Austria is in a state of emergency. The Covid-19, a new type of virus from China, is spreading and threatens our health. Countless measures have already been taken in the fight against the virus. What you can do in your business to protect yourself and your employees from the corona virus, what your responsibilities are as an employer, and what financial assistance is available to affected businesses, this article tells you.
Coronavirus – Preventive measures for your company
- Wash your hands several times a day with soap and water or an alcohol-based disinfectant. If you don't have disinfectant on hand right now, don't worry, soap also inactivates the virus.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a handkerchief or your elbow when coughing or sneezing.
- Touch mouth, nose and eyes as little as possible.
- Avoid shaking hands.
- Avoid direct contact with sick people.
Mouth masks, by the way, are not effective protection against infection. These only help to contain the risk of proliferation.
The WKO has created a notice for businesses that provides information on hygiene measures. You can print this out and hang it up in your office. It also makes great sense to put together a guide for your employees with the most important information.
What to do when an employee shows symptoms?
Typical symptoms of the virus are fever, cough, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. If an employee is suspected of being infected, they should definitely stay home and contact the health hotline 1450. It is the duty of every employee to inform his employer in case of infection, so that the employer can take further measures. For general inquiries, the AGES coronavirus hotline is available at 0800 555 621.
Home office as a measure
Employees are not allowed to stay at home under labor law purely for fear of contagion. This would constitute a breach of official duties and could, in the worst case, lead to dismissal. Only if there is an objectively understandable risk of contracting an illness at work (such as illness in the immediate area) is absence justified. Also, not refusing to collaborate with others as long as they do not show symptoms.
Even if you are not legally obliged to do so, we recommend you to help your employees to prevent, z. B. by promoting home office. The Austrian federal government now even encourages all companies to let their employees work from home when possible.
Home office may not be ordered unilaterally by the employer, however, from the point of view of labor law, the agreement must come from both sides. Exceptions are the transfer clause and other provisions, if any, of the employment contract.
These are the points you should bear in mind when working from home
Especially if you are applying home office for the first time in your company, you should consider the following points:
- Communication is everything: Coordinate with your co-workers: When should who be available? Who can/should do what tasks at home? Keep up the communication and talk to each other regularly. Also tell your customers the new working arrangements if accessibility and/or service will be affected.
- Show understanding: The work situation at home is not always ideal. Especially when children are at home, there may be interruptions that affect work. In these cases it is important to show understanding.
- Equipment and tools: Modern communication tools such as Slack, Skype, Google Docs or instant messaging services facilitate location-independent work. If these are new territory for your business, a general enrollment is recommended. It also needs to be clarified who needs what hardware and how to get it.
Financial help for businesses affected by the coronavirus
Even the economy is not spared from the effects of the corona virus. From 17.3. (until temporarily 13.4.) business premises of trade, service companies, leisure, sports, as well as catering establishments must remain closed. Only delivery services are still allowed. Consequently, many companies are experiencing or predicting sales declines. If you are also concerned, there are the following aids that you can fall back on:
- The SVS (social insurance for the self-employed) allows those affected to pay in installments and defer contributions. Reduction of the contribution base and forbearance of interest on arrears are also possible.
- The oGK (Austrian Health Insurance Fund) also allows deferments, installment payments, leniency in late payment penalties and the suspension of execution and insolvency petitions.
- A deferment or. Installment payment of your taxes can be requested. Lowering deferral interest rates to zero is also possible. Click here for the application.
- Bridge financing is available for EPUs, SMEs and tourism businesses.
- Credit institutions can u. a. grant the deferment of credit installments. Contact your bank if you fear problems.
- You can also pay for other current contracts (rent, insurances, etc).) request deferrals from the contractor. In the end, however, it is always the decision of the contracting party whether to approve these.
- Taxpayers can until 31.10. of the year concerned, apply for a reduction in income tax or corporate income tax prepayments if the profit expectations for the year in question are lower. To do this, you need to submit an application explaining why the expected turnover is lower. You can download the application here.
Furthermore, the city and the Vienna Chamber of Commerce provide Viennese companies with an aid package of 35 million euros, which is made up as follows:
- COVID_19 Special funding (20 million euros): Emergency fund for Viennese micro and one-person companies with a maximum of 10 employees. Applications can be submitted from 1.4. be placed here.
- Corona bridging loan (12 million euros): Viennese SMEs are supported by the Wiener Kreditburgschafts- und Beteiligungsbank with up to 500,000 euros.
- Increase in waff funding for work foundations (3 million euros)
For the following financial aid measures the details are not yet fixed. However, we will inform you as soon as more details are known.
- Hardship fund for one-person businesses and micro-enterprises
- Direct loans for affected companies
- Guarantees also to be offered to companies with 250 or more employees.
- Strengthening and acceleration of export promotion with guarantees