European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
Income tax law, § 3 No. 46
In Germany, charging electric vehicles at the workplace is not deemed a taxable benefit in kind. Therefore, employees who use the charging infrastructure and charge for free at the workplace will not have to pay taxes and security contributions on that advantage. Charging infrastructure of the employer temporary given to the employee is also not classified as a taxable benefit. Free charging infrastructure that becomes the property of the employee will be taxed at a flat-rate tax of 25%. The same tax rate may be applied for subsidies for charging infrastructure granted by employers.
In order to speed up developments on the market for electric mobility, the federal government adopted a package of measures on 18 May 2016 containing investments of close to €1 billion. In 2020, a new electric mobility package of €6.2 billion was introduced (1/3 of which financed by the automotive industry). By July 2021, the government spent about €2.1 billion in subsidies for 530,000 electric (or hybrid) vehicles. Specific figures for workplace charging infrastructure are not available.
Eurofound (2021), Germany: Company incentives to deploy electric vehicles, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/company-incentives-to-deploy-electric-vehicles/germany
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
