Corona has us and our everyday life firmly under control! Labour law is also affected by this.
Below is a summary of some of the drastic changes and adjustments due to Corona.
Promotion of short-time working
The conditions for receiving short-time working compensation were – temporarily – reduced. It is now sufficient that only 10% (instead of 30%) of the company’s employees are affected by loss of earnings.
In addition, there is no longer any need to build up negative working time accounts, which are then reduced later, i.e. after Corona. The social security contributions on the short-time working allowance are paid by the Employment Agency.
Working hours law
The Covid-19 Working Hours Ordinance allows, for a limited period until 31.07.2020, among other things, the extension of the working day up to 12 hours. The weekly working time can be extended to 60 hours and in urgent exceptional cases even beyond that.
In addition, the rest period can be reduced from the previous 11 hours to 9 hours and the permitted employment on Sundays and public holidays can be extended. However, the reduction of the rest period must be compensated within four weeks. In the case of employment on Sundays and public holidays, the replacement rest day for this activity is to be granted not within two but within eight weeks, but no later than 31.07.2020.
Questions about labour law in Corona times?
Christian Seidel
Rechtsanwalt, Fachanwalt füt Arbeitsrecht
Prokurist der Acconsis GmbH Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft
Service-Phone
+ 49 89 547143
or by e-mail c.seidel@acconsis.de
My recommendation
All these regulations are due to the fact that they were an immediate response to the corona crisis and were adopted quickly. For this reason they are sometimes confusing and difficult to understand.
If you need assistance, please contact me. I’m happy to help you.