Short-time allowance; application
If there is a temporary, unavoidable loss of work in your company, short-time allowance can be paid in full or in part for your employees. The loss of earnings is partially compensated by short-time allowance and is intended to avoid layoffs.
Description
In economically difficult times, employment costs can be burdensome for the business. For example, if companies experience a loss of work due to an acute crisis situation because production has to be curtailed due to a lack of supplies, short-time work may be indicated. During short-time work, employees temporarily work less or not at all. The short-time allowance then partially compensates for the loss of earnings. It is intended to relieve the burden on your company and help preserve jobs.
Employers are responsible for reporting lost work and applying for short-time allowance. Employees do not have to do anything. Short-time work can be introduced for the company or limited to individual departments. The amount of short-time allowance depends on the respective income of the employees and the actual loss of work / earnings during short-time work:
- 60 percent of the net lost wages for employees without a child in the household
- 67 percent of the lost net wage for employees with at least one child in the household.
You will receive short-time allowance at the earliest from the calendar month in which your notification of the loss of working hours is received by the Federal Employment Agency. Short-time allowance is a reimbursement benefit. As an employer, you initially make advance payments when paying wages and salaries to your employees. The short-time allowance is settled monthly in arrears with the Federal Employment Agency at the payroll office and paid to you retroactively.
Prerequisites
Short-time allowance can be applied for in the event of temporary and unavoidable loss of working hours
- for economic reasons or
- as a result of an unavoidable event (for example, temporary closure of a company by the authorities).
Minimum requirements:
- An employee is only entitled to short-time allowance if at least one-third of the workforce is affected by a loss of pay of more than 10 percent of gross pay in each case. For more details, visit the website of the Federal Employment Agency.
Company requirements:
- Your company or company department employs at least one employee.
- Short-time allowance can also be granted for only one operating department
Personal requirements:
- Employees subject to social security contributions who have not been laid off and with whom no termination agreement has been concluded either
Further prerequisite:
- Notification of work stoppage to the Federal Employment Agency, enclosing a statement from the works representation.
Procedure
You can apply for short-time allowance in writing or online. However, you can also use KEA (accept short-time allowance documents electronically) if necessary.
The procedure is two-stage: first you indicate the loss of work, then you submit the application.
If you want to apply for the short-time allowance in writing:
- You give your employees notice of the short-time work. Often, a works agreement is concluded with the works council for this purpose. If there is no works council, you must obtain the consent of all employees who will be affected by the short-time work.
- You report the short-time work in writing to the responsible office of the Employment Agency (notification of loss of working hours).
- The Employment Agency examines the notification and decides whether short-time allowance can be granted.
- You calculate the wage and salary payments and the short-time allowance on a monthly basis.
- You pay the wages and salaries for hours worked and the short-time allowance for hours lost to your employees and pay the social security contributions.
- You apply monthly in arrears for reimbursement of the short-time allowance from the relevant office of the Employment Agency (application for short-time allowance and payroll list).
- The Employment Agency checks the application and the settlement list, and approved short-time allowance is transferred.
- After the short-time work has been completed, the Employment Agency checks the submitted settlements and, if necessary, corrects the approved short-time work allowance.
If you want to apply for short-time allowance online:
- You submit the notification of work loss, the application for short-time allowance and, if necessary, other documents via the "eServices" online portal of the Federal Employment Agency.
- The remaining procedural steps correspond to the written procedure.
If you want to use KEA (accept short-time allowance documents electronically) for the application for short-time allowance and the associated payroll list:
- You will need certified payroll software that supports transmission using KEA.
- In this case, you can transmit your application for short-time allowance and the associated payroll list fully digitized and securely from your payroll software to the Employment Agency.
- It is not possible to transmit the notification of loss of working hours via KEA.
Deadlines
The appeal must be submitted to the employment agency that issued the decision within one month of receiving the decision.
Processing time
The notification/request is usually processed within 15 working days. (0 to 15 working days)
Remedy
- Objection
- Action before the social court
Links to more information
Status:07.08.2023
Responsible for editing:Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales
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