Until recently, if employees had to be quarantined, they continued to receive wages.
The employer was able to get the money back from the state.
Thousands of companies are still waiting.
Munich / Eiselfing - Vinzenz Huber is waiting for money from the state.
"Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have applied for quarantine compensation in 35 cases.
Around 15 of these cases have been closed, ”says Huber, HR manager at the timber construction company of the same name in Eiselfing.
20 refunds are still missing.
Because employers could demand money back from the state if their employees were absent because they had to go into quarantine or had to look after their children because facilities and schools were closed.
Corona compensation for quarantine: Too few staff - applications are backing up
In many cases, however, no money is flowing yet.
As our newspaper has learned, the applications are backing up with the government of Upper Bavaria.
90,000 applications have been received there so far, reports its spokesman Wolfgang Rupp.
A large part of it with around 95 percent compensation for quarantine, around five percent compensation for parental assistance.
"So far, the government of Upper Bavaria has paid out just under 21 million euros," reports Rupp.
But 60 percent of the applications are still open.
As with the Hubers, it was just the second wave that caused a lot of work for many other employers: At that time, several thousand applications per week were received, reports Rupp.
Exactly these are now backing up, because the processors cannot simply wave through the applications.
Finally, almost a fifth of the applications were rejected: For example, because it was a deliberate trip to a risk area or the quarantine had not been officially ordered, the spokesman said.
In fact, it is more or less legacy, because since November the reimbursement of continued wages in quarantine no longer applies.
The background to this is the fact that employees can be vaccinated.
Those who are vaccinated do not have to be quarantined.
Not even in the event that he returns from a risk area.
Corona infection: continued payment of wages only in the event of illness - but not in the case of quarantine
Now the employer can decide whether to continue paying unvaccinated wages if they are absent due to quarantine.
The case is different anyway, should employees actually fall ill with Corona.
In this case, the regular sick pay applies.
Parental help also plays a minor role at the moment, because it currently only steps in when children have to go into quarantine and need care.
Nevertheless, 850 applications are still received each week, presumably older cases.
After all, the application alone takes a lot of time and effort for employers.
“Our very good and fast payroll clerk works three hours per case,” reports Vinzenz Huber.
So in the worst case, do companies get into trouble because the compensation is not paid? At the Chamber of Crafts, the processing backlog does not yet play a role, according to a spokesman. The situation is different with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) Munich and Upper Bavaria. “Neither the companies concerned nor the Chamber of Commerce and Industry have any long-term understanding for excessively long waiting times for statutory compensation,” it says on request. More and more members are reporting there because of the processing backlog, which is why the IHK has given the government of Upper Bavaria a corresponding response.
In the meantime, these signals seem to have reached the government of Upper Bavaria.
According to Rupp, there are 30 employees who have dealt with the applications so far, until October they were supported by employees from other departments.
“The recruitment process is currently under way for 15 additional posts that were assigned to the government of Upper Bavaria for processing applications,” says Rupp.
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