Phase 5 of the short-time work scheme starting in early July

The "short-time work" introduced with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is intended to enable companies, above all, to ensure employment in order to cope with temporary economic difficulties, avoid compulsory redundancies, and also contribute to safeguarding business know-how and flexibility in personnel deployment. As of July 2021, phase 5 of short-time work has already begun - the remuneration for employees on short-time work still depends on the wage level before short-time work.

Phase 5 is characterized by two variants. The level of support is differentiated between businesses that are particularly affected by the pandemic and other businesses. The differentiation is fundamentally based on the decline in sales; the sales of the third quarter of 2020 are compared with those of the third quarter of 2019. Businesses that are particularly affected by the pandemic are also considered to be those that would be directly affected in the event of a renewed lockdown – for example, businesses in the nightlife sector or the conference industry. While the framework conditions applicable to businesses particularly affected by the pandemic in Phase 4 of the short-time work scheme remain in effect, the other businesses must from July 2021 purchase a self-exclusion or deduction of 15 % of the previous aid amount. Additionally, as of July 1, a minimum working period of 50 hours is generally mandatory - for particularly affected businesses it is % at least 30 hours. % A breach of the minimum working period is possible in individual cases and with a qualified justification - for example in the event of a renewed lockdown. Since the minimum working hours still refer to the calculation period (duration of the short-time work period), it is possible to fall below the minimum working hours in individual months. Nothing changes for employees on short-time work either, as the amount of short-time work support to be paid by the employer remains the same compared to Phase 4 (i.e., 90 / % 85 % or 80 respectively). From a % time perspective, the variant is valid for particularly affected companies until the end of 2021; the remaining companies will be able to use Phase 5 of short-time work until mid-2022. Companies can continue to take advantage of Phase 5 of short-time work, as well as in the aftermath of Phase 4, if they meet the requirements, or they can also start (Phase 5) of short-time work for the first time starting in early July.

The aspects of applying for, billing, and the need to prepare an implementation report remain unchanged in phase 5 of the short-time work scheme. The billing consists of monthly partial billing and a total bill. Similarly, the workforce must be maintained during the short-time work period – therefore, in certain termination types of employment relationships, there is an obligation to re-hire. In a certain sense, the requirement that in phase 5 a mandatory consumption of one week of vacation per two months of short-time work is to be made by the employees is new.

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