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PM Orban: Gov't to ensure payment of technical unemployment - 75pct of gross salary
The Government has decided to ensure the payment of technical unemployment at 75pct of the gross salary, but no more than 75pct of the gross average salary, PM Ludovic Orban said on Thursday.
"Another very important measure we took is that of ensuring the payment of technical unemployment, the payment of the employees who enter technical unemployment from the Labour Ministry's budget, through the ANOFM [National Employment Agency], through the unemployment budget. Practically, here we took this decision because it is clear that very many companies are directly or indirectly affected by the epidemic, because their revenues have reduced, their collections have reduced, their turnover, they don't have the necessary revenues to ensure the employees' salary payment, and there is the risk of the employees being sent in unemployment, being laid off, using the force majeure clause, or having their labour agreements suspended. The Decision is to pay, from the unemployment fund budget, 75 percent of the gross salary, which is, in fact, the monthly unemployment benefit for the technical unemployment period, but not in excess of 75 percent of the gross average salary," Orban announced.
The Prime Minister explained that the measure is aimed at two categories of employers: "The first category of employers is that which was directly affected by the restrictive measures disposed by the authorities in the state of emergency (...) because they temporarily, totally or partially suspended their activity. As such, the employees of these companies will benefit from the payment of the benefit for technical unemployment accounting for 75 percent."
He added that a second category of companies are those which weren't directly affected by the restrictive measures disposed by the authorities to reduce the COVID-19 spreading, but by consequences of the epidemic.
"To be able to benefit from this payment for the salaries whom they cannot afford paying as a consequence of the activity being affected, companies will have to file a sworn statement, and the granting requirement is for their revenues to have reduced, their turnover to have reduced by a minimum 25 percent share," the PM explained.
Orban also showed that, in the event that the Government had supported the payment of the salary in a certain percentage, this would have triggered the obligation of employees going to work. The Government's aim is to provide the possibility of staying home and avoiding social contacts that could have increased the contamination risk.