Background information

Against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employer and business organisations started to put together information on (newly) available help measures for companies. Information provided by employer organisations is updated on regular basis and is part of their member services. The scope and depth of the information provided on the web-pages of employer organisations might vary and usually serves as a first entry point for companies in need of support.

Content of measure

Many employer and business organisations provide detailed information on available help and support measures that were put into place by the federal government, governments of the federal states or social partners. Each of the organisations listed below set up a special site on their webpage dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic and providing information on the different topics that companies might be interested in during the pandemic. Topics usually include: financial support measures, short-time work, legal labour issues, occupational health and safety etc. The following list gives you an idea of organisations and information provided (but is not meant to be all encompassing):

• Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA): COVID-19 Information for companies
• German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH): Corona: Important Information for the Crafts Trades
• German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK): FAQ on the Corona Virus

Apart from this web information, employer organisation also provide more specialised information by publishing FAQs or guidelines on different topics (such as short-time work, labour law issues or vocational training). Read more on the COVID-19 Database for case DE-2020-23/1113 .

Use of measure

No information available.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Employers' organisations	Employers organisation

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Only employers' organisations
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

Employer and business organisations set up information pages providing an overview on available support measures for their members. Naturally, organisations are involved in designing, implementing, and updating their pages on a regular basis. Organisations on all levels developed their own pages. In detail, peak-level, cross-sectoral, but also regional and sector-level organisations provide this kind of membership support.

Views and reactions

Employer and business organisation view this measure as part of their membership support.

Sources

• 14 September 2020: COVID-19 Information for Companies (Covid-19 Informationen für Unternehmen) (arbeitgeber.de)
• 14 September 2020: FAQ on the Corona Virus (FAQ rund um das Coronavirus) (www.dihk.de)
• 14 September 2020: Corona: Important Information for the Crafts Trades (Corona: Wichtige Infos für das Handwerk) (www.zdh.de)