22.12.2020

UNTIL THEY WILL BENEFIT BETTER CONDITIONS

The grant for small and medium enterprises through working capital will be paid after notification by the European Commission, said the spokesman of the National Revenue Agency (NRA) Rosen Bachvarov. Companies must have up to 250 employees and be registered before October 1, 2020. And the maximum aid that a business can receive is BGN 150,000.

Within days, the requirement that only companies without obligations to the traesury will be able to apply will be abolished. With changes in the law voted on Friday, only companies with unpaid debts, established by an audit act, will not be able to receive free financial support.

The rest will be able to receive for the period of closing 10% or 20% of their turnover for the same period last year. But for these changes to take effect, they must be published in the State Gazette, which is expected to happen today or next Tuesday. "Therefore, we advise companies to wait for the lighter conditions to enter into force and then apply," said Rosen Bachvarov, a spokesman for the National Revenue Agency. Along with the relaxed conditions, there will be no need for a document to prove whether the company is micro, small or medium. And the inspections for the activity of the establishments will be done automatically through the Labor Inspectorate. He added that the request for approval of the scheme from Brussels was sent at the end of last week and intensive talks are currently underway on the case.

The recruitment of projects began on December 21 and will continue until January 20, 2021. Applications are submitted only electronically through the Electronic Services Portal of the NRA.

It will be able to cover current expenses, including salaries, the revenue agency explained. The money cannot be used to buy goods for direct sale. Companies that produce, process and sell tobacco and tobacco products will also not receive money under the scheme. The maximum amount of support is up to BGN 150,000. Assistance under this scheme will be available to micro-enterprises with a staff of up to 10 people and a turnover or asset value of up to BGN 3.9 million, small enterprises (up to 50 people and a turnover of up to BGN 19.5 million) and medium-sized enterprises people and turnover up to BGN 97.5 million or value of assets up to BGN 84 million).

The condition for support is that these companies have ceased or limited their activities as a result of the orders of the Minister of Health for anti-epidemic measures regarding the coronavirus pandemic. It is permissible, for example, for the participation of restaurants that are currently working with food deliveries to their homes, i.e. they have not completely ceased their activities.

For the calculation of the financial support for the new companies (registered until October 2020) October will be taken as the base month. Exactly how the new companies will be supported will be specified in the coming days, the NRA spokesman commented.

18.12.2020

IS PAY AT WORK DIFFERENT FROM HOMEWORK

In recent months, the topic of pay during work from home has become more and more topical, with the most controversial question being how to measure whether we are consolidating all our working time and if not, whether we deserve the full pay for which we have concluded our employment contract.

It should be noted that employers in practice constantly raise the question of whether and how much should be paid to an employee who is not fully charged during their working hours during the day.

These questions, despite their logic at first glance, have their clear and unambiguous answers, which are regulated by labor legislation in Bulgaria.

Let's imagine the following situation: What happens if, for example, in an online store for a certain time of day there are no orders from customers and users of a particular site? The employee, who is obliged to process the orders and hand them over to the courier afterwards from his home, is obviously not closely involved throughout the day. Or he had only two processing orders for the day - one at the beginning of the day and the other at the end. Is the employee employed or not during the time he does not process orders?

In the employment relationship, the employee has a fixed working time, a specific job, uses the premises and tools of his employer and is obliged to obey his legal orders, i.e. employment is performed by a worker in a workshop, an employee in an office, a waiter or a salesman, who must be at his workplace for 8 hours a day. It is the employer's commitment to consolidate this working time with certain tasks related to the contract, the opportunities and, above all, the job description of the employee.

The provisions of the Labor Code in Bulgaria apply to everyone and throughout the country, regardless of whether we do our work from home or from the office. The law is the same for everyone.

An employment relationship exists when the subject of the contract is not to achieve a certain result (sewing clothes, laying tiles, etc.), but to provide labor, i.e. the very laying of labor.

The obligations of the employee in the performance of the assigned work are described in the Labor Code. One of these obligations is related to the use of all working time to perform the assigned work and compliance with internal rules adopted by the company.

The culpable non-fulfillment of the labor obligations is a violation of the labor discipline. In these cases, the employer has the opportunity to impose one of the disciplinary sanctions provided for in the Labor Code - a remark, a warning of dismissal or dismissal.

The possible penalties are exhaustively indicated and it is not provided that in case the person does not perform the assigned work, no remuneration will be paid. It is not uncommon for employees to experience the arbitrariness of their employer, including in connection with deductions from wages, such as deductions for being late for work/meeting, talking on the phone, etc. Also, some employers impose a kind of "fines", which the legislator has not provided as a type of financial sanction against the employee.

The law states that without the consent of the employee no deductions can be made from his salary, except in the case of received advances, overpaid amounts due to technical errors, taxes, which under special laws may be deducted from wages, social security contributions, which are at the expense of the employee, seizures imposed by the respective order and other deductions, exhaustively listed in the law.

Reference:

Art. 126 of the Labor Code

Art. 186 of the Labor Code

Art. 210, para. 4 of the Labor Code

Art. 272, para 1 of the Labor Code

17.12.2020

WHICH BUSINESSES CAN RECEIVE AID OF UP TO 20% OF TURNOVER

New aid of BGN 156 million, provided by the Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness", will help micro, small and medium enterprises that are affected by the temporary anti-epidemic measures in the country and have been forced to suspend or limit their activities, such as shops and restaurants in malls, cafes and restaurants, nightclubs, private kindergartens and centers, which were forcibly closed in November this year. They must have up to 250 employees and be registered before 1 October 2020.

The aid will be paid for the period based on the two orders of the Minister of Health, one is in the period 14-30 November, and the scope of the second order is 27 November - 21 December. It is possible that the company falls within the period of both orders - from November 14 to December 21.

The closed shops in the shopping malls and the malls themselves, which are run by medium-sized enterprises, will be supported by 10%. The rest, for example restaurants and bars, are in the range of 20% of turnover.

There is an exception for businesses participating in the rural development, fisheries and aquaculture Program, financial sector companies, companies that engage in gambling or produce and trade in tobacco.

The aid amounts to BGN 150,000 per enterprise, and the costs for water, electricity, rent, purchase of raw materials will be eligible, but not for salaries or purchase of goods to be resold. Each company can apply with one project, but for all its sites. The application period is two weeks, and for payment one week, with the condition that the payment can start only after approval by the European Commission (EC), as the used 156 million BGN are under OP "Innovation and Competitiveness".

The aid will be calculated on the basis of a percentage of the turnover reported during the period of discontinued operation, and for those registered in 2020, the basis will be the turnover for October this year. Documents can be submitted entirely electronically, on the electronic services portal of the National Revenue Agency, and for this purpose you will only need an electronic signature. Applications will be able to be submitted from December 21 (Monday), and the deadline for this is 14 days from that date. The NRA will make automated inspections and, if necessary, will be checked after the payment of the funds.

Companies currently benefiting from other support measures, including 60/40 and 80/20, can apply for this program but cannot cover salary costs.

The NRA clarified that the companies should indicate the amount of their turnover without VAT included in it, and for the entire amount will be needed - cash turnover and bank transactions, as the combination of the two components will represent the sum of the company's turnover, which will be charge 10 or 20% respectively.

17.12.2020

The EC has approved a BGN 78.2m scheme to support small businesses in Bulgaria

The European Commission has approved a scheme worth 78.2m levs (approximately 40m euros) to support small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The scheme is approved under the Temporary Framework for State Aid adopted by the EU.

The support will take the form of a direct grant of BGN 50,000 (approximately EUR 25,565) per beneficiary to cover part of its operating costs.

The scheme, which will be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, will be available to small enterprises operating in certain sectors and meeting the requirements set by Bulgaria, with an annual turnover of at least BGN 500,000 (approximately EUR 250,000) in 2019, where turnover has decreased by at least 20% in the three months of February 2020 compared to the same three months in 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the measure is to help companies overcome the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and maintain employment.

The Commission found that the Bulgarian scheme met the conditions set out in the Temporary Framework. In particular:

    - the aid will not exceed the ceilings for each company set out in the Temporary Framework;

    - aid under the scheme may be granted until 30 June 2021.

The non-confidential version of the decision will be published under № SA.59704 in the State Aid Register on the Commission's competition website once any data confidentiality issues have been resolved.

16.12.2020

We take unpaid leave for service in the voluntary reserve with a contract and insurance

The service in the voluntary reserve will be fixed - up to six months, the parliament decided, adopting at second reading the proposed by the government amendments to the Law on the Reserve of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Every Bulgarian citizen up to 40 years of age, at his request and provided that he meets the requirements of the law, can serve in the armed forces for up to 6 months.

The changes create an opportunity for a term of service in the voluntary reserve. This will be done by concluding a contract that provides remuneration, health and social security.

The age limit for service in the voluntary reserve for sergeants, sergeants, officer candidates and junior officers and senior officers is increased from 55 to 60 years, and the age for service in the voluntary reserve for officers with senior military ranks - from 63 to 65 years.

The changes in the law enable employers to keep their staff by providing unpaid leave to employees and allow them to pass a term of service in the voluntary reserve.

The amendments also allow for the expansion of the education of students from the levels of secondary education, such as the acquisition of skills related to the defense of the homeland, survival in military crises, as well as the acquisition of knowledge about the missions and tasks of the armed forces.

Increasing the number of Bulgarian citizens with military training will improve the ability to replenish the stock of the armed forces. The conscript service is also expected to increase the interest and commitment of the Bulgarian citizens to their preparation for the defense of the Fatherland, the Ministry of Defense emphasizes.

The final entry into force of the changes will become a fact with their promulgation in the State Gazette.

16.12.2020

ADECCO GROUP ANALYSIS OUTLINES LABOR MARKET TRENDS IN 13 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING BULGARIA

Next year, the labor market will have an accelerated need for highly specialized staff: AI and machine learning, database analysis, the Internet of Things, social media. There will be less interest in hiring staff in: manual data entry, financial analysis, accounting and auditing, office management, due to the constant development of technology and automation.

This is predicted in the new analysis of Adecco Group - Inovantage. The report examines global trends in the labor market in 13 countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, including Bulgaria. Its purpose is to track: 1) what pre-pandemic conditions facilitated each country's efforts and what accelerated their failures; and 2) what key knowledge can be learned and applied by both public authorities and individual companies in the coming years.

The main conclusions of the report are:

- The countries best prepared to meet the challenges of the workforce are countries with good social mobility and widespread professional and technical skills. Gender parity, the integration of ethnic minorities and the inclusion of the workforce play a key role in ensuring a smoother transition in the way we work in the challenging times in which we live.

- Improved ICT infrastructure and digital skills are essential to deal with possible future labor market shocks. Countries with public and private digital infrastructure and technically intelligent workforce show better results in managing labor disruption in the first lockdowns.

- Government social measures and the relatively lower interdependence with the global economy have helped Eastern European countries to perform better.

- Success in the future will belong to a constantly learning and digitally skilled workforce. With an energetic but aging population, countries in the region need to offer more growth opportunities and up-to-date lifelong learning experiences to improve the skills of their citizens.

As a starting point for the state of individual countries before the covid pondemic, the analysis is based on the Global Talent Competitiveness Index for 2020, looking at the percentage of young people who are not involved in either employment or education. With a European average of 12.5%, Turkey (29.5%), Serbia (19%), Greece (17.7%) are less likely to have a promising future in the labor market for young people. Bulgaria ranks 55th in the world in the Global Index of Competitiveness of Talents, as according to Eurostat data for 2019 the young people in our country who neither study nor work are 16.7%.

Almost all countries in the region face the same challenge, namely difficulties in finding qualified staff due to the mismatch between the knowledge acquired in the education system and the practical skills required by the labor market. This is a sign that companies are one step ahead of education systems and must help transform the education sector into a more practical program in the near future.

Lifelong learning is still not a priority for both policy makers and the private sector. However, if this does not happen, the effect of an aging population will be severely felt on the economies of countries.

Another indicator that the report addresses and is problematic for the whole region is the external openness of the market, including public-private investment, technology transfer, migrant stock, international students.

With few exceptions (such as the UAE and the Czech Republic), there is no visible effort in most countries to attract foreign talent or to integrate immigrants. One explanation for this is that wages are still lower than in Central and Western Europe, and immigrants prefer these countries instead.

Gender parity is an excellent marker of development for a better understanding of the region. The relative equality in the number and proportions of women and men is often seen as fundamental to social progress and stability. In terms of women graduates (especially for university graduates), the countries in the region have good results. Although the overall percentage of higher education graduates (aged between 25 and 64) is lower than in Western countries, the percentage of women graduates is higher than men in most Eastern European countries. This is seen in countries such as Poland, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania or Serbia. The pay gap between women and men is very low, but women have fewer career opportunities for leadership positions.

The development of the business ecosystem shows how economies manage aspects of employment, productivity and improvement through technology. And this is the thing that is most lacking in almost all countries, with Romania, Serbia, Tunisia, Hungary and Bulgaria receiving the fewest points on this indicator. The combination of low use of technology, small investment in emerging technologies, together with modest active labor market policies, implies dependence on a medium-skilled workforce.

Most Eastern European EU Member States have performed better in recovery efforts in the first pandemic wave. The reason for this is that their economies are less dependent on the global crisis. This, together with strong macroeconomic fundamentals, plus active financial sectors, has given local governments their resilience and flexibility.

"One of the key factors for the successful transformation of the work process in our country was that Bulgaria has one of the best internet infrastructures in Europe. This has allowed a very large number of companies to switch to teleworking very quickly. Working from home has always been denounced by local employers as synonymous with extra paid leave and low efficiency. Surprisingly, the reality proved otherwise. Bulgarian labor legislation is very traditional and needs to be adapted in terms of flexibility. However, local authorities responded very quickly to provide timely ad hoc solutions in support of business. Last but not least, the Bulgarian mentality is individualistic, not collectivist, and in addition to government measures, people are looking for alternative ways to maintain their income, taking care of their safety and health," said Dr. Irina Yoncheva, Chartered MCIPD, Human Resources Manager in Adecco Bulgaria.

Forecasts for the new normality

A key element that will forever change the work environment is the rapid adoption of telework, as labor productivity is not affected and even actually increases in some sectors. Preliminary estimates show that half of the active workforce can practice their work remotely.

Immediate workflow transformations (next 6 months)

As important as teleworking is, it does not solve the challenges for all sectors - much of the workforce will face relocations and redundancies. The combination of the pandemic and the ongoing process of automation increases the pressure on education, manufacturing, logistics, hospitality and entertainment.

This is beginning to affect the most indispensable categories of workers, namely older workers and young people. Countries such as Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Tunisia and Romania have unemployment rates above the European average. However, there are jobs in the affected sectors of the economy that can easily move to high-demand sectors and to which young people have easy access.

Rearrangement in the search for employees (next year)

Businesses are redesigning strategies, investing in automation and exploring new work methodologies. However, employees are more pessimistic about their job security and need to gain new skills, more than ever. There will be an accelerated need for highly specialized staff throughout the region: AI and machine learning, database analysis, the Internet of Things, social media.

On the other hand, jobs that involve repetitive actions and crowded places for human interaction will continue to be increasingly redundant. Next year will mean less interest in hiring staff in: manual data entry, financial analysis, accounting and auditing, office management, due to the constant development of technology and automation.

Skills that need to be improved (next 5 years)

In 2020, the Adecco Group conducted a survey to find out more about the workforce transformation and found differences in the perceptions of business leaders and employees of the skills that will be sought after over the next five years. Business leaders focus on data analysis, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility. On the other hand, workers believe that artificial intelligence and machine learning, digital marketing and time management are more in demand in the near future.

16.12.2020

STABLE IN THE VISION, FLEXIBLE IN DETAIL

The richest man on the planet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is known for being super motivated and ruthless in pursuing his goals, but not dogmatic about the methods he uses to do so.

Bezos actually warns against the risks of adhering to a single campaign. While the boss of Amazon can certainly boast a number of innovative ideas, his flexibility in work is the thing that helps him the most in overcoming the obstacles that life faces.

If you are not flexible, you will constantly hit your head on the wall and you will not find a solution to the problems you are trying to deal with, "he said.

Don't rely on just one strategy

A flexible approach is about adapting your strategy to changing circumstances and the information you accumulate over time. This means that you must be able to distinguish between practices that work and those that do not work, and be prepared to change your approach in line with these realities.

This does not mean that you have to be out of your long-term goals, quite the opposite. As Bezos says, "We are persistent in terms of vision, but flexible when it comes to details."

A good example of this is Amazon's work with external vendors. Integrating them into the company's online platform has taken a lot of work and effort, but today they are responsible for a higher percentage of the platform's sales than Amazon's own commercial business. Bezos knew he had to adjust his strategy so that things could happen, but he did not give up on his overall plan in order to achieve that goal.

Methodical and flexible

The key to your success is to understand what your priorities are, but also to be pragmatic about how to achieve your goals.

Much of Jeff Bezos' career has gone through trial and error and a realistic assessment of opportunities and probabilities. Amazon's path to success was not destined.

When Bezos sees what retail opportunities the Internet offers, he doesn't even know what exactly to start selling online. He methodically analyzed the most profitable products of the 20 largest mail order companies and came to the decision to start a business for online book trade.

Over time, it continues to recognize various business development opportunities and add additional features to the Amazon site. This focus on advances in technology trends and consumer attitudes is a key factor in Amazon's growth and success.

It's all part of the plan

Being flexible does not mean being inconsistent. You may or may not have an action plan. However, it is important not to pretend that this plan is perfect and that if you follow it, there is no chance of making a mistake.

It is much better to consider different options for action, as this will start to accept failures as lessons, rather than as failures from which there is no going back. When identifying a new opportunity or challenge that you want to tackle, you need to do the following:

Define the problem - make sure you understand the situation well and know exactly what you need to do to solve the problem

Gather ideas - find as many solutions and methods as possible to achieve your goal goal

Try again (if necessary) - if your solution doesn't work, look for another one and try again.

This flexible approach will help you focus on your most important goals and stop worrying about the smallest details and the failures you are sure to have. Eventually, the details will be smoothed out, and the skills and knowledge gained from your experiences will help grow your business.

16.12.2020

Over one fifth of the workers in our country are low paid

21.4% of Bulgarians were low-paid employees in 2018. They earned less than two thirds compared to the average gross hourly wage for the country. According to this indicator, Bulgaria ranks fifth in the EU, according to Eurostat data. Separate statistics show that the average gross hourly wage in Bulgaria is the lowest in the EU at 2.4 euros. The data also refer to 2018.

Two years ago, 15.3% of employees in the union received low salaries compared to 16.4 percent in 2014. 18.2% of women were low-paid employees in 2018 compared to 12.5% ​​of men.

The share of low-paid employees varies considerably among Member States. It is highest in Latvia - 23.5%, followed by Lithuania - 22.3, Estonia - 22%, and Poland - 21.9%. On the other hand, less than 10% of employees were underpaid in Sweden - 3.6%, Portugal - 4%, Finland - 5%, Italy - 8.5%, France - 8.6%, and Denmark - 8, 7%.

The lower the education of the people, the more likely they are to earn below the average salary in their country. More than a quarter (27.1%) of low-educated EU employees received low salaries. At the same time, low-paid employees accounted for only 4.6% of employees with higher education.

In 2018, the share of low-paid employees in the EU was the highest in the accommodation and food services sector - 39%, followed by administrative and service activities - 33%.

As of October 2018, the average gross hourly wage was the highest in Denmark - 27.2 euros, followed by Luxembourg - 19.6 euros, Sweden - 18.2 euros, Belgium and Ireland - 18 euros each, Finland - 17, 5 euros, and Germany - 17.2 euros.

After Bulgaria, the average gross hourly wage was the lowest in Romania with 3.7 euros, followed by Hungary and Lithuania with 4.4 euros each, Latvia with 4.9 euros, Poland with 5 euros, Croatia and Portugal with 5, 4 euros and Slovakia with 5.6 euros. The highest average gross hourly wage among EU member states was 11 times higher than the lowest level expressed in euros. Expressed in the purchasing power standard, which eliminates price differences between countries, the highest average gross hourly wage among EU member states was four times higher than the lowest level in the union.

16.12.2020

WE ARE LOSING LEAVE FROM TWO YEARS AGO

The employer cannot force us to take unpaid leave

All days of leave can be used until the end of their two-year statute of limitations, regardless of whether they are postponed or not for the next calendar year, said the General Labor Inspectorate. For example, until the end of 2020, the last days of 2018 can be used. The statute of limitations stops for the period in which the employee uses another type of leave - for pregnancy and childbirth, for childcare, etc.

Part of the leave may be postponed to the next calendar year at the request of the employee and obtaining the consent of the employer.

The employer, for its part, may also postpone part of the leave, but only for important production reasons. In any case, however, the employer is obliged to ensure the use of at least half of the days of leave in the year for which they are due, and the rest - no later than the middle of the next.

After this period, employees may use the transferred or unused days of leave from the previous year with 14 days notice and without the consent of the employer. However, they must have evidence that they have previously requested leave and have been denied.

In the general case, workers are obliged to use the paid annual leave until the end of the calendar year for which it is taken. Employers are obliged to create an order for the use of the leave by informing the workers at the beginning of the year about the due days and to invite them to declare the use of the rest from the previous year.

The lack of informing the employees about the days due to them is one of the most common violations, which the control bodies of the Inspectorate establish in connection with the vacations.

The Labor Inspectorate also clarifies that even in an emergency situation or in an emergency epidemic situation, the employer cannot provide unpaid leave to its employees without their request.

He has the right to grant unilaterally only their paid leave, if the activity of the enterprise, part of it or individual employees is stopped by an order of a state body or by its order. If the activity is not stopped, he has the right to provide the workers with only half of the paid leave without their request.

During a state of emergency or epidemic emergency, the employer has no right to refuse paid or unpaid leave to pregnant women, mothers or adoptive parents of children under 12, as well as single fathers, persons with 50 and over 50 percent permanently reduced working capacity or under protection due to certain diseases included in a special regulation.

15.12.2020

The EC has set up a European guarantee fund to help businesses

The European Commission (EC) has set up a European Guarantee Fund under the management of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help companies affected by the coronavirus, according to a statement from Brussels. The fund has a capital of 25 billion euros, but it is expected to mobilize about 200 billion euros to help businesses.

It involves 21 EU countries, including Bulgaria.

The creation of the fund was approved in the spring of 2020 as one of the pillars in protecting the European economy from the crisis caused by the coronavirus. The aim is to provide credit guarantees for European companies, mainly small and medium-sized ones, which are facing major difficulties.

All countries have the option to participate in this fund. At this stage, it is not only Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia that have stated this. The participants in the new institution will contribute to the budget with contributions based on their share in the EIB.

The guarantees will be distributed by a special commission set up by the countries participating in the Fund. Its management is organized by the EIB and the European Investment Fund.

The institution is temporary and provides for the granting of business aid until December 31, 2021.