Berlin votes expropriating large companies 240000 homes in the face of rising rent prices - The majority of Berliners who participated this Sunday in a non - binding referendum on housing have expressed their willingness to expropriate part of the housing stock of large owners in order to facilitate access to rental housing in the German capital.

With a result of 56.4% in favor and 38% against, the winners of the non —binding vote have urged the city senate to amend the law to be able to execute the forced purchase of 240,000 homes, which represents approximately 15% of the total housing available to Berlin.

"Ignoring the referendum would be a political scandal. We will not give up until the socialization of housing groups is implemented," said Kalle Kunkel, spokesman for the initiative, in a statement collected by Reuters.

The measure would directly affect Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen, 2 of the main owning companies, which recently sold almost 15,000 apartments to the Berlin consistory for 2,460 million euros, as part of an attempt to gain political support for their business merger, according to the same agency.

Among the 2 total about 550,000 apartments with a total value of more than 80,000 million euros. The expropriation of that almost quarter of a million houses would be carried out for an amount that would reach 13.700 million, according to Europa Press reports.

Berlin votes expropriating large companies 240000 homes

The referendum, for which 2.5 million Berliners were called to vote, came one day after the SPD returned to being the most voted force in Berlin, with its candidate, Franziska Giffey, becoming the new mayor of the German capital.

Many voters hope that the results of the referendum will serve to put pressure on German real estate actors and that governments will put under public management part of the residential parquet that is in private hands, although the measure does not seem easy to achieve.

Berlin votes expropriating large companies 240000 homes

Giffey was opposed to a policy of expropriation, although he indicated that the results of the consultation should be respected. Speaking to radio station ARD, the socialist leader asked the government to draft a bill that would move in that direction, but within the country's constitution, according to Reuters.

The rise in rental prices in Berlin has been a stagnant problem for years, despite recent policies. 2 years ago the city council froze the price of rents in homes built before 2014, although the measure does not seem to have solved the problem.

The average income in Berlin has risen 109% in just 10 years, between 2009 and 2019, in a city where approximately 80% of its inhabitants live on rent.

Berlin votes expropriating large companies 240000 homes

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Depression due to a warning from the boss at work can be considered an accident at work, declares the Justice; thus it influences the benefit received

If a warning from your superiors causes you depression and anxiety that leads you to a sick leave, this could be considered an accident at work instead of a common illness, which means a greater benefit.

The High Court of Justice (TSJ) of Castilla y León has given the reason to a worker, who claimed that her case was considered an accident at work.

This, with the position of Production Assistant in the company Deli Meats 2000 SA (now Campofrío Fresh) at the time of the incident, received 29 January 2018, a letter from the Chief Human Resources officer of your company, in which the apercibía by their behavior and attitude with coworkers and warned of possible disciplinary action if he continued like this.

"Among the facts that have been transferred to this Address are that you usually criticize your colleagues when they make a mistake, you regularly address them in a high tone of voice, with strong gesticulation and use of inappropriate terms in the work environment", reads the letter, which also speaks of favoritism and lack of collaboration.

"This attitude is perceived by their colleagues as arrogant, haughty and, sometimes, aggressive, which generates in them a feeling of inferiority, fear and anxiety, so that they see work as a stressful situation", continues the company, which 3 days before had received an email in which it was reported that some workers had problems with this and other people.

The letter concludes with a warning: "We require you to immediately cease the conduct and to comply with the rules existing in the Company, addressing his colleagues with respect and good treatment, working in a team, without engaging in favoritism in the professional field, so as to avoid ultimately the imposition of disciplinary measures".

After receiving this letter, explains the sentence, the employee worked 3 days normally, but the next began a "situation of temporary disability due to anxiety crisis, derived from common illness", which lasted for more than a year, until March 2019.

"The plaintiff has been treated by the mental health team of the university care complex of Burgos, for presenting symptoms compatible with a mixed adjustment disorder with anxiety and depressed mood in a reactive way conflictive work", recalls the sentence, collected for Five Days.

In it, the Supreme Court of Castilla y León rejects the criterion that, in a first instance, classified it as a common disease, and concedes that the temporary disability process initiated by the appellant "derives from an accident at work, condemning the entities sued to be and go through such a declaration".

The court relies on the argument that the letter of reprimand was the main and only reason for his anxiety and depression, and on section 156 (e). 2 of the General Social Security Act.

It considers an occupational accident to be "diseases, not covered by the following article, contracted by the worker in connection with the performance of his work, provided that it is proved that the disease was caused solely by the performance of the work".

The judges affirm that "there is no evidence of psychiatric history of the worker", assistance for mental illness or"factors external to the workplace that could have influenced her behavior prior to medical leave".

"So, the only determinant of disease developed focuses on the performance of the work, which created a situation of tension able to generate an episode of nervous breakdown and followed temporarily the recognition of a process crippling anxiety", they conclude.

This decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Both the common illness and the accident at work are grounds for temporary disability ,a "daily allowance that covers the loss of income while the worker is temporarily unable to work and receives health care from the Social Security", reports this state body.

However, the requirements and the amount of the benefit are different in each case. In the case of common illness and non-occupational accident, the benefit is 60% of the regulatory base from the 4th day of the sick leave to the 20th inclusive, and 75% from the 21st day onwards, collected by the Social Security portal.

In contrast,the amount for occupational disease or occupational accident is 75% of the regulatory base from the day following the day of sick leave.

"Even, a large part of the collective agreements establish improvements to the amounts paid by the Social Security in the event that the temporary disability comes from an illness or accident at work, amounts that the company would pay," labor sources inform.

"Likewise, the distinction between whether temporary disability is caused by work or not may have important implications if permanent disability results from it," they add.