Austria
A similar short-time working scheme is to be extended into 2022. However, the government has split the program into two.
Severely affected industries such as gastronomy, hotels and aviation can apply for a subsidy of up to 90% of a worker s wage. Companies must be able to prove a 50% loss of sales to continue to receive the full subsidy.
For employees in those sectors less affected, funding for reduced-hours working will be slowly cut back until the middle of next year.
Local media reported that 1.2 million jobs have been saved at a cost of €8.2 billion, so far. The government says 330,000 people remain on the program, which should fall by more than half by the end of the summer.
Germany's top labor court has ruled that workers, mostly from eastern EU countries, hired for "24-hour nursing" in hundreds of thousands of German homes, are entitled to minimum wage, even while on standby.
The German government has agreed to a plan from Labour Minister Hubertus Heil to extend until the end of September special rules for short-time work allowances due to the coronavirus pandemic, government sources said on Tuesday.
The law will require German companies to report human rights or environmental abuses by suppliers. Supporters say it is a milestone, rights groups say it falls short.