Short-term work subsidy extended in Germany

The German government has given way to pressure from both unions and employers and extended the subsidy paid to those on short-time work from the normal six months to 12.

Under this scheme, employers are subsidised by the government keep workers they otherwise would have made redundant.

Employees without children get 60% of their normal pay; those with children get 67%. Short-time working was also extended from six to 12 months during the recession and following the collapse of Lehmann Brothers.

It is credited with having saved hundreds of thousands of jobs in Germany.