police and be also subject to fine and imprisonment.[340] Again, it is impossible for a person to engage a servant while in the employ of another without the knowledge and consent of the latter, while any one who entices a servant away from his place is subject to fine and imprisonment.[341]