In September, the main focus will be on the general election in Germany.
But there are a few other changes this month that consumers should be aware of.
Munich - There is a lot going on in Germany in September.
The main focus this month is the federal election.
The citizens decide on the composition of the Bundestag, the next chancellor and thus on the course of the country.
But there are other innovations that consumers should be aware of.
These include changes in parental allowance, new regulations for booster vaccinations and much more.
Decision support for the federal election: Wahl-O-Mat starts
If you don't yet know who to vote for on September 26, 2021, you will receive a decision-making aid from September 2.
The Wahl-O-Mat of the Federal Agency for Civic Education starts.
This allows voters to use various theses to playfully check which party best suits their views and convictions.
In view of the pandemic, more voters are expected to vote by postal vote this year.
Voters can apply for the documents to the municipality of their main place of residence, preferably as early as possible.
At the latest, however, by 6:00 p.m. on the Friday before the election day.
That changes in September with vaccination
In August, the Conference of Health Ministers (GMK) decided to
offer booster vaccinations nationwide
from September onwards
to particularly vulnerable people
. The endangered group of people mainly includes older people and people with previous illnesses. The so-called booster vaccination should be possible at the earliest six months after completion of the last vaccination series and should be carried out by resident doctors. For old people's or nursing homes, mobile teams are also planned to vaccinate the patients on site. MRNA vaccines are used, regardless of which vaccine consumers have previously received.
“I am convinced that a refresher is important and correct from a preventive point of view alone.
Nevertheless, I hope that science will stay on the ball here and generate even more reliable data in order to be able to optimally design our vaccination strategy. "
Klaus Holetschek, GMK Chairman and Minister of Health in Bavaria
The age limit is currently 80 years.
“In a second step, we can then think about offering everyone else a booster vaccination,” Health Minister Jens Spahn told
RND
.
The virologist Christian Drosten estimates that the majority of those vaccinated will not need a booster vaccination against Corona in autumn.
He said that to the German press agency.
New rules for parental allowance: good news for parents
The reform of the parental allowance should bring many advantages: more part-time opportunities, less bureaucracy and more paid months for parents of premature babies.
The Bundestag passed the amendments in February and
they will come into force
on September 1st
.
Anyone who receives short-time work allowance or sickness allowance during parental leave no longer has to expect a reduction in parental allowance.
Parents of premature babies also receive more support: if a child is born at least six weeks before the calculated date, parents have received an additional month of parental allowance.
From September the legislature will expand the regulation: If the child is born eight weeks prematurely, parents will receive two additional months of parental allowance, three months for twelve weeks and four for 16 weeks.
The permitted working hours will increase from the current 30 hours to 32 hours per week and the partnership bonus will also change to 24 to 32 hours per week, which is intended to facilitate work organization. In future, parents will only have to provide evidence of the working hours covered by the partnership bonus in exceptional cases. This should result in less bureaucracy for parents and employers. The corona regulation of the partnership bonus will also be extended until December 31, 2021. Parents who were unable to work part-time as planned due to the corona pandemic do not have to repay the partnership bonus.
For people with high incomes, there is bad news when it comes to parental allowance: the income limits will be adjusted from September 1st.
Anyone who earns more than 300,000 euros together with their partner will no longer receive parental allowance - around 7,000 people in Germany.
So far, the limit was 500,000 euros.
For sole earners, however, the regulation remains at 250,000 euros per year.
With the reform, we are adapting it even more precisely to the needs of parents and making it easier for them to take care of the important things: time with their children and family, but also time to continue their own professional path.
Federal Minister for Family Affairs Franziska Giffey
DAX40: German share index grows
The German share index (DAX) will expand by ten companies to a total of 40 groups from September 2021. Most of the successors will probably come from the MDAX. The background to the change is the bankruptcy of the former DAX group Wirecard. The company had repeatedly postponed the publication of its balance sheet, but initially remained in the Dax. The new regulation is intended to prevent this in the future: Companies that do not meet the deadlines for the publication of their quarterly reports and audited annual reports are excluded from the most important German share index. Airbus is considered to be one of the possible climbers in the top 40 German companies. Deutsche Börse will
announce
who will actually make it into the top German equity league
on September 3
after the US
market closes
.
Corona health and safety regulations expire on September 10th
The previous Corona occupational health and safety ordinance ends on
September 10th
. The aim of the regulation was to minimize the risk of infection at work and to protect the health of employees. The regulations are to be adapted and extended. In the future, for example, employees could have the right to be vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus during working hours. The Federal Ministry of Labor under Hubertus Heil submitted a corresponding draft, as reported by the German Press Agency. This should increase the vaccination rate. In addition, employers should also be able to take into account the vaccination or convalescence status of their employees, provided they know this. The update of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance is to be adopted on September 1st.
And otherwise?
Changes to PayPal and Canada vacation trips
From September
30th
the function Moneypool will end at Paypal.
So far, consumers have been able to collect money together, for example for a birthday present for friends or a joint party.
PayPal wants to improve the popular function: The company will introduce a new service in the coming months that will better map and cover this need, the payment service provider announced online.
If you still have vacation days left this year, you can
vacation in Canada again
from September 7th
.
However, only if a complete vaccination can be proven.
dpa / bme
