Kurzarbeit Scheme

Amid the all-round disruption caused to the economy by the novel coronavirusoutbreak, a concern across the world is the possibility of loss of jobs.

Amid the all-round disruption caused to the economy by the novel coronavirusoutbreak, a concern across the world is the possibility of loss of jobs.
Various governments have unveiled various measures to address such concerns, and one of the most talked about is Kurzarbeit, Germany’s existing scheme that provides for partial compensation for a worker’s earnings in such situations, and now modified to account for the current crisis.
Kurzarbe it is German for “short-work”. The policy provides for a short-time work allowance, called kurzarbeitgeld, which partially compensates for lost earnings during uncertain economic situations.
The policy was rolled out during the 2008 economic crisis while its origins date back as far as the early 20th century, before and after World War I.