Short-time work is one of the measures to cushion the consequences of the Corona crisis. The short-time allowance should now be paid longer. That should be expensive.
- In the Corona crisis , companies and employees in Germany can hope for a significant extension of the short-time allowance .
- Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is "fundamentally positive" on proposals to extend the period of reference to 24 months, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday in Berlin.
- The short-time work allowance * has played a key role in ensuring that Germany has withstood the global crisis relatively well so far.
Corona crisis: extend short-time allowance to 24 months
Thanks to short-time work benefits, millions of jobs were saved, said Seibert. A possible extension of the subscription period in the Corona crisis will have to be discussed within the federal government. The coalition partners wanted to discuss in a coalition committee how this should be structured. Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz (SPD) had told "Bild am Sonntag" that he wanted to extend the period for which short-time work benefits were paid to 24 months. The corona crisis will not suddenly disappear in the next few weeks. "Companies and employees need a clear signal from the government: We are going with you all the way through the crisis, so that no one is laid off without an emergency."
Basically, there is currently a maximum period of twelve months for short-time work benefits . When the corona crisis arose, however, the access conditions for companies had been eased. In certain cases , the duration of the benefits can already be extended to up to 21 months. In June, the economic ministers of the federal states had already spoken out in favor of extending the short-time working allowance to 24 months . Business associations welcomed the plans. Scholz is on the right track if he wants to extend the duration of the short-time work allowance to 24 months, said Ralph Wiechers, chief economist of the mechanical engineering association VDMA, on Monday. The corona crisis, trade barriers and structural change in the auto industry had cost mechanical engineering in Germany 32,000 jobs in the first half of the year. "In view of the immense stresses that our industry is exposed to, this remains a moderate reduction," said Wiechers. Above all, the instrument of short-time work helps.
Read here: Effects of short-time work: How Corona changes the salaries of Germans.
The demand for an extension of the period of entitlement from CDU / CSU parliamentary group vice Carsten Linnemann (CDU) met with criticism . Scholz's move proves "impressively what is in store for us before the general election next year," he told the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" on Monday. “Money is being redistributed as if there was no tomorrow.” Instead of more and more transfer payments from the state, Linnemann demanded “a smart procedure that brings endangered companies and their creditors around the table”. It is necessary to tackle structural reforms instead of preserving standstill - even if there is less short-term applause for it.
Read here : Child bonus of 300 euros decided: When and how will the money be paid out to parents?
Corona crisis leads to unprecedented levels of short-time work
As a result of the Corona crisis, the economy in Germany collapsed. The worst
recession in post-war history to date is expected for the year as a whole . This has led to an unprecedented level of short-time work. According to the latest official figures from the Federal Employment Agency, the number of people on short-time work rose to 6.7 (April: 6.1) million in May. The instrument of short-time work is one of the decisive stabilizers for the labor market in an economic
crisis situation. It prevents layoffs on a broad front and helps companies to keep their qualified workforce together so that they can get started again after the crisis. In this way, in Germany - unlike in the USA - not millions of people have fallen into unemployment .
The short-time work allowance is usually 60 percent of the missing net wage - 67 percent for parents with children. But
from the fourth month onwards there is 70/77 percent, from the seventh month 80/87 percent. Social security contributions are fully reimbursed by the Federal Employment Agency. The Federal Agency had to spend 7.85 billion euros in the first six months for short-time working allowances, including social benefits. According to previous scenarios, the reserve of almost 26 billion euros will be used up in 2020, the agency's chief executive, Detlef Scheele, said. The federal government must therefore step in. (sca / afp / dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.
Also interesting : Pay attention to Corona help with tax: Beware of unpleasant surprises.
