A new study on “PES measures and activities responding to Covid-19” was prepared for the European PES Network and the European Commission, covering all EU countries, Norway and Iceland. Nearly all countries have adapted, revamped, activated or introduced short-time work schemes to prevent unemployment in the face of Covid-19. The study details important variations in such schemes, including in terms of applied restrictions, wage replacement rates, and duration. These may explain different take-up rates; while some countries have used schemes for temporary lay-offs as an alternative approach. Meanwhile, PES will need to continue responding to internal and labour market changes provoked by the crisis. It will also be important that PES prepare to adapt workers in terms of skills needed”. The study highlighted that PES’ organisational changes in response to Covid-19 during the lockdown and the de-confinement phase were focused on remote working of staff and increased digitalisation of services. These aspects may have long-lasting implications for PES’ ways of working. The study is mainly based on survey-based information provided by European PES to the European Commission every two weeks as well as some interviews with PES.
Publications:
PES measures and activities responding to Covid-19. Survey-based study
Teleworking in Germany: a miracle cure?
Further, Nicola Duell contributed to two articles in the German newspaper "Handelsblatt". The first one analyses the impact of short-time work on the labour market [Link] and the second one describes new working forms [Link].