Working time

The majority of businesses are expecting a freeze on investments and a considerable drop in this year's turnover as they face a second year with the pandemic and its consequences, while instead of being viewed as a plus, most enterprises are concerned at the rise of teleworking, an ICAP survey has found.

Romanian nationals working in the meat industry in Germany will sign, from January 1, 2021, employment contracts directly with the German employers, and not with companies that intermediate jobs, Romania's Minister of Labour and Social Protection Violeta Alexandru wrote on Thursday on Facebook.

T.J. Leonard likes to kick off every Monday morning with an all-hands meeting, to keep his 100-plus employees of the Storyblocks video production assistance company up to date on the latest.

And even when everyone's working at home, the show must go on.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Tuesday stated that the number of persons with employment agreements dropped by 14,000 in May 2020 compared with the same period last year. "Very many analysts, political leaders from the Opposition predicted the apocalypse in the employment field: a scary unemployment. We have even been accused of not taking measures for it.

Many enterprises face the risk of being strapped for cash by the end of the year unless they increase their revenues in the coming months or receive some form of financing, according to a survey of 100 companies in 15 sectors conducted by Endeavor Greece.

The state intends to finance Greek enterprises to the tune of at least 820 million euros from national and European resources, to support employment in sectors proven to have been harmed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The government will grant up to 30pct of the gross salary to companies that will hire people looking for work, Prime minister Ludovic Orban announced on Wednesday evening. "We will give up to 30pct of the gross salary to companies that will hire jobseekers, that will provide jobs to Romanian citizens who are looking for a job, for a period of at least three months.

The Kurzarbeit model (flexible work) was discussed with employers and trade unions, but was also presented to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labor, but there are fears on the government side that it could not be implemented, the president of the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce (AHK Romania), Dragos Anastasiu stated on Thursday.

The coronavirus pandemic is proving to be a disaster for small and medium-sized enterprises across Europe, particularly for those in the south and east of the bloc and their non-EU neighbours.

Most EU countries have taken some form of measure to protect businesses from the effects of the coronavirus crisis.