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Friends and I were discussing this last night on jitsi. We think that instead of throwing employees to the wolves at a time when getting a job is going to be di

Friends and I were discussing this last night on jitsi. We think that instead of throwing employees to the wolves at a time when getting a job is going to be difficult, many employees would accept equivalent pay cuts to help weather the storm. In fact I know one company that did just this, with 100 employees. The staff chose a 10% indefinite pay cut over 10% reduction in head count. Sacking people at this time is awful, and any company who has cash in the bank has options other than bankrupting some of their employees. I don’t care if Patreon had planned this before Covid-19. There are alternatives. These are dark times and companies who sack their employees as a first resort are part of the problem.

Kiro 7y ago
In Europe most companies are doing this instead of laying off right now. It's a conventional practice that saved a lot of companies during the 2008 crisis and in many countries it's subsidized by the government.
- ac29 7y ago
  If its subsidized by the government, how is it a paycut? Similar programs in the US exist, for example states paying a 50% unemployment payment for employees who have their hours cut by 50%. Its a win-win - companies effectively pay nothing to keep their employees at a full time salary for reduced hours, and the government avoids needing to pay out full unemployment benefits to laid off employees. Edit: see this for an example of the program in California: https://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Work_Sharing_Program.htm https://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Work_Sharing_Program.htm
  - Kiro 7y ago
    Can only speak for Sweden but you do need to take a paycut as well. In Swedish but you can see the table here: https://tillvaxtverket.se/om-tillvaxtverket/information-och-stod-kring-coronakrisen/korttidsarbete.html https://tillvaxtverket.se/om-tillvaxtverket/information-och-... For the 60% bracket the company reduces your working hours by 60% and you get a paycut of 7.5%. The government covers the difference, effectively reducing the cost for the company by 53%.

Kiro 7y ago

In Europe most companies are doing this instead of laying off right now. It's a conventional practice that saved a lot of companies during the 2008 crisis and in many countries it's subsidized by the government.

ac29 7y ago
If its subsidized by the government, how is it a paycut? Similar programs in the US exist, for example states paying a 50% unemployment payment for employees who have their hours cut by 50%. Its a win-win - companies effectively pay nothing to keep their employees at a full time salary for reduced hours, and the government avoids needing to pay out full unemployment benefits to laid off employees. Edit: see this for an example of the program in California: https://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Work_Sharing_Program.htm https://www.edd.ca.gov/Unemployment/Work_Sharing_Program.htm
- Kiro 7y ago
  Can only speak for Sweden but you do need to take a paycut as well. In Swedish but you can see the table here: https://tillvaxtverket.se/om-tillvaxtverket/information-och-stod-kring-coronakrisen/korttidsarbete.html https://tillvaxtverket.se/om-tillvaxtverket/information-och-... For the 60% bracket the company reduces your working hours by 60% and you get a paycut of 7.5%. The government covers the difference, effectively reducing the cost for the company by 53%.