Employees may be asked to work two weeks per month

A new legislative act by the government allows employers and corporations to introduce a new system of rotational work to employ their staff for only two weeks per month and cut their salaries by 50 percent.

The measure, which forms part of the extraordinary package for tackling the impact of the coronavirus epidemic, only concerns enterprises listed as affected by the new crisis, a list that is constantly growing. 

The same enterprises have also been granted the option of suspending some or all of their workers’ contracts so that they do not have to foot their wage bills, in which case each of those employees will receive 800 euros from the state.

The new system of rotational work may be used in combination with the labor contract suspension measure by the same company or employer.

The rotational work may apply for up to six months – i.e. until September 20 – and employers cannot dismiss the workers concerned.