The law, which extends and facilitates access to short-time working measures to help businesses manage the Covid-19 crisis, was passed by the Bundestag on Friday 13 March, having been urgently adopted by the federal cabinet two days earlier. The provisions of the law, which also lightens the financial burden on businesses, are valid retroactively from 1 March. This means that requests can be taken into account as soon as they are submitted to the Federal Employment Agency, which monitors and funds the system.
The two objectives set by Hubertus Heil, Germany’s minister for employment and social affairs, who submitted his draft law to ‘improve conditions for access to short-time working’ to the cabinet on Wednesday 10 March, are to protect the health of citizens and employees and to support businesses by helping them protect jobs. After adoption, the text was urgently passed by the Bundestag on Friday 13 March, at the request of all political parties and business circles.
On the issue of emergency...
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