Coronavirus:
Information and Support for English Teachers
- 17. March 2020
- Posted by: Sarah Plochl
- Category: HELTA news

Dear All, we’ve started this post with some information that we have so far about how freelance English teachers will be supported in this time. We will simply keep a collection of links here as more information comes in. This list may also be found on our Facebook page: You can find this post here.
Please post any additional info in the comments below.
Sending good thoughts to everyone. Stay safe!
Finance/Tax Information and Resources
MOST RECENT ENTRIES FIRST:
Information from the Handelskammer Hamburg
https://www.hk24.de/produktmarken/startseite-alt/coronavirus/finanzielle-soforthilfen-4737170
Information on special loans from IFB Hamburg (German, 26/03/20)
https://www.ifbhh.de/magazin/news/coronavirus-hilfen-fuer-unternehmen
Article from Spiegel (23/03, English):
Page on hamburg.de about the cash “Soforthilfe” for freelancers (German, 19/03/20)
https://www.hamburg.de/coronavirus/13737132/2020-03-19-bwvi-eckpunkte-schutzschirm/
Cash help for self-employed freelancers (in German, MOPO Hamburg 20/03/20):
Article from Spiegel Online (in English, 20/03/20)
Loans and financial help for self-employed freelancers and small businesses:
https://www.ifbhh.de/magazin/news/coronavirus-hilfen-fuer-unternehmen
Information from the financial office (in English):
Bundesministerium der Finanzen
Tagesspiegel article:
Excerpt Tagesspiegel Article 14.03.2020
Option to apply for for unemployment money or taking a 1% interest credit with the KFW Bank (for this I think you need to have already been working for 5 years) https://www.kfw.de/inlandsfoe…/Privatpersonen/index-3.html
Here’s the link for supplementary unemployment benefits:
https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/en/unemployment-benefitii
Here’s a template for a letter you can send to your Finanzamt about staying/postponing your tax pre-payments:
Steuererleichterungen_aufgrund_der_Auswirkungen_des_Coronavirus
Teaching Online
There are countless resources and platforms being shared on how to set up online classrooms. People are sharing materials and collaborating everywhere. The best collection of tips we’ve seen so far is this Padlet page, which takes you through everything you need to know to start teaching using the free software Zoom:
https://padlet.com/cecilianobreelt/ekd9jvl3ygac
Free course on how to build and market online courses:
https://www.netzbekannt.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Netzbekannt-Sprachkurse-online-verkaufen.pdf
Free course on teaching virtually:
https://www.elttraininglibrary.com/teach-virtually
HELTA Online Support Call
HELTA is offering a weekly online support call for HELTA members on Friday afternoons. Check your email for the invitation from .