Relaxed regulations for additional income
A special regulation will apply from 1 April to 31 October 2020: Anyone who takes up secondary employment in a systemically important sector after having their working hours reduced will not have to deduct the additional income from their short-time working allowance. However, the combined amount of their regular paid wages, short-time working allowance and additional earnings must not exceed their normal net income.
The regulation will help those with reduced working hours while bolstering systemically important sectors and occupations.
The relaxed regulations for additional income will help those with reduced working hours make up for their financial losses. The sideline activities will also be exempt from unemployment insurance contributions.
It is essential that people in Germany are supplied with food and other everyday items throughout the ongoing crisis. Workers are urgently needed in sectors like the food trade and agriculture. The special regulation will allow people with reduced working hours to support systemically important areas of the economy.
The systemic importance of a sector or occupation is determined by the Regulation for the Identification of Critical Infrastructure according to the Act on the Federal Office for Information Security.
Examples of systemically important sectors and occupations include medical care, the supply of food to hospitals and nursing homes, the provision of life-support machines and products, pharmacies, freight transport (e.g. for the distribution of food to wholesalers and retailers), the food trade (e.g. selling food or stacking shelves), food production (including agriculture) and food delivery services.