The Covid-19 crisis: tips for employers in Germany as of mid-March
1. Take immediate measures to protect all staff and business partners
- Close offices and enforce home office where feasible; otherwise clean well and reduce infection risks
- Prohibit all travel and physical meetings, amending the travel policy
- Monitor recommendations by public authorities and inform employees accordingly
- Take immediate action if there is an actual or suspected Corona-case
2. Explore options for flexible working – employee cooperation is generally needed
- Reduce all overtime surpluses
- Introduce sustainable home office arrangements
- Encourage employees to take (paid) holidays or sabbaticals
- Extend parental leave
- Agree new terms of employment, e.g. part-time, flexitime
3. Seek reimbursement for paid remuneration to employees in official quarantine
4. Consider implementing “short-time work” and applying for “short-time compensation”
- See here our recent publication
5. Consider further measures to reduce personnel costs
- checking bonus schemes for options to reduce variable pay
- agreeing pay cuts
- terminating freelancers, explore agency work structures
- dismissing employees in their probationary periods (first six months)
- consider redundancies
