"Stable bridge" in the crisis: Traffic lights extend simplified short-time work benefits

The easier access to short-time work benefits actually expires at the end of the year, but the regulation is now to be extended.

"Stable bridge" in the crisis: Traffic lights extend simplified short-time work benefits

The easier access to short-time work benefits actually expires at the end of the year, but the regulation is now to be extended. Labor Minister Heil announces the cabinet decision: "In the past few months, short-time work has been a stable bridge over a deep economic valley."

Because of the effects of the energy crisis, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil wants to extend the simplified access rules for short-time work benefits until the end of June 2023. This emerges from a draft of his department for the regulation on extended access to short-time work benefits, reports the editorial network Germany. The ordinance has therefore already gone through the departmental vote and is to be decided on Wednesday in the cabinet.

"With this ordinance, the access facilitation for the payment of short-time work benefits and the opening of short-time work benefits for temporary workers will be extended until June 30, 2023," the RND quoted from the draft. The need to extend access facilitation results "from the effects of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on economic development and the labor market in Germany".

"In these difficult times, we continue to stand by the side of companies and employees," Heil told the RND newspapers. "That's why we are now extending easier access to short-time work benefits until June 30, 2023." Temporary workers also benefited from the extension, emphasized the minister. The federal government is giving "clear perspectives through the winter". "Short-time work has been a stable bridge over a deep economic valley in the past few months. This bridge continues to hold up," emphasized Heil.

The simplified access was decided during the corona pandemic and extended several times - most recently until the end of 2022. Now it should still be sufficient for the application until the middle of next year if at least ten percent of the employees are affected by a loss of work. In addition, employees should still not have to build up any minus hours before they can receive short-time work benefits.