CORONAVIRUS TASKFORCE UP-DATE - System for state aid for employers and self-employed persons

As of 6th April 2020, 12 a.m., Offices of Labour, Social Affairs and Family shall start receiving of requests for employee’s wage contribution from employers (including self-employed persons), who were obliged to close their operational premises (first group). As of Wednesday, 8th April 2020, 12 a.m., others may request for state aid, i.e. employers with decreased sales and self-employed persons (second group).

All necessary information for state aid as well as application procedure is available in new website: www.pomahameludom.sk and  www.neprepustaj.sk.

The same content shall be presented on both abovementioned websites and will be updated regularly according to the current situation and needs.

The aid is therefore assigned to two groups of employers and self-employed persons:

  • First group: employers and self-employed persons (as employers), who had to close their operational premises on basis of Public Health Authority decisions,
  • Second group: employers and self-employed persons with sales decrease by at least 20% and self-employed persons, who are not employers and who were obliged to close their operational premises in time of emergency.

Type of aid

1. First group shall request for contribution on wage of employee equal to 80% of its average wage, in the maximal amount of EUR 1,100 with condition of work place preservation after the time of pandemic.

The contribution is granted for employees, to whom employer or self-employed person cannot assign work due to work obstacle on the part of employer (Section 142 of the Labour Code).

Target group consists of employees who have been employed before 1st March 2020.

The term employee stands for employees in employment relationship. The contribution shall not be provided for employees who’s employment relationship is based on agreement on work outside employment, for the managing director working who does not have an employment contract or shareholder working for its company without employment contract.

The contribution cannot be provided for the employee who are receiving social security benefits (such as allowance for sick leave, so called PN or care for family member, so called OČR)

Maximal contribution amount for one seeker (employer or self-employed person) is of EUR 800,000 for the whole project realisation time.

2. Second group

Employers (with exception of public administration subjects) who were not obliged to cease or restrict their operation but their sales decreased by at least 20 %, can apply for a contribution for employee’s wages. The amount of the contribution shall be determined by the sales decrease with condition of work place preservation after the time of pandemic.

Self-employed persons, who are also employers and ceased or restricted their operation or their sales decreased for more that 20% can apply for contribution to compensate the loss of income, and at the same time, they can apply for wage contribution for employees according to the first measure with condition of work place preservation after the time of pandemic.

Self-employed persons, who ceased or restricted their operation or their sales decreased by at least 20 % can apply for contribution to compensate the loss of income.

The contribution shall be granted for employee, to whom employer or self-employed person cannot assign work due to work obstacle on the part of employer (Section 142 of Labour Code).

Warning

The claim for the contribution shall be granted only to those self-employed persons with mandatory or voluntary sickness and pension insurance in the period until 31st March 2020 and the person continues to be insured after this day or is a subject to so called levy holiday.

The claim for contribution shall as well not be granted to the person with employment contract, or to self-employed person with annulled or suspended trading licence.

The amount of contribution for employees’ wages for employer of self-employed person who is employer or flat-rate contribution to compensate the loss of income for self-employed person shall be determined pursuant to the income decrease.

Sales decrease (categories)

March 2020 (in euro)

Less than 10%

0

10 %, - 19,99%

90

20 %, - 29,99%

150

30 %, - 39,99%

210

40 and more %

270

 

Sales decrease (categories)

April 2020 (in euro)

Less than 20%

0

≥ 20 %, from 20,00-39,99%

180

≥ 40 %, from 40,00-59,99%

300

≥ 60 %, from 60,00-79,99%

420

≥ 80 %, from 80% and more

540

 Each applicant chooses one of the alternatives to the method of calculating the income decrease:

1. Income for reported month with the sales in the same month of previous year shall be compared (e.g. for reported month 3/2020 – previous period 3/2019).

2. Income average from 2019 (i.e. 1/12 of sales for 2019). With sales for reported month shall be compared. This is available only for persons who carried out economic activity throughout all 2019.

3. Income for February 2020 with reported month shall be compared. This is available only for persons who carried out economic activity only part of the year 2019, or started to carry out economic activity not later than 1st February 2020.

Closer conditions for second group shall be defined on Wednesday, 8th April 2020, 12 a.m.

Filing the application

Request for provision of the contribution shall be filed by employer or self-employed person who is an employer to the respective Labour Office (in the district of which workplaces shall be preserved). If employee have more operational premises, the application shall be submitted in the respective Labour office for registered office of employer.

The application for contribution shall include a report. This report shall contain full name, birth number of employees, average hour wage for last quarter of 2019, as well as number of hours, that employee had a “work obstacle”.

The application must also include affidavit, beside others, employer shall declare following:

  • the employer pays to its employees’ wage replacement in the amount of 80% of average wage pursuant to the statement for granting contribution
  • two months after the month for which the contribution was payed, the employment relation will not be terminated by the termination notice or by the agreement for reasons given in Section 63 subsection 1 letter a) and b) of the Labour Code,
  • before 31st December 2019, the company was not a company in difficulties, or it is not a company in difficulties in present and/or the company who was not in the difficulty before 31st December 2019 but experienced the difficulties as a reason of Covid 19,
  • fulfils conditions stated in Section 70 subsection 7 of Employment Service Act,
  • is a subject who was established and started its business activity no later than 1st February 2020.

Control of data in the applications shall be retrospective. It is necessary, that applicants state only real- data, in order to prevent post control sanction including consequences resulting from criminal law (crime of fraud, subsidy fraud or harm of the financial interest of the EU pursuant to the relevant Section of Criminal Code). Minister of Labour stated, that sanctions shall be imposed in their upper limit.

The applications can be filed to the relevant authority by the email, by electronic mailbox, by post or personally.

The application must be submitted by the end of calendar month following the month for which the employer or self-employed person is demanding provision of continuation.

Contribution provision

The contribution shall be paid from 12th March 2020, thus from the day of the decision Public Health Authority on closure or restriction of operational premises until the end of calendar month, in which this decision shall be annulled.

As of 14th April, the Offices of Labour, Social Affairs and Family shall send agreements on financial contribution provision to the applicants (into their electronic mailbox). If any of the applicant did not activate the electronic mailbox, the agreement shall be sent via post.

Delivered agreement shall be signed by every applicant either electronically with authorised electronic signature or physically.

Signed agreement shall be delivered to respective Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family either by electronic post or personally into the filing department.

As of 15th April 2020, Office of Labour, Social Affairs and Family shall start to pay contributions to entrepreneurs, so the first contributions can be credited to the accounts of entrepreneurs on 16th April.

For more specific information please do not hesitate to contact us.