Employees who are not ill themselves and are not in quarantine themselves and are only unable to work because the company is closed or no longer have any orders are entitled to full wages in case of doubt. We lawyers call this default of acceptance by the employer. The employee offers his service, the employer does not accept it. However, "when in doubt" means the following: It is a question of the individual case whether the specific closure of the business is really part of the operational risk of the employer, i.e. whether he bears the legal responsibility for the delay in acceptance. Businesses are currently being closed in Berlin for very different reasons. In some cases, this is ordered by the authorities. But here, too, it must be carefully checked in each case whether such an order is actually part of the classic risk of the employer or not. If the employer does not close due to an official order, but because orders broke away or the customers or the goods no longer come, this would basically be part of the employer's operational risk. It is not certain whether the courts also see this as a general "shut-down".
If you no longer come to work due to general misgivings, your entitlement to wages for this time is likely to be lost. Only if you are ill yourself (then continued payment of wages according to the regular provisions) or are actually in quarantine (then possibly claims for compensation under the Infection Protection Act) do you have claims for continued payment against the employer. This can also apply if the company is closed on the basis of the InfSchG.
Your employer may order short-term short-time work. Please note that you will then have to submit the corresponding applications to the Federal Employment Agency yourself.
If you can no longer come to work because schools and day care centers are closed and you have no alternative childcare options, the legal situation is also uncertain. Section 616 of the German Civil Code, which is designed for short periods of absence, only ensures that your wages will continue to be paid for a short period of time
Please note that this is all general information and does not constitute or replace specific legal advice in individual cases.