A lot is coming up in August 2022. The 9-euro ticket expires and a follow-up offer is being discussed. In addition, the Bafög rate for students is to be increased. There is another change for employees in community and medical facilities. They need a measles vaccination from August.
Anyone born after 1970 who comes into contact with other people in community and medical facilities must provide proof of measles vaccination by July 31, 2022. This also applies to cleaning staff or craftsmen who work in medical practices, clinics or schools, for example. The Measles Protection Act has been in force in Germany since March 1, 2020. The aim is to protect particularly vulnerable groups of people and society as a whole from the dangerous and highly contagious measles virus.
“Affected are employees who were born after 1970 and come into contact with other people in community and health facilities. According to the law, a person is required to be vaccinated as soon as they work regularly over a longer period of time in a facility specified in the law, for example in a hospital or doctor’s office. This also includes cleaning companies,” explains Anette Wahl-Wachendorf, specialist in occupational medicine and medical director of the occupational health service of the trade association for the construction industry (AMD der BG BAU).
By July 31, 2022, affected persons must present their vaccination certificate. From August 1st, they will not be allowed to continue working in the respective facility without vaccination protection.
The bargain ticket for buses and trains throughout Germany runs until the end of August. What happens after that is still unclear. However, connection offers for the 9-euro tickets are being discussed in order to relieve passengers of energy costs and give them incentives to switch to public transport. Among other things, there are suggestions for a 365-euro annual ticket and monthly tickets for 29 or 69 euros. However, the federal and state governments do not agree on who is responsible for this.
In general, according to a survey, a large majority of people in Germany would be in favor of a connection offer. 72 percent would basically support a successor solution, as the survey by the opinion research institute “Yougov” showed. 16 percent would reject it, 11 percent make no statement. According to the information, 3697 people aged 18 and over were interviewed on July 19.
At the end of June, the Bundestag decided to increase the Bafög rates by almost six percent and to significantly increase tax allowances and special assets, which should increase the group of those entitled to Bafög. The rates will also be increased for students and trainees. Bafög recipients who are studying receive more money in the winter semester. Apprentices and students already receive the higher contributions at the beginning of the school year and thus benefit from the changes in some cases as early as August.
Pupils and trainees who live abroad can in future receive 632 instead of 585 euros. The Bafög rate for students will be raised from 427 to 452 euros per month in the winter semester. Anyone who no longer lives with their parents can also get 360 euros for the rent instead of the previous 325 euros. Students who have health and long-term care insurance themselves and no longer through their parents receive higher supplements.
Because of the energy crisis, the EU countries want to use less gas from this month. An emergency plan provides for member states to voluntarily reduce national consumption by 15 percent in the period from August to March 31, 2023. How the goal is to be achieved is left to the states. With the plan, the EU wants to take precautions in the event that Russia cuts off gas supplies completely.
There is also an important change for employers in August. Anyone who hires new employees after August 1, 2022 must specify more working conditions in the employment contract than was previously necessary. The reason for this is the implementation of the EU directive on transparent and reliable working conditions. The new proof law will come into force on August 1st.
From then on, employment contracts must include, for example, the duration of the probationary period, as well as agreed rest periods or the requirements for shift changes. In addition, the remuneration for overtime and special payments must also be specified.
From August 16, 2022 there is an important change for medicines. Cheaper biopharmaceuticals will be available in pharmacies from the new month, but the drugs should be just as effective. These are biosimilars that come onto the market when the patent right for the original active ingredient has expired.
This innovation was already passed in 2019 with the “Act for More Safety in Drug Supply” and is now binding. It affects, among other things, patients with diseases such as Crohn’s disease or cancer.
From August 1st, employees in the steel industry will receive a 6.5 percent increase in salary. In addition, they receive an energy bonus of 500 euros in June and July, trainees receive 200 euros. The new collective agreement is valid until the end of November 2023.
In addition, the minimum wage for stonemasons and stone sculptors will rise to 13.35 euros. From August, apprentice painters and varnishers will also receive 740 euros a month in their first year of training, an increase of 30 euros. In the second year there is 815 euros, in the third year 980 euros.
The European Union is introducing limit values for some toxins used in fertilizers, including cadmium, mercury and arsenic. the corresponding EU regulation has been in effect since mid-July. It should not only reduce environmental pollution and health risks, but also reduce the international community’s dependence on imports. At the same time, the EU is opening up its internal market for organic and waste-based fertilizers with the regulation.
