Launch of the support mechanism called Kurzarbeit has been postponed to 1 March 2022

As part of the shortened legislative procedure, the amendment to the Shortened Work Act was approved on 3 December 2021. In the submission report, the Ministry of Labor claims that the effectiveness of the law on support during shortened work should be postponed two months later in order to "maintain the continuity of the assistance provided, as well as to prevent serious economic damage". Therefore, in January, First Aid benefits will continue to be paid instead. Initially, the First Aid benefits were to be paid according to the current state of the COVID map.

However, during the declaration of a state of emergency, the COVID map is no longer in force, and the payment of the benefits depending on the COVID map does not apply. At present, the payment of First Aid + benefits are available for entrepreneurs, except for Measure 3B. The rules for applying for Measure 3B benefits were introduced on 12 December 2021 and are considered discriminatory by some employers. According to the new rules, the only establishments entitled to receive benefits are those who were closed due to the tightening of anti-pandemic measures at the end of November, have a decrease in sales of more than 40 percent and employ less than 50 employees.