Short-time work: Heil wants to extend the regulation until the end of 2021

Initially an instrument to bridge the corona crisis, now essential for many companies.

Labor Minister Heil wants to extend new regulations on short-time work.

Berlin - During the Corona crisis, many companies took the opportunity to send employees on short-time work in order to save running costs. For this purpose, the conditions were relaxed. What one was sold as a transitional measure could now establish itself permanently. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil is taking the next step. He wants to extend the existing short-time work regulation until the end of 2021. “Short-time work was and is our stable bridge over a deep economic valley,” Heil told the

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It is encouraging that unemployment continues to decline.

"But in view of the fact that there are still economic disruptions in a number of industries, I think it makes sense to extend the existing regulations for short-time work until the end of the year as a precaution," the SPD politician continued.

Short-time work: Extension "completely premature"

Similar to Heil, Federal Finance Minister and SPD candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on the weekend: Both the short-time work regulation and the economic aid for struggling companies should be extended until the end of the year, he told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Various economists criticized an extension of the measures: That would be "completely premature," said Lars Feld, former head of economic affairs at the

.

Companies that introduce short-time work by September 30th can currently take advantage of simplified access conditions to short-time work allowance. A company can therefore register short-time work if at least 10 percent of employees are affected by the loss of work; usually it has to be at least 30 percent. Temporary workers can also receive short-time work benefits.