You can apply for the winter allowance in writing or online. You can also use KEA (Kurzarbeitergeld-Dokumente elektronisch annehmen) if necessary.

If you want to apply for the subsidized winter allowance in writing:

• You dissolve the working time credit to compensate for the employees' loss of working hours.
• You pay the wages and the subsidized winter allowance to your employees for each hour of the working time credit and pay social security contributions.
• You apply for reimbursement of the subsidized winter allowance retroactively each month at the responsible office of the employment agency (application for seasonal short-time allowance and payroll list)
• The employment agency checks the application and the payroll list, and the approved subsidized winter allowance is transferred.
• After the end of the bad weather period, the employment agency checks the submitted statements and corrects the approved winter allowance if necessary.

If you want to apply for the winter allowance online:

• Go to the "eServices" portal on the Federal Employment Agency's website.
• Log in with your user ID and call up the application for seasonal short-time allowance.
• Complete the application, upload the payroll list and submit the application.
• The employment agency will check your application and your documents.
• You will receive notification of the decision on your application from the Employment Agency.
• The remaining procedural steps are the same as the written procedure

If you want to use KEA for the application for seasonal short-time allowance and the associated payroll list:

• You will need certified payroll software that supports transmission using KEA.
• In this case, you can transmit your application for seasonal short-time allowance and the corresponding payroll list to the Employment Agency fully digitized and securely from your payroll software.