UND WIEDER MEHR BÜROKRATIE FÜR FILMPRODUKTIONEN

AND AGAIN MORE BUREAUCRACY FOR FILM PRODUCTIONS

The contribution procedure regulations are to be changed at the beginning of next year. From January 1, 2022, employers will then be obliged to include proof of health insurance coverage in the final salary documents of short-term employees. Jürgen Kling from adag Payroll Services draws attention to impending problems.

The regulation is currently still part of a final discussion in the relevant policy department. As a small service provider, you have a difficult chance of getting your way against the upcoming change," says Jügen Kling from adag Payroll Services. The consequences of this regulation affect the entire industry, especially when it comes to recruiting extras. Every extra, minor actor or performer who is only employed for one day on a short-term basis will have to provide this proof in the future! This means a significant change, because a large proportion of these employees currently do not have to provide any such proof beyond the information on the master data sheet. Currently, the payment of the fee is quick, easy and unbureaucratic. This will change - with massive consequences for production companies.

“The employees in these groups will hate it. An additional hurdle that will make it more difficult to recruit and employ these people,” says Jürgen Kling from adag . Overall, we estimate the number of jobs affected in the industry in Germany to be around 200,000 to 250,000 per year (rough estimate). "In our opinion, the purpose of this regulation only applies to employment over a longer period of time, ie weeks or months, and not to the aforementioned activities of extras for production companies limited to one day."

Background: The fourth law amending the Sea Fisheries Act of May 26, 2021 actually also included changes to the reporting procedure for short-term mini-jobs, Articles 2 and 3. For example, a new paragraph 9a was added to Section 28a of the Social Code IV, which reads: “For marginally employed persons pursuant to Section 8 Paragraph 1 Number 2, the employer must also state how they are insured for the duration of their employment when reporting in accordance with Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Number 1. The regulation will be evaluated as part of a report by the Federal Government on the effect of the measure by the end of 2026.” A new number 7a was also added to Section 8 Paragraph 2 of the Contribution Procedure Regulations. The regulation now reads: “(2) The following documents must be included in the remuneration documents: … 7a. proof of health insurance coverage in accordance with Section 28a Paragraph 9a of the Fourth Book of the Social Code, …”. Article 5 of the Fourth Law Amending the Sea Fisheries Act then stipulates that these changes will come into force on 1 January 2022.

It is clear that the change in the announcements of the leading associations of social insurance providers, which is mentioned in the report from Haufe-Verlag, is not the basis for the aforementioned obligations, but only an adaptation to the changed legal situation. The obligation to report the type of health insurance and to include proof of health insurance in the remuneration documents has the status of law and will come into force on January 1, 2022. It is therefore not in the hands of the social insurance providers to determine otherwise here. The obligations will come, including the consequences of non-compliance.

If proof of health insurance cannot be presented, reference should be made to Section 111 of the Social Code (SGB IV). According to this, violations of reporting and retention obligations constitute an administrative offence. The amendment to the Social Code (SGB IV) did not result in any changes to this regulation, so failure to report health insurance coverage should not trigger a sanction. However, according to Section 28f Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 of the Social Code (SGB IV), an employer must keep pay records in German for each employee within the scope of this law, separated by calendar year. These must be kept in an orderly manner until the end of the calendar year following the last audit (Section 28p), with Section 8 Paragraph 2 of the Contribution Procedure Regulations standardizing the content of the pay records. According to Section 111 Paragraph 1 No. 3 of the Social Code (SGB IV), anyone who intentionally or carelessly fails to keep or retain pay records contrary to Section 28f Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 is committing an administrative offence. Finally, paragraph four stipulates that such an administrative offence may be punished with a fine of up to fifty thousand euros.

So what will the billing of extras look like in the future? In contrast to the previous quick and unbureaucratic payment of the fee, there will be a process of holding the fee, processing a subsequent proof of insurance liability for each working day and a subsequent payment associated with this.

If you have any further questions about the change in the law or need help with your future work processes, please contact adag Payrall Services GmbH .

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