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Apply for short-time allowance

If an unavoidable temporary loss of working hours occurs in your company, short-time working allowance can be paid in full or in part for your employees. The loss of earnings is partially compensated by short-time working allowance and is intended to prevent redundancies.

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Procedure details

In difficult economic times, employment costs can be a burden for the company. If, for example, a company suffers a loss of working hours due to an acute crisis situation because production has to be restricted due to a lack of supplies, short-time working may be indicated. During short-time working, employees temporarily work less or not at all. The short-time working allowance then partially compensates for the loss of earnings. It is intended to relieve your company and help to preserve jobs.

Employers are responsible for reporting the loss of work and applying for short-time working allowance. Employees do not have to do anything. Short-time working can be introduced for the entire company or for individual departments. The amount of short-time working allowance depends on the employee's income and the actual loss of work/earnings during the period of short-time working:

  • 60 percent of the lost net wage 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 the short-time working allowance at the earliest from the calendar month in which the Federal Employment Agency receives your notification of the loss of earnings. The short-time working allowance is a reimbursement benefit. As an employer, you initially pay wages and salaries to your employees in advance. The short-time working allowance is settled monthly in arrears with the Federal Employment Agency at the payroll office and paid to you retroactively.

Short-time working 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 (e.g. temporary closure of a business by the authorities)

Minimum requirements:

  • An entitlement to short-time working allowance only exists if at least one third of employees are affected by a loss of earnings of more than 10 percent of gross pay in each case. You can find out more on the website of the Federal Employment Agency.

Company requirements:

  • Your company or company department employs at least one employee
  • Short-time working allowance can also be granted for one department only

Personal requirements:

  • Employees subject to social security contributions who have not been dismissed and with whom no termination agreement has been concluded

Further prerequisite:

  • Notification of loss of working hours to the Federal Employment Agency, accompanied by a statement from the works council

  • Required Documents
    • Notification of absence from work (form)
      • Enclosure, if applicable, company agreement with the works council on short-time work
      • Enclosure Statement of the works council, if applicable
      • Enclosure, if applicable, copy of the parts of the collective agreement relevant to short-time work
    • Application for short-time working allowance (form)
      • Payroll list for short-time working allowance - attachment to benefit application (form)

You can apply for short-time working allowance in writing or online. However, you can also use KEA (Kurzarbeitergeld-Dokumente elektronisch annehmen) if necessary.

The procedure is in two stages: first you report the loss of working hours, then you submit the application.

If you want to apply for short-time working allowance in writing:

  • You give your employees notice of the short-time working. A works agreement is often concluded with the works council. If there is no works council, you must obtain the consent of all employees who will be affected by short-time working.
  • You notify the competent office of the employment agency in writing of the short-time working (notification of loss of working hours).
  • The employment agency checks the notification and decides whether short-time working allowance can be granted.
  • You calculate the monthly wage and salary payments as well as the short-time working allowance
  • You pay the wages for hours worked and the short-time working allowance for hours not worked to your employees and pay the social security contributions.
  • You apply for reimbursement of the short-time working allowance retroactively each month at the responsible office of the Employment Agency (application for short-time working allowance and payroll list).
  • The employment agency checks the application and the payroll list and transfers the approved short-time working allowance.
  • Once the short-time work has been completed, the employment agency checks the submitted statements and, if necessary, corrects the approved short-time work allowance.

If you want to apply for short-time working allowance online:

  • You submit the notification of loss of working hours, the application for short-time working allowance and any other documents via the Federal Employment Agency's "eServices" online portal.
  • The remaining procedural steps are the same as the written procedure.

If you want to use KEA (accept short-time working allowance documents electronically) for the application for short-time working 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 working allowance and the corresponding payroll list to the Employment Agency fully digitized and securely from your payroll software.
  • It is not possible to transmit the notification of loss of working hours via KEA.

There are no costs.

The objection must be submitted to the employment agency that issued the decision within one month of receiving the decision.

The notification/application is usually processed within 15 working days. (0 bis 15 Werktage)

  • Objection
  • Action before the social court

  • Apply for extra work winter allowance as a supplementary benefit to seasonal short-time allowance

    If your company belongs to the construction industry or has the same status and your employees work in a weather-dependent job, you can receive additional winter pay under certain conditions and pay it to your employees.

  • Apply for seasonal short-time allowance

    If your company belongs to the construction industry or an equivalent company and you lose work during the so-called bad weather period, you can partially compensate for your employees' loss of earnings with seasonal short-time allowance.

  • Apply for transfer short-time allowance

    If your company has to permanently reduce its workforce due to restructuring, you can receive a temporary short-time transfer allowance for these employees, which partially compensates for the loss of earnings during this time and supports the search for new employment.

Status: 30.07.2024
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales
Source: Federal Portal