New figures prove: Corona is putting pressure on Germans' wages

The new figures from the Federal Statistical Office show how the corona crisis is having an impact on wages - one group is hit particularly hard.

Corona is particularly pressing on wages in lower income groups

Update from September 22, 2020:

The corona crisis hit many industries with full force.

Especially in the

, the crisis has put pressure on gross wages, as the German Press Agency (dpa) reported on Tuesday, citing figures from the

.

According to the information,

in the second quarter of the year were 4.0 percent lower than a year earlier.

Since

by 0.8 percent

at the same time

, the real decline in wages was even 4.7 percent, as it was also said.

There has never been a sharp decline since the statistics began in 2007.

The

is not included in these calculations

.

Also read

In the

, the number of hours paid fell by an above-average 9.8 percent over the year, as dpa reported;

the wages paid by the employer fell by 7.4 percent.

For people

, working hours have only decreased by an average of 3.0 percent and wages have only decreased by an average of 2.0 percent.

For 

, the paid weekly working

was 6.2 percent to 36.8 hours, the report also says.

Read here:

Corona crisis: Effects on salary payments

Update from August 12, 2020

: Many employees are or were

on short-time work as

a result of the

*.

This has consequences for the

, as reported by Spiegel Online, among others.

As a result, the average gross monthly earnings of employees in the second quarter fell by 2.2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, as the

the portal.

"The official statisticians

take into account

to their employees in

terms of monthly earnings

, but without special payments such as vacation pay," explains Spiegel Online.

The

- which the Federal Employment Agency (BA) reimburses - is also not included.

The statistics authority points out that the short-time work allowance * "cushioned most of the income losses for employees".

According to the latest projection by the Federal Employment Agency,

in May

.

Also read

Will short-time work be extended?

Update from July 27, 2020:

The federal government is considering an extension of the simplified

, which was changed in March due to the corona pandemic.

"I can imagine that we will extend the extended options for short-time work *," said Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) according to the German Press Agency (dpa) (as of July 26).

“I have this option by ordinance.

We will make a decision about this in September. ”The hurdles for this were lowered in March in the wake of the Corona crisis.

The SPD politician is also thinking about

, reported "Tagesschau.de".

"We want to provide incentives for those who are on short-time work for longer to use the time meaningfully with

." In the first phase of the economic downturn, this was not possible because further training could not be offered for reasons of infection protection .

Most recently, more than 6.83 million people were on short-time work, according to dpa.

Also read

Corona consequences: additional tax payments due to short-time work?

Update from July 21, 2020:

Employees who are on

due to the corona crisis will have to

make an extra tax return * next year.

This is referred to in an article on “Tagesschau.de” (as of July 20, 2020).

According to the report, there may be a risk of back taxes *.

Because

benefits are tax-free, just like unemployment benefits or parental benefits.

But all of this counts as

and is offset against the

, it says in the report in which Uwe Rauhöft from the Federal Association of Wage Tax Assistance Associations explains the principle of the so-called progression proviso.

“A terrible term,” emphasizes the expert, according to “Tagesschau.de”, “but progression means increase, that's what is in there.

And the tax rate is simply increasing. "

This

will then be applied to normal income - not to the short-time work allowance, which remains tax-free, according to "Tagesschau.de".

But there

could be more

on the other

.

Also read

However, that in turn depends on how much

someone has already paid, expert Uwe Rauhöft is also quoted as saying.

"Anyone who received only short-time allowance in certain months, that is, worked zero hours and worked the rest of the year full, will usually receive a

." In that case, the person concerned has already paid too much wage tax over the year .

Tax refund or back payment?

But it could also happen that there is a

risk of back

, it continues on “Tagesschau.de” - especially for those who were not fully on short-time work - for example, who worked normally a few days a week and only for the rest of the time Have received short-time work benefits.

Suggestion: suspend progression proviso

For this reason, the FDP has called in the Bundestag

to suspend

the

for this year, reports "Tagesschau.de".

The governing coalition of the SPD and the Union voted against the FDP's proposal at the end of June.

You will submit your own proposal if the CDU / CSU parliamentary spokeswoman for financial policy Antje Tillmann has its way, as the news portal writes.

She feared that otherwise many people affected by short-time work could be in for a nasty surprise because they did not take into account the fact that they would have to save some of the advantage they have today for the additional tax payment in 2021.

Read here:

Short-time work: what happens if the employer goes bankrupt?

Update from July 16, 2020

: In the

, many employees are on short-time work *.

: the jobs are saved for now.

But what happens if the company goes bankrupt and can no longer pay wages?

"If the employer falls into bankruptcy during the order of short-time work, the right of the employees affected by short-time work to insolvency money can be excluded in the worst case", it says in an article on labor law on Focus Online.

This is related to the nature of the bankruptcy money, which is intended to serve as a substitute for wages. 

Read here:

The problem is described in the report as follows: With the introduction of short-time working, the employee waived his wage entitlement - some partially and some completely.

If the employee is in “short-time work zero”, he will only receive short-time allowance instead of wages.

"However, this is not

that can be

, so that this employee is ultimately not entitled to insolvency money", writes "focus.de".

The

is a benefit that employees of an affected by insolvency operation by the Federal Employment Agency instead will be paid out of wages.

It includes the last three net monthly salaries before the opening of insolvency proceedings or rejection of the insolvency application due to lack of funds, according to the report on the background.

Read here:

Union representatives are calling for short-time work benefits for trainees too

Update from June

24th, 2020

In the Bundestag, politicians of the Union parliamentary group are calling for further help for companies to secure apprenticeships in the Corona crisis beyond the planned trainee bonuses, as the German Press Agency (dpa) reports.

To relieve the burden, companies should

be able to receive

for their

from day

one, according to a position paper on such a requirement.

There were similar demands from the economy.

So far, according to the dpa, companies have to continue paying the full training allowance for six weeks even without work before they can apply for short-time work allowance for their trainees at the Federal Employment Agency.

Report: Officials search offices of C&A - fashion chain denies allegation

Update from June 15, 2020:

 Customs officials and the Federal Employment Agency (BA) searched several offices of the fashion group C&A in Düsseldorf and Hanover on Wednesday after the allegation of short-time work fraud against C&A at the end of May, according to a report by Business Insider.

Authorities told AFP that there had been tests in a well-known German textile trading company to determine whether there were any indications for the allegation, as the AFP news agency reported on Friday (June 12).

C&A had rejected the allegation as "baseless" at the end of May, as AFP also reported.

The "Spiegel" reported at the end of May that the company had sent employees on short-time work, but internally obliged them to work overtime.

The magazine referred to an email from employees. 

Fashion chain C&A denies allegations

C&A then stated that a "single person" had made allegations against executives in a single department, for which the company could not find any evidence even after extensive research, as AFP also reported.

C&A also repeatedly pointed out to employees who are on short-time work and their superiors that the hours worked during short-time work must be reported in full to the HR department and that no hours may be withheld.

Update from June 3, 2020: The number of short-time workers in the Corona crisis is enormous

The number of

in the

is considerable.

The Federal Employment Agency announced new figures on Wednesday.

As reported by "Bild", companies reported

for a further 1.06 million people

.

These would be in addition to the advertisements already made for 10.66 million people.

However, according to "Bild", experience shows that the number of actual short-time working is significantly lower, "because companies are sometimes making the advertisements as a precaution," according to the portal.

According to projections by the Federal Agency, 2.02 million people took advantage of short-time work in March alone - "the highest value ever measured", according to "Bild.de".

The previous record came from May 2009, when 1.44 million people took advantage of short-time work during the financial crisis.

You can also read:

Update from June 2nd, 2020: So many people were on short-time work in May

According to calculations by the Munich-based Ifo Institute,

in Germany in May

 , as reported by welt.de (as of June 2).

Also read

:

Update from May 29, 2020: Subsidies from employers for short-time work allowances should remain largely tax-free

The

has as the German Press Agency (dpa) reported on Thursday decided that

for

are to remain largely tax-free.

Millions of citizens are currently on

because of the pandemic

.

Many companies had announced that they would increase

their employees'

benefits - because low-wage earners in particular would otherwise hardly be able to make ends meet in the long term.

The

applies by law for grants "to 80 percent of the difference between the desired and the actual remuneration".

Specifically, this means for a single employee with a net income of 2500 euros and 40 percent less

The state increases the remaining net income of 1,500 euros at the start of short-time work with 600 euros of short-time work allowance.

The employer can then add up to 200 euros tax-free, writes dpa.

Read here:

Update from May 14, 2020: Bundestag decides to increase short-time work benefits

In the

, employees are to be protected more from wage losses in the event of short-time work.

The Bundestag passed a corresponding law by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) on Thursday.

The grand coalition voted in favor, the opposition abstained.

In general, 60 percent of the last net wage or 67 percent for people with children is already available as short-time work benefits

.

The law, which the Federal Council still has to deal with, provides, among other things, for a

.

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Update from May 6, 2020: Corona crisis: Partial retirement continues during short-time work

Due to the

many companies are adapting their operating processes to the circumstances.

Possible consequences such as short-time work, time off work, unpaid leave or quarantine can also

affect

employees.

This is pointed out by the German Pension Insurance Association in Berlin.

:

Short-time work and reductions in working hours:

continues to

exist during

work if the supplementary benefits - i.e. the supplementary amounts and additional pension insurance contributions - are paid in addition to the current salary.

It does not matter whether people are actually working during short-time work.

The employer must pay the supplementary benefits to the extent that the employee had worked the working hours agreed without short-time work.

Read here

:

Time off and unpaid leave

: If wages and additional benefits continue to be paid, a temporary time off will not have a negative effect on part-time work for older workers.

Important to note:

Employees must remain on standby and also resume work if the temporary operational reason has ceased to exist.

The situation is different during an unpaid vacation: Then there is no longer any partial retirement because the vacation interrupts you.

Officially ordered quarantine

: If quarantine has been ordered for employees, due to the special situation, it is a matter of temporary exemption.

These are valued like company-related leave of absence.

If the company continues to pay the wages, the top-up amounts and additional pension insurance contributions, the

.

This also applies in the first six weeks of quarantine if the wages are paid as compensation for loss of earnings in accordance with the Infection Protection Act and are then reimbursed to the employer by the responsible compensation authority.

Read here:

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Update from April 30, 2020: Companies register short-time work for 10.1 million people

During the Corona crisis, Germany's companies registered short-time work for 10.1 million people by April 26

.

The Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg announced

this

.

This exceeded all of economists' forecasts by far.

The experts' estimates had been between three and seven million people.

The previous record of the Federal Employment Agency for this labor market policy instrument dates from May 2009.

At that time, 1.44 million people were on short-time work.

In the entire crisis year of 2009, 3.3 million reports for short-time work were received by the Federal Agency.

Read here

Coalition agreed higher short-time work benefits

The tips of the CDU and SPD had adapted to an increase in short-time allowance: In view of the corona crisis it is for childless workers - depending on the reference period -

and for

increases as reported by SZ Online.

The heads of the grand coalition have agreed to

order to alleviate the consequences of the Corona crisis on workers who have been particularly hard hit.

As the CDU, CSU and SPD announced on the night of April 23 after deliberations by the coalition committee in Berlin,

compensated for,

, and

.

So far, the short-time work allowance was 60 percent and 67 percent respectively.

Now it is to be increased for those who have reduced their working hours by at least 50 percent from the fourth month to 70 percent (77 percent for parents) and from the seventh month to 80 percent (87 percent for parents).

That should apply until the end of the year at the latest.

The additional earning opportunities for employees on short-time work from May 1 to December 31 will be extended to the full amount of the previous monthly income.

Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) now made the following

calculation: A family with one child, she works full-time, he part-time, receives a net monthly income of 4100 euros.

Both are on short-time work.

According to the old rule, both would get 2700 euros, according to the new rule, they would get 3,500 euros in the final stage.

Here you can read:

Higher benefits agreed for the unemployed

Because of the economic consequences of the measures to combat pandemics, more than

 in Germany had

applied for

for their employees.

The coalition committee specifically agreed that from May 1st until the end of the year, short-time working in all sectors may earn an income up to the full amount of the previous monthly income.

who would end up receiving unemployment benefits between May 1 and December 31 will receive the benefit three months longer.

Here you can read

: This is the statutory period of notice

Tax relief for restaurants and small and medium-sized companies

Catering establishments as well as small and medium-sized companies are also to be relieved of tax: In the catering trade, the VAT for meals will be reduced to the reduced tax rate of

from July 1 until June 30, 2021

.

Small and medium-sized companies are enabled to make the flat-rate reduction in advance tax payments already made for 2019 with regard to losses in 2020.

Read here: 

This new help in the corona crisis is available - and who actually pays for the corona test?

Schoolchildren and schools get support for digital lessons

The coalition also decided to support schoolchildren and schools with 500 million euros in

.

Schools will be given the opportunity

to pay

a

of

to purchase the appropriate equipment.

In addition, the

promoted, which is necessary for the creation of professional online courses.

Find out here

:

Who can apply for short-time work?

The employer applies for short-time work.

In the wake of the corona crisis, the Bundestag introduced a law that regulates easier access to services for a limited period until December 31, 2020.

With retroactive effect from March 1, companies can now use short-time work allowance if ten percent of employees are affected by the loss of work.

So far, that had to be a third of the employees.

In addition, negative working time accounts are not set up.

The employer must report short-time work to the Federal Employment Agency.

Before this, the employer must

, as the DGB legal protection explains.

For this purpose, a works agreement is usually concluded between the employer and the works council.

In companies without a works council, the employer usually has to

obtain

a

.

Also read

: Money from the state: These offers and aids are available for employees on short-time work

What does that mean for my salary?

Here is an example calculation: So far, employees without children received 

if they worked on short-time work.

For example, if you only worked four days a week instead of the usual five days, you would continue to receive 80 percent of your wages from your employer.

For the remaining 20 percent, employees receive the proportional compensation payment from the employment agency.

In extreme cases, working hours can be reduced to zero and temporarily completely stopped.

Short-time working allowance can be drawn for a maximum of twelve months.

To accurately

, the

* available.

The employer can also voluntarily top up the short-time work allowance.

However, there is no legal entitlement to such an increase.

In individual cases, however, it could be worthwhile to negotiate, as the DGB legal protection explains in an article.

Read more:

How can the short-time work allowance be even higher?

In several large companies there were agreements to increase the

.

In their own company, employees can, for example

, ask

the

whether such a regulation or another is made in their company.

The topic can certainly be addressed with the employer - sensible solutions often come about with good communication.

More money through a collective agreement

For employees for whom a

concluded, there is often more to it.

Many

had

negotiated

and more

in these agreements

.

These industries include the wood and plastics processing industry in Saxony, wholesale and foreign trade in North Rhine-Westphalia, the automotive trade in Bavaria and the chemical industry.

Owner loans, rents, daycare contributions, Hartz IV - that changes financially for consumers

How can short-time work benefits be applied for?

Companies must indicate the short-time work in writing to the employment agency's employer service at the company's headquarters.

The

offers

a form (PDF) for this.

The works council also has the right to report short-time work.

The employment agency has put together on its website which documents must be submitted by the companies.

What about part-time jobs?

Who one before the start of short-time work

is pursued, it can do more.

The earnings have no impact on the amount of short-time work allowance, as the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) explains in an FAQ.

For employees who take up a part-time job, the resulting remuneration will be offset against the short-time allowance.

According to the DGB legal protection, an exception applies until October 31, 2020 in "systemically relevant" areas.

Additional earnings, for example in the health sector, are not

.

This applies as long as employees do not exceed the amount of the wages they received before the short-time work.

Find out here

: 

What applies to mini-jobbers or, for example, working students?

However, the employer cannot register short-time work for mini-jobbers.

In case of doubt, you remain without remuneration when the company has closed.

The same applies to temporary workers if they are registered as marginally employed and do not pay into unemployment insurance.

However

, if

you have

an income higher than 450 euros

as a working

for example

, you can receive short-time work benefits if the company registers this.

Can the employer force me to cut off vacation first?

The requirements for short-time allowance are precisely regulated in Book III of the Social Code.

The employer can therefore register short-time work if the loss of work is unavoidable and the company has done everything to reduce or eliminate it.

"

" explains specialist lawyer for labor law Johannes Schipp.

It is also possible to order vacation if the vacation days concerned have not already been approved.

Vacation that has already been approved cannot easily be canceled by the employer.

According to Schipp, there are no clear rules

on the question of the framework in which

can be arranged.

In his assessment, however, in a pandemic situation it may well be possible that employees have to use half or two thirds of their vacation entitlement first.

Urgent operational reasons then conflict with the employees' holiday wishes.

Can my employer choose who to send on short-time or forced leave?

"When selecting employees, the decisive factor will be the areas in which the loss of work occurs," said the specialist lawyer.

If then there is still a choice left for the employer, the choice will have to be made at equitable discretion.

.

In companies with works councils, the introduction of short-time working and the regulation of the details are also subject to the

Here the employer cannot unilaterally determine things.

You can also read:

How long is short-time allowance actually paid?

In principle, the following applies: The state pays

benefits to eligible companies for

.

There is no maximum limit for short-time work benefits. 

What applies to the self-employed?

The self-employed cannot benefit from short-time work benefits because they are not subject to compulsory unemployment insurance, explains the specialist lawyer.

State guarantees for loans from the KfW development bank

In addition to short-time working, however, there is the option of

applying for

. 

with up to five employees receive a one-off payment of

for three months, companies with up to ten employees

.

In addition, each federal state has its own rules on the amount of subsidies and which companies are eligible for subsidies.

The demand for the aid loans is enormous - and KfW is expecting increasing numbers.

"Because of the drastic effects of the Corona crisis, many solo self-employed people fear for their existence - for example musicians, photographers, artists, naturopaths, interpreters or carers," reported Tagesschau.de.

Small business owners, self-employed people and farmers could

.

Read more here

:

Sources: Federal Employment Agency, dpa, Tagesschau.de

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