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Employment Agency: "Not intended as long-term structural support"
Photo: Arne Dedert / dpa
The regulations on short-time work, which had been expanded due to the pandemic, were actually supposed to expire at the end of March.
But Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) recently decided that companies still need support: He extended the special regulations by three more months until the end of June.
The Federal Court of Auditors sees a great danger in this and considers the extension to be a mistake.
The auditors warn of deadweight effects because the economy and labor market have recovered significantly in recent months.
“Therefore, there is no need to repeatedly extend the very high-cost special regulations for short-time work benefits,” the authors write in an analysis for the Bundestag’s budget committee.
Because of the corona pandemic, access to short-time work benefits had been made easier and the benefits had been significantly expanded.
In addition to the extension of the special rules until the end of June, the maximum period for receiving short-time work benefits is to be extended from 24 to up to 28 months.
In the opinion of the Court of Auditors, however, it is uncertain whether the funding will get to where it is most urgently needed.
In addition, the Ministry of Labor did not conclusively explain the expected additional expenditure of around 450 million euros.
The short-time allowance is not intended as a long-term structural support.
There is a risk that non-sustainable farms would be kept alive artificially.
hey/dpa
