Short-time work phase IV - extension agreed from 1 April 2021 – 30 June 2021

Most of the key points of phase III also apply to phase IV:

Net replacement rate

The net replacement rate of 80/85/90% of the salary before short-time work still remains. Also in phase IV, employees will continue to receive 80/85/90% of net pay. Wage increases due to collective agreement adjustments must be taken into account (dynamic approach).

Working time must be continued to be between 30% and 80%

In phase IV, working time must be reduced by between 30% and 80% during a calculation period of three months. In special cases, the working time may be reduced below 30% if agreed by the social partners. Similar to phase III,  the annex II to the social partner agreement must be signed for this purpose and allows for a downtime of up to 90% in the calculation period of phase IV.

Companies affected direcly by the lockdown

The regulations regarding official closure due to the renewed lockdown remain in force in phase IV. Companies, which are directly affected by a regulatory lockdown under the Covid-19 Measures Act, are entitled to a working time loss of more than 90%.

For the above mentioned companies, the confirmation of the economic justification by the tax advisor doesn’t have to be introduced to the authorities.

Economic affectedness

As in phase III, the economic impact is to be determined by means of a standardised assessment procedure. The companies must prove the economic impact with a forecast calculation. If more than 5 employees are affected by short-time work, a confirmation of the economic necessity and the development of turnover by a tax adviser/a chartered accountant/accountant is also required.

Reimbursement of additional costs by AMS

The employer should continue to bear only the costs for the work actually performed - lost working hours including non-wage labour costs and sick leave will be reimbursed by the AMS.

Willingness for further training

As in phase III, further training will be increasingly promoted - companies will be reimbursed 60% of the costs of further training in addition to the hours lost.

Retention period remains one month

The one-month retention period (for employees affected by short-time work) after the end of short-time work remains in force.

Do you still have questions about short-time work? Our experts Christoph Schmidl and Theresa Arlt will be happy to assist you.