Earnings-related allowance
Earnings-related allowance for a temporarily laid-off person
Temporary lay-off means that employment and salary payments are suspended indefinitely or for specific days. A temporary lay-off can also be implemented by shortening the working day.
If you are laid off for full days, you receive the full earnings-related allowance for your lay-off days. If, on the other hand, your lay-off is a shortened working day, you will be paid an adjusted allowance that takes your salary into account. In cases of a temporary lay-off involving shortened working days, your salary affects the earnings-related allowance the same way as part-time work: half of the salary is deducted from your earnings-related allowance. You can use the allowance calculator to estimate the amount of your allowance for the period of temporary lay-off.
Register as a jobseeker in the employment official’s online service no later than on your first day of temporary lay-off to receive the earnings-related allowance. Registration is valid immediately, but it cannot be backdated – for example, to yesterday. The earnings-related allowance is only paid for the period during which the registration is valid.
Conditions concerning the shortening of working hours
Payment of earnings-related allowance for a period of temporary lay-off requires that work is performed for a maximum of 80% of the sector’s maximum working hours.
The working hours of laid-off persons on a shortened working week are examined on a calendar-week basis. This means that the 80% limit must not be exceeded during a calendar week, or the payment of the allowance for that week is prevented.
If the temporary lay-off is implemented by shortening the working day, working hours are examined in monthly periods or periods of four calendar weeks.
Waiting period
When a temporary lay-off begins, a so-called waiting period is set, for which no allowance is paid. The length of the waiting period is seven business days (Mon–Fri). If you are working part-time, the waiting period accumulates only for the period of your temporary lay-off. In this case, the waiting period must accumulate within eight consecutive calendar weeks.
The waiting period is set whenever the maximum period for the earnings-related allowance starts over. 12 months of employment resets the maximum period calculator.
Long-term temporary lay-off
If your temporary lay-off is implemented in such a way that you work for some weeks or days, your working months count towards a new employment condition.
- One month of the employment condition is accrued when you receive a salary of at least €930 during a calendar month.
- Half a month of the employment condition is accrued when you receive a salary of at least €465, but less than €930, during a calendar month.
When 12 months have been accrued towards the employment condition, the earnings-related allowance period starts over. The amount of the allowance is then recalculated, and the waiting period without allowance set at the beginning of the allowance period starts over.
If you resign from your job after your temporary lay-off has lasted continuously for at least 200 days, you receive compensation corresponding to the notice period from your employer. No earnings-related allowance is paid for the period of the compensation, nor does it count towards the 12-month employment condition.