Clothing giant C&A is apparently heading for a scandal. The textile retailer is said to have shamelessly exploited the short-time corona virus.
- Textile retailer C&A is accused of massively cheating on short-time working arrangements during the corona crisis .
- The Federal Employment Agency probably started raids in Düsseldorf and Hanover.
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Düsseldorf / Hanover - Two weeks ago, the email from some employees hit clothing giant C&A in the market. With complaints to the head of staff and the works council, they made public allegations that the textile retailer was massively cheating on short-time work benefits .
The employees of the Belgian group, which plans to close 13 German branches later this year, were officially sent short-time work during the Corona pandemic . In this case, the German state pays at least 60 percent of the salary due. The government wants to prevent workers from losing their jobs in difficult times. However, C&A is said to have not prohibited the hours of its employees from being reduced - on the contrary.
Coronavirus: C&A sends employees on short-time work - they raise serious accusations
Systematically, they would even work overtime and then not even charge it, according to the letter in the mirror . Of course, the law does not allow employees to work more than stated. The company is now facing severe penalties .
A raid is said to have taken place in this branch of C&A in Hanover.
© picture alliance / dpa / Hauke-Christian Dittrich
Against this background, raids have now taken place in the C&A offices , as the business magazine Business Insider reports . The branches in Düsseldorf and Hanover are said to have been searched by the federal police. The AFP news agency learned from the authorities that there had been " tests at a well-known German textile company ". Evidence of evidence of allegations against C&A is apparently being sought. At the end of May, she had rejected the company as "without foundation".
C&A: Fraud raids in Düsseldorf and Hanover - fashion chain denies allegations
Officially, C&A had insisted that a single person had made allegations against managers of a single department . According to internal investigations, there are no indications of this. According to the letter, the superiors were repeatedly reminded that no hours should be missed.
Short-time work due to corona virus: Authority is sensitive to C&A scandal
The Federal Employment Agency is said to have already imposed the first consequences. The payments of short-time allowance to C & A were frozen , they say. In addition, there is currently a team on site and use random samples to check how long the employees actually work . The officials want to publish their results next week. They still reserve the right to interview employees.
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List of rubric lists: © picture alliance / Martin Schutt / Martin Schutt