Bundestag agrees: Higher short-time allowance until March

The Bundestag has decided to increase the short-time work allowance, which has already been extended until March. More employees than before benefit from the higher performance.

The short-time work allowance had already been extended until the end of March. Now it has also been increased. The amendment proposed by the Ampel-Coalition provides that 70 percent of the net pay difference is paid from the fourth reference month – 77 percent with a child in the household. That is an increase of ten percentage points. From the seventh reference month onwards, 80 and 87 percent are provided.

This should also apply to those employees who were entitled to short-time work allowance during the pandemic up until March 31 of the previous year. In addition, everyone who has been on short-time work since April 2021 should be entitled to the increased benefit rates for the period from January to March 2022.

Credit-free additional earnings extended

The possibility for additional earnings free of charge will also be extended until March. Among other things, the hotel and restaurant association, but also the retail trade, had warned that over 100,000 jobs would be lost if the increased short-time allowance was not extended.