The 31 August 2020 agreement marks the completion of a process of reflection that commenced in March, during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and that focused on revising the short-time working system. Context related adjustment is thus giving way to a more structural revision that offers more flexibility in terms of arrangements for reduced activity and also broadens the benefits.
In Denmark, ‘work sharing’ is spoken of rather than ‘short-time working’. This type of arrangement, which is designed to cope with a temporary drop in orders, allows companies to reduce working hours and salaries for a certain period of time, following discussions with trade unions and employees on the conditions surrounding this work sharing. Employment contracts for the employees concerned are not terminated and these workers and can obtain (partial) compensation for their loss of salary by way of supplementary benefits from their relevant unemployment fund (on the proviso they are affiliated).
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