Factsheet for measure
DE-2020-12/1694
–
Updated
– measures in Germany
Instant support for employees with care duties
Akuthilfen für pflegende Angehörige (BMFSFJ)
Background information
The measure aims to reduce financial hardship for working carers. Social distancing rules aiming to bring down COVID-19 infection rates have made institutionalised care less attractive for people with care needs and made the sharing of care responsibilities between institutions and families more difficult. The need for care at home has increased. The Government has increased care support grants (Pflegeunterstützungsgeld) and flexibilised care periods for working carers.
Content of measure
The Government increased the amount of working days covered by the care support grant (
Pflegeunterstützungsgeld
), from ten to twenty days. Care periods can now be introduced with more flexibility, to respond to flexible care needs. The additional ten days of care support are conditional on the care need being related to the pandemic: for example, if employees have to care for a family member because professional care workers are not available. This can for example be related to quarantines with the family or the care service. The measure is relevant for a large number of employees: around 2.5 million workers in Germany care for family members at home (Augsburger Allgemeine, 2020).
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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30 April 2023
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The measure expired on 30 April 2023.
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20 October 2022
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The measure has been extended until the end of April 2023.
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25 March 2022
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The measure has been prolonged until 30 June 2022.
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30 November 2021
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Because of the ongoing burdens due to the persistent pandemic situation, the newly incoming German government decided in November 2021 to extend all pandemic-related social policy measures, including the instant support for employees with care duties. All measures were prolonged until 31 March 2022.
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24 November 2020
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The newly incoming German government decided in November 2021 to change the basis for political decision making during the pandemic with a law on the lifting of the epidemic situation (BMG 2021). In this law, the lawmakers also adopted an extension of pandemic-related social policy measures, including instant support for employees with care duties. It was prolonged until 31 March 2022.
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Use of measure
According to figures from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) of September 2020, around 3.4 million people in Germany are in need of care, three quarters of whom are cared for at home. Currently, it is assumed that there are about 4.8 million family members providing care. Of the 4.8 million caregivers, about 2.5 million are employed and have to shoulder care and work at the same time. More than 70 percent of the main caregivers are women, often in so-called sandwich positions (childcare and care responsibilities).
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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No involvement
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No involvement
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Form
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Not applicable
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Not applicable
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
-
No involvement
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Main level of involvement: N/A
Involvement
Social partners are usually consulted by the Federal Government when drafting national laws or other major regulations concerning the labour market. No formal tripartite social dialogue structure exists to design pandemic control measures. Germany's pandemic response is based on government by decrees, without parliamentary participation. Public statements by both social partners have informally influenced the policy design of BMFSFJ measures.
Views and reactions
Public statements by social partners have informally influenced the design of BMFSFJ policy measure related to the government's pandemic response.
Sources
