The reason for this is that in 2021, applications for phase 5 of short-time work were already approved in the amount of 800 million euros, which have not yet been finally settled. For 2022, 400 million euros for short-time work have already been applied for, according to Labor Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) in a broadcast on Friday.
However, it is to be expected that the billing, i.e. the actual use of short-time work, will be significantly lower. “Increasing the budget ceiling for short-time work is therefore a formal act. In any case, we do not expect that the amount required for the actual use of short-time work in phase 5, i.e. for short-time work in the second half of 2021, will come close to the budgeted upper limit “, emphasizes Kocher further.
The statutory upper limit for short-time work is currently EUR 1 billion. However, it can be expanded by ordinance of the Minister of Labor in agreement with the Minister of Finance. The total of the maximum payment obligations for phase 5 would already exceed the limit. In order to ensure that there is sufficient budgetary leeway for the approval of applications that have already been received, the budget ceiling for short-time work is increased to 2 billion euros.
“In the fight against the economic and financial consequences of the pandemic, the federal government helped unbureaucratically and quickly from the start,” emphasized Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP): “With the increase in the upper limit for short-time work, more skilled workers can be retained in the sectors.”
Source: Nachrichten
