Coronavirus: Support measures for the Basel-Stadt economy - current status

Many applications for financial support because of the COVID-19 measures have been submitted and are being processed by the competent departments.

The Office of Economy and Labour (AWA) has so far received around 4,800 advance notifications of short-time working. Around 4,500 of these advance notifications have been processed and corresponding authorisations issued. After receiving this reply, businesses have three months to claim the payment from their Unemployment Insurance Fund. The Public Unemployment Insurance Fund has received around 2,500 applications for short-time working compensation, around 70 % of which have already been paid, amounting to around 23 million francs.

In addition, Basel-Stadt compensation office [Ausgleichskasse] has received 4,400 applications for compensation for loss of earnings from self-employed people. It has since been possible to process 4,020 of these. With regard to the applications that have not yet been processed, documents (confirmation of daycare facility closures, medical certificates, etc.) still need to be submitted or consultation with the canton is required. The figures do not include applications submitted to compensation offices other than the cantonal compensation office Basel-Stadt. On 16 April 2020, the Federal Council extended the sector of applicants to cover self-employed people who have not had to close because of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 measures, but have nevertheless suffered a drop in income.

The Canton of Basel-Stadt set up cantonal support measures for self-employed people indirectly affected by the Federal Government’s COVID-19 measures, on 1 April 2020. A total of 1,270 applications have been received since the programme began. Hardly any more new applications are being made, in part because, since the decision of the Federal Council of 16 April 2020, compensation for loss of earnings through the compensation offices has been extended to apply to self-employed people who have been indirectly affected. Half of applications for cantonal benefits have been processed and over half of these have been paid. Queries and documents are still outstanding for some of the applications that have not yet been processed.