Short-time working

Short-time working or short time (German: Kurzarbeit) is state-regulated system of work-sharing unemployment insurance in which civilian employees agree to or are forced to accept a reduction in working time and pay.[1] The term can refer to short-term, recession-related programs operating in several European countries in which companies have entered into an agreement to avoid laying off any of their employees by instead reducing the working hours of all or most of their employees, with the government making up some of the employees' lost income. Employees who undergo training programs during their extra time off can often maintain their former incomes.

For other uses, see Short time (disambiguation).

Austria

In Austria, the introduction of short time requires a special arrangement between what are called the "social partners" of Austrian collective bargaining (which is to say, the Chamber of Commerce and the labour unions), who negotiate on behalf of the employer and affected staff the scope of the Kurzarbeit arrangement in terms of the staff covered, the maximum period of its application, the conditions for any lay-offs during the arrangement, and the scope of any professional training or re-training courses included.[2]

Germany

In 2009, the German government had budgeted 5.1 billion euros on the program, which replaced some of the lost income of over 1.4 million workers. The program was favorably cited in a 2009 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report, which stated that it had saved nearly 500,000 jobs during the recession.[3][4] Besides helping to avoid mass layoffs, proponents of the program also cite its keeping skilled work groups together and avoiding the atrophy of their skills during extended layoffs, while critics have expressed concerns about its expense and that it might prop up non-viable firms.[5]

Romania

Due to the economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Romanian government is considering adopting a measure based on the German model of Kurzarbeit.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Oxford Languages | the Home of Language Data". Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-01.
  2. Jakob Widner (2009). "Kurzarbeit: an Alternative to Lay-Offs". International Law Office. Archived from the original on 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2010-09-20.
  3. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-02-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Germany's 'Kurzarbeit' program a possible role model for other countries". German Information Centre. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-01-30. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  5. "Reduced hours save jobs, for now". German Information Centre. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-09-08. Retrieved 2010-09-24.
  6. https://www.bursa.ro/ordonanta-de-urgenta-privind-programul-kurzarbeit-din-nou-pe-masa-guvernului-68402048
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.