04.12.2020
Professional assistants will take care of people with disabilities
"With the amendments to the Personal Assistance Act, we place emphasis on the quality of personal assistance and the control over its provision. We consider it as one of the tools to support people with disabilities, believing that personal assistance should be combined with social services."
This was said by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy during an event organized by the Center for Independent Living on the occasion of World Day of Persons with Disabilities. This was announced by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
"We aim to professionalize the assistants. A step towards this is the increase in their salaries. We do not limit family members to be assistants, but we think it is good to invest in professionals.
We are also considering training for family members of people with disabilities, "she added. The Minister reminded that the planned funds in the budget for 2021 are BGN 214.6 million for personal assistants and another BGN 85 million under the Social Services for Assistant Support Act.
She pointed out that those in need can receive support through the patronage care provided under the operational program "Human Resources Development", as well as benefit from similar services provided by municipalities.
The Minister pointed out that so far the concluded contracts for providing assistance support are 32,673 for a total of 4,311,625 hours. He reminded that the law is for all groups of people with disabilities, as currently only 8% of its users are children and 40% are people over 65 years of age. According to Denitsa Sacheva, a discussion continues on the creation of a Code of Social Support, which would unite the various laws in the social sphere. Personal assistance will certainly be included. Earlier in the day, Minister Sacheva joined a discussion on the rights of people with disabilities, organized by the Association of Parents of Children with Epilepsy. She congratulated the participants and reaffirmed the commitment of the government and the Ministry to support them and create appropriate policies to improve their quality of life.
A home exercise machine replaces the fitness card
Companies plan to replace the Christmas bonus for their employees with gifts such as extra leave, health insurance or a consultation with a psychologist. This is clear from a survey of 100 Bulgarian and international companies operating in Sofia and Plovdiv, mainly in the sectors of telecommunications, finance, high technology, outsourcing, trade and manufacturing.
Despite the challenging year, the companies have not given up on paying additional health insurance to their employees. Maintaining emotional health and a sense of belonging to the team are also among the main focuses in companies.
Companies that have the financial capacity for additional incentives for their employees this year will invest in season-themed products and gifts, according to a study by Adeco. Employers seek to diversify the package of social benefits and compensations they give to their employees in order to meet their more complex needs and individual achievements. Many material but not direct financial incentives are also provided. Undoubtedly, this year the most important additional benefits for the employees are the reliable additional health insurance, the opportunity to work from home and the additional days off.
Some employers offer the option to replace the sports cards they have provided to their employees with targeted funding for the purchase of fitness equipment for the home. The reason is that the gyms are closed and people cannot use their cards.
The companies also implement many online activities that mimic standard team building.
Some of the Christmas corporate parties will also be virtual, where there will be such, as employers rely on more and more creative ideas on how to organize them by sending products and individual gifts to the homes of employees.
Half of the companies are cutting staff
Due to the COVID crisis, half of the companies have given up planned investments this year, and 45% have started staff reductions.
This is clear from a survey of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce among Bulgarian business for the past year, marked by COVID. According to the study 39 percent of the companies have introduced partial or full telecommuting. 38% of the companies have made investments in order to comply with the anti-epidemic regulations. One third (35%) had to dismiss part or all of their staff on unpaid leave for a certain period of time. 21% focused on the development of online sales, and 18% transformed their production in the direction of changing products and/or markets.
03.12.2020
Average wages are falling in most countries
As a result of the COVID pandemic in the first six months of this year, average wages are falling or rising more slowly in most countries around the world, according to a new report by the International Labor Organization (ILO), quoted by the CITUB press center.
This trend is observed in two thirds of the countries for which the organization has official data, and the forecast is that the crisis will put enormous downward pressure on wages in the near future.
For this one-third of the countries with growth for the first half of the year, it is actually largely due to distortions of values due to the large number of low-paid workers who have lost their jobs and thus do not fall into the employment data, added the ILO. .
In countries where decisive measures have been taken to preserve employment, the effects of the crisis are felt mainly as a decline in wages rather than a huge job loss, is another conclusion in the 2020/21 Global Wage Report.
In addition, not all workers have been equally affected by the crisis. The impact on women is greater than on men. The crisis has also hit lower-paid workers hard. Those in lower-skilled occupations have reduced working hours, in contrast to higher-paid managerial and skilled jobs. Based on data from 28 European countries, the report shows that without temporary subsidies, the lowest paid 50 percent of workers would lose about 17.3 percent of their income. Without subsidies, the average amount of lost wages for all groups would be 6.5 percent.
"Rising inequalities caused by the COVID-19 crisis threaten to create a legacy of poverty, social and economic instability that would be devastating," said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. According to him, the recovery strategy should be focused on the person. "If we're going to build a better future, we also have to deal with some awkward questions about why high-value jobs, such as carers and teachers, are often associated with low pay," said Guy Ryder.
The report includes an analysis of minimum wage systems and concludes that they could play an important role in sustainable and equitable recovery.
At present, minimum wages have been introduced in some form in 90 percent of ILO member states. But even before the pandemic began, the report found that 266 million people worldwide - 15 percent of all wages in the world - earned less than the hourly minimum wage, either due to non-compliance or legal exclusion from such schemes.
The groups most often excluded from the legal coverage of minimum wage systems are agricultural and domestic workers. The report shows that by 2020, approximately 18 percent of countries with a statutory minimum wage exclude either agricultural workers, domestic workers or both sectors from the minimum wage regulations.
Collective bargaining, which takes into account the specifics of specific companies or sectors, can strike the right balance and reassess wage adequacy in some predominantly female-dominated low-paid sectors that have proved essential and of high social value in the current crisis, according to the ILO.
Planning new and adequate minimum wages - mandatory or negotiated - could help ensure more social justice and less inequality. The analyzes in the report show that when minimum wages are set at an adequate level, they legally cover those employees who are most likely to be in low-paid jobs and thus contribute to reducing inequality.
The 2020/21 Global Wage Report also looks at wage trends in 136 countries in the four years leading up to the pandemic. He found that global wage growth ranged from 1.6 percent to 2.2 percent. They are growing fastest in Asia and the Pacific and Eastern Europe and much slower in North America and Northern, Southern and Western Europe.
03.12.2020
December 3 is the International Day of people with disabilities
In 1992, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared December 3 as International Day of people with disabilities.
Its goal is to constantly motivate politicians and institutions to take more effective actions, with which to guarantee access to the general architectural environment of the people with disabilities; access to the general education system, to the general market, to information and to the processes of making and taking political decisions decisions that have a relationship to it.
02.12.2020
And people with mental disabilities will be subject to sheltered employment
The circle of persons subject to sheltered employment is expanding by including people with mental disorders and intellectual disabilities in order to support them in the process of their employment in the labor market. Parliament voted on second reading amendments to the Disability Act.
The amendments ensure the right of people with disabilities to aids, devices, equipment and medical devices, outside the scope of compulsory health insurance, determined individually on the basis of their specific needs within the health system. Thus, they will be entitled to aids determined individually by a medical document issued by the medical advisory commissions, based on their specific needs and according to a specification approved by the National Health Insurance Fund.
In case of change of the circumstances, on the basis of which support has been provided in accordance with the requirements of the law, the director of the Social Assistance Directorate will prepare ex officio a new individual needs assessment.
From now on, the National Health Insurance Fund will take over the provision and payment of aids and medical devices for people with disabilities. This will be done with a transfer from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Health.
The institutionalization of the new State Agency for People with Disabilities at the Council of Ministers was postponed for a year. By the end of 2020, the Agency for People with Disabilities was to be transformed into a state agency within the Council of Ministers. It will now be operational from 1 January 2022, instead of early next year.
By December 31, 2021, the Social Assistance Agency shall submit to the National Health Insurance Fund the information related to the provided targeted benefits under this law.
01.12.2020
The order for closed businesses has been supplemented
The Minister of Labor and Social Policy supplemented the order for closed businesses, whose workers can receive up to BGN 24 a day in compensation from the state for being on unpaid leave.
Employers who have ceased operations on October 29, 2020, can claim funds for their employees for up to 60 days. Such are the owners of bars, taverns, wineries, breweries, cafes, language and educational centers, other training centers and schools, as well as companies that organize congress-conference events, seminars, competitions, trainings, team building, exhibitions and others. public events in attendance. Professional colleges are added to them.
With the changes in the order of the Minister for receiving funds under the measure "Keep me" are included employees on unpaid leave after November 27, 2020 in gaming halls and casinos, as well as in hairdressing and beauty salons, laundries, sewing workshops and dry cleaning located on the territory of shopping centers, including the type of mall.
As of Friday, the other retail outlets in the malls were declared eligible for support, with the exception of grocery stores, drugstores, opticians and pet stores, which will be open.
The staff of private kindergartens and nurseries, cinemas, discos, piano and night bars, night clubs and other nightclubs for indoor entertainment can also apply for compensation.
Also entitled are those employed in economic activities related to concerts, creation and presentation of live performances such as operas, operettas, circuses and other stage works, directors, producers, set designers, costume and lighting designers, technical specialists, museum workers, as well as and in sectors related to all collective and individual sports events of a training and competitive nature and those working in solariums, saunas, weight loss and massage salons.
Employees on an 8-hour working day are entitled to BGN 24 compensation for each day of unpaid leave. If the employee is employed part-time, the funds are calculated in proportion to the hours recorded in the employment contract. All employers applying for the "Keep Me" measure will have to keep the workers for whom they want funding from the state for as long as they have received money from the state.
Those wishing to use compensation must provide their employer with a written declaration in a form indicating the period for using unpaid leave and their bank account to which the funds will be paid.
27.11.2020
Allianz Bulgaria Pension and Insurance Company launches "social project"
If you are a person with more than 50% degree of disability, you can join the project "Specialized unit of insurance intermediaries".
See full description here
27.11.2020
The acceptance of documents under the new measure "Save me" has started
In connection with the adopted decree of the Council of Ministers № 325 of 26.11.2020, of 30.11.2020 (Monday) the Employment Agency started accepting applications for the project "Save me", funded by the Operational Program "Human Resources Development" 2014-2020 and the REACT-EU financial mechanism. The purpose of the operation is to provide, as a matter of priority, support for maintaining the employment of employees in enterprises that have directly ceased economic activity as a result of anti-epidemic measures imposed against the spread of COVID-19.
The grant amounts to BGN 50 million. This measure will provide support by paying BGN 24 per day for the period of unpaid leave to each person insured full-time or in proportion to the agreed working hours in the employment contract.
The persons may receive compensations for the period of using unpaid leave by the order of art. 160, para. 1 or art. 173a, para. 2 of the LC after 29.10.2020, but for not more than 60 days. The compensations are due from the date of issuance of the order for unpaid leave, but not earlier than 29.10.2020 and not later than 21.12.2020.
If a parent receives a monthly targeted assistance under the Council of Ministers № 218 dated 17.08.2020 to the Social Assistance Agency, he is not entitled to compensation under the project "Save me" at the Employment Agency.
The application and the annexes to the project are submitted to the “Labor Office” directorates by the employers, whose employees wish to receive compensations under the project “Save me”, in the following ways:
Detailed information about the conditions of the Project can be found on the official website of the Employment Agency - here, as well as on the information boards in the labor offices in the country.
Workers in which sectors will be supported?
Under this measure, employees in bars, taverns, wineries, pubs, cafes, language centers, educational centers and other training centers and schools will be able to receive support, Nova TV reports. Employees of companies for organizing congress-conference events, seminars, competitions, trainings, team building, exhibitions and other public events in attendance will also be entitled to compensation.
Eligible for support are those employed in retail outlets in the event that the retail outlet is located on the territory of a shopping center type Mall, with the exception of grocery stores, drugstores, opticians and pet stores.
Compensation will also be available to staff of kindergartens and nurseries, cinemas, discos, piano and nightclubs, and other similar nightclubs for indoor entertainment.
The right to such support will also have those employed in economic activities related to concerts, creation and presentation of live performances such as operas, operettas, circuses and other stage works, museum workers, as well as directors, producers, set designers, costume designers and lighting, technical specialists.
Employees in sectors related to all collective and individual sports events of a training and competitive nature, as well as those working in solariums, saunas, weight loss and massage salons, will also be able to apply for compensation.
27.11.2020
Labor market: Work or vocation
Today, good pay is not a sufficient motivator. People want their work to be meaningful and relevant to others. Although this fact complicates the work of managers, it also opens up new opportunities for them. The opportunity to personalize the work of their employees to such an extent that it becomes something more - from work to vocation.
According to LinkedIn's Workforce Learning Report 2019, 94% of employees say they would stay longer in a company if it invested more in them and supported them in their endeavors. Why don't more companies do just that? It is very likely that the problem comes from the fact that they do not know where to start.
The idea of creating strictly personalized working conditions for every employee seems challenging, but it is far from unattainable. Here are some things you can do to transform your job into a vocation.
Institutionalize support and gratitude
Studies show that even the smallest manifestations of kindness in gratitude have a positive effect on others as well as on ourselves. These demonstrations also help maintain a positive mindset. "It's important to commit to encouraging gratitude and care, because the secret of success lies in repetition," said Dr. Wagiu William Isaac, a professor of psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai.
Find and use each employee's unique strengths
Recognizing and developing strengths is a guaranteed way to increase employee job satisfaction. Human resources experts and managers need to create roles in the work that help people develop their unique qualities and grow both as professionals and as individuals.
Make building relationships between employees a priority
The feeling of connection with others is not only a basic human need, but also a motivator that can make a seemingly hopeless situation in a completely insurmountable obstacle. People can build a sense of connection with both their colleagues and the company they work for. In order for a person's work to become a vocation, both are needed.
However, strengthening these links requires discussing a variety of topics, including non-work-related ones. That is why it is important to provide your employees with a place and time to rest and socialize. When managers encourage their employees to talk about their dreams and the goals they want to achieve in their lives, they receive the information they need to build a stronger connection between the company's values and mission and people's individual aspirations.
Mark both big and small successes
Achieving goals, progressing in an important project and acquiring new skills and knowledge are things that have a positive impact not only on the individual, they can boast of them, but also for everyone else. Leaders need to find a way to show their employees how their work helps others. Celebrate all the successes of your employees and do not miss the opportunity to evaluate the contribution they have to the growth of your company.
Invest in a manager-employee relationship
Managers have a huge impact on the way employees do their jobs. Unfortunately, many managers do not make the necessary efforts to provide their subordinates with what they need. Managers need to set clear goals for their teams, provide timely and constructive feedback, and cultivate good relationships with their employees. Many of these things require social skills that can take years to master and improve. That's why it's important to focus on them as early as possible.
Everyone has the potential to be a better version of themselves. Companies need to start looking at this potential as an unprecedented opportunity to attract, motivate and retain talent. Using the practices mentioned here, they can help their employees turn their responsibilities from work into a vocation.
26.11.2020
EUR 511 million in support of the Bulgarian economy was approved by the EC
The European Commission has approved an amendment to Bulgaria's Operational Program "Innovation and Competitiveness", which allows the mobilization of 511 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund to help the Bulgarian economy cope with the adverse effects of the coronavirus crisis.
This financial support includes working capital grants for micro, small and medium enterprises, capital investments and loan guarantees, the EC said.
Cohesion and Reform Commissioner Eliza Ferreira said Bulgaria was one of the first member states to take advantage of the Coronavirus Investment Initiative.
These measures have a short-term goal of crisis assistance, but Bulgaria will continue to benefit from additional EU support for economic recovery from the crisis, Ferreira explained.
Modification of this program is possible thanks to the exceptional flexibility provided under the Investment Initiative in Response to Coronavirus (CRII) and the Investment Initiative in Response to Coronavirus Plus (CRII +), which allows Member States to use funding under the policy of convergence to support the most exposed sectors of the pandemic, such as health, small and medium-sized enterprises and labor markets.
