30.03.2020
ELIGIBILITY FOR THE SCHEME 60:40
If they want to get help under the 60:40 scheme, businesses will need to prove a drop in sales revenue of at least 20% in the month preceding the one in which compensation is submitted compared to the same month in 2019. This was adopted today by the Council of Ministers in the pending Business Aid Decree, which comes retroactively from the announcement of the state of emergency - 13 March 2020.
It was sent to the European Commission to approve the granting of this state aid. Labor Minister Denitsa Sacheva has announced that she will be able to apply tomorrow. The Employment Agency has already published full information on the program (you can get acquainted with it at www.az.government.bg). "We have made the measure as flexible as possible, for example, the employer may not request it for all its employees, but only for some," Sacheva said.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has announced that in order to achieve this, the Council of Ministers will vote on a budget update, saying that it requires at least BGN 1.5 billion.
There are 7 sectors that will not receive assistance. They are A, K, O, P, Q, T and U according to the Classification of Economic Activities (NACE.BG-2008). These include agriculture, forestry and fisheries, financial and insurance activities, government, education, human health and social work, household activities as employers; undifferentiated activities of households for the production of goods and services for own consumption; activities of extraterritorial organizations and services.
According to their date of incorporation, companies will demonstrate a decline in revenue over different periods. Those established before March 1, 2019, must have a decrease in sales revenue of at least 20% in the "month preceding the month on which the claim for payment of compensation is filed, compared to the same month of the previous calendar year." I.e. if an application for aid under the 60:40 scheme for March 2020 is submitted in April 2020, the firm will have to prove a decrease of at least 20% compared to March 2019.
Those established after March 1, 2019, must have a decrease in sales revenue of at least 20% "in the month preceding the month on which the claim for payment of compensation is filed, relative to the average January and February earnings of 2020."
However, there are also 14 sectors that will be able to apply to the state to absorb 60 percent of their salaries without proving that their income has decreased. These include retail, transportation, hotel, restaurant, tourism, artists, athletes, etc. They are listed in an annex to the decree. They will not prove a decrease in sales and “employers who have ceased activity carried out on the territory of individual settlements, where by order of a state body anti-epidemic measures were introduced on the grounds of Art. 63 of the Health Act.”
As is already known, the measure is applied only to maintain employment, i.e. so that workers are not made redundant.
Companies that have stopped working in whole or in part, or terminated only in respect of individual employees, may apply for part of the remuneration of staff. It will also benefit those who have entered part-time, whether for part or for the entire enterprise. For them, compensation will be paid in proportion to the time off, but for no more than 4 hours a day.
Compensation will not be paid to employees who have not been employed by the employer before the date of the emergency, nor for workers on temporary disability, pregnancy and childbirth leave, when adopting a child up to 5 years of age or raising a child up to 2 years of age, as well as those for which the company receives financing for salaries and social security contributions from the state budget, from European Structural and Investment Funds or other public funds.
As expected, the decree stipulates that assistance will be available for a maximum of three months.
The 60 percent that the state will give are from January 2020 insurance income.
Here's how it will be determined:
The remainder up to the full amount of the salary is paid by the employer and he must also pay insurance.
The conditions
The first condition for the grant of 60:40 is the employer to carry on business in Bulgaria, which may be a local natural or legal person or a foreign legal person.
The second is that there are no tax liabilities and mandatory social security contributions (within the meaning of Art. 162, para. 2, item 1 of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code) to a state or municipality established by an effective act of a competent authority in respect of which it has not taken any actions for rescheduling, deferral or security.
The third requirement is that the employer is not declared either in bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings.
The next condition is to keep the employment of workers for whom he has been compensated for a period not less than that for which he was paid. nd not to terminate employment contracts of employees on the grounds of Art. 328, para. 1, items 2, 3 and 4 of the Labor Code during the period for which they are compensated.
And the latter is formulated as follows: „Not to have a penal decree or court decision established by a enforceable law, violation of Art. 61, para. 1, Art. 62, para. 1 or 3, Art. 63, para. 1 or 2, Art. 118, Art. 128, Art. 228, para. 3, Art. 245 and Art. 301 - 305 of the Labor Code or Art. 13, para. 1 of the Labor Migration and Labor Mobility Act for a period of 6 months prior to the issuance of the termination order“.
The most important requirement is to submit documents proving a decline in sales revenue.
The procedure
The application will be able to start when the Executive Director of the Employment Agency issues an order to open a procedure for this, and information on the terms and conditions of the application will be published on the website of the Office and on the boards in the Labor Offices.
It will also issue a model of the application for compensation, which may be submitted in paper form, electronically or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt through a licensed postal operator at the labor office, "serving the territory of employment of employees". "For funding whose payroll is being applied for.
They shall be attached to the application:
Who is eligible for compensation will be decided by a committee with each labor office. It will take 7 days to review the application.
It will verify ex officio at the National Revenue Agency whether the two most important eligibility requirements have been met - whether the revenue has fallen by at least 20% over the relevant period and that the employer owes taxes and insurance. The other conditions will be verified ex officio.
The company will be notified whether or not it is approved within two business days of the commission's ruling.
The compensation will be paid by the NSSI.
26.03.2020
UNEMPLOYED CAN TRACK THEIR STATUS WITH NEW E-SERVICE
State Agency for Electronic Governance (SAEG) and Employment Agency introduced additional measures to serve clients of the Labor Offices by ensuring that jobseekers are registered electronically through the Secure Electronic Service System (SESS).
Any citizen who has applied for a job search can check his / her status through the new electronic service "Provision of access of individuals to information related to them and stored in the registers of primary administrators". The service is available to users in the Secure Electronic Service System - www.edelivery.egov.bg, maintained by SAEG. By accessing the register, citizens can make reference to the history of their registration, to trace their status, the contract concluded between the Employment Agency and the unemployed person, as well as training and guidance for each registered unemployed person.
On the Single Portal for Access to Electronic Administrative Services of SAEG - egov.bg - in section Centralized Application, there are also other five electronic services for job seekers and employers published with detailed information about their content and usage.
25.03.2020
LABOR RELATIONSHIPS IN EMERGENCY CONDITIONS
Advice of the Consultancy Center - Berkovitsa
Many sectors of the economy have been affected by the introduction of the state of emergency by a National Assembly Decision of 13.03.2020, some of which were forced to close and others closed due to declining revenues. It is natural for workers and employees, as well as for employers, to be concerned about how employment arrangements will be settled in a state of emergency.
In addition to the usual hypotheses in the Labor Code, the Law on Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency, announced by a decision of the National Assembly of 13.03.2020, introduced other possibilities for the period.
What are the job opportunities for employees?:
- In the most favorable case, they retain the employment relationship under the terms and conditions of their employment contract.
- In case of termination of the activity of the enterprise which is included in the prohibition list / restaurants, fitness clubs, entertainment establishments, etc. /, reduction of the volume of work or other reasons, the employer may resort to termination of the employment contract with notice.
What you need to know: In the provisions of Art. 328 of the Labor Code there are no changes regarding the state of emergency. What are the hypotheses:
It is compulsory for the worker to be given a written notice of termination of the employment contract. If he refuses to receive it, the receipt may be verified by the signatures of two witnesses of the refusal. This notice may be from 30 days to three months / in the employment contract or collective agreement may be agreed for a longer period of 30 days, if not agreed then the term is 30 days.
It is also possible for the employer to terminate the employment contract immediately by notifying the employee, upon notification, that he or she will be paid compensation for the non-compliance with the notice period. Then an Order for termination of employment is also served.
With the termination of the contract, the benefits for unused paid annual leave are paid, and in case of failure to notify - the remuneration for the period of the notice. In these cases, in case of breach of employment contract, the employee may appeal the order in court (despite the state of emergency, workers are not deprived of the opportunity to challenge the illegality of orders terminating their employment contracts).
The employer may request termination of the employment contract by mutual agreement. This is one of the most disadvantageous options for the worker, as he/she will not receive compensation for the non-compliance with the notice and the compensation from the Employment Agency is for a period of 4 months. Similarly, such termination cannot be appealed by the employee.
Another option is to terminate the employment relationship in order to receive compensation. The employer may propose to the worker to terminate the employment relationship for compensation not less than four times the amount of the last monthly gross wage received, unless the parties have agreed to a larger amount of the benefit. The employee agrees in writing within seven days. If there is no explicit acceptance of the proposal within this period, the proposal shall be deemed to have been rejected.
Explicit hypotheses for employment relationship during a state of emergency:
- It is envisaged that the employer will be able to assign home and teleworking in a state of emergency without the consent of the employee, changing only the place of work, without changing the other conditions of the employment contract. That is, you can work remotely or at home, but you cannot be assigned other duties outside of your job description, or change the amount of his or her salary or holidays or other contractual elements of the employment contract.
- Operation may be terminated during an emergency. By order of the employer, the work of the enterprise, part of it or individual workers may be terminated for the whole or part of the period, and this shall only apply until the state of emergency is lifted. Then the workers are not allowed to their jobs.
- In the event of termination of work under the preceding paragraph, the employer shall have the right to grant paid annual leave to the worker without his or her consent, including when eight months of service are not obtained. At the same time, the employer is obliged to allow the use of paid annual leave or unpaid leave for pregnant workers, workers in advanced stage of in-vitro treatment, mother or adoptive parent of a child under the age of 12 or a disabled child, regardless of age, as well as the lone father of such children, of under-18s workers, workers with permanent disability of 50 and over 50 percent, workers with the right to protection upon dismissal under Art. 333, para. 1, items 2 and 3 – these are employed persons and workers suffering from diseases, defined in Ordinance No. 5 - ischemic heart disease; active form of tuberculosis; cancer; occupational disease; mental illness; diabetes.
- Part-time work may be established for full-time workers.
Upon termination of employment, it is advisable for workers to register with the Employment Agency within seven days in order to receive unemployment benefits if they are eligible. Anyway, register for a job search.
Since there are uncertainties about the application of the law in a state of emergency, you can always contact the helplines of the Counsultancy Center for Disadvantaged People in Berkovitsa 0953 89137 and 0890943741.
25.03.2020
IS THERE A SPECIFIC MEASURE OF THE GOVERNMENT IN EMPLOYEES 'PROTECTION?
Is there a specific mecca to protect the worker?
"We work for the protection of all workers, but pregnant women, people with disabilities, the most vulnerable groups will not be able to be cut. Permission from the General Labor Inspectorate is required, and it will not give permission for their release. So let's think that the crisis will pass and a new economic development begin. The worst prognosis for the development of a coronavirus crisis affects the next 18 months. We are acting for at least the next 3 months to ease the business." Such was the response of the Social Minister Denitsa Sacheva to the BNT. No one can predict how long the crisis will last and how it will affect all sectors of the economy, she said. "Probably what we have to do will be at least 6-8 months to see different effects of what is happening at the moment." Therefore, the Minister once again explained that the state is currently responding with short-term measures and is simply expanding the scope of the social system. "The social assistance system has been a functioning system for years, now it will simply extend its reach to distressed families. One-way assistance can be granted to families who have no income," Sacheva said.
24.03.2020
SAEG WITH CLARIFICATIONS FOR CLOUD AND MOBILE ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE
A few days ago the State Agency for Electronic Governance (SAEG) announced that citizens have the opportunity to request electronic administrative services through the egov.bg portal using a free cloud or mobile qualified electronic (QES) signature within one month.
The Agency draws attention to the following:
Regarding cloud QES, issued by Borika AD:
To do this you need to visit the company's offices. If you already own a QES issued by Borika AD, then you can request an online issue of a QES cloud. You can find more information in the organization's e-shop, as well as on 0700 199 10 or * 9910 (for mobile operators).
For mobile QES, issued by Eurotrust Technology AD:
The application is made online. It is necessary to download the company's mobile application and go through the process of video identification. For more information a video is available and can be obtained by phone +359 2 448 58 58.
Through the Single Portal for Access to Electronic Administrative Services - www.egov.bg, there is an opportunity for:
The currently active electronic administrative services, which can be requested through the Single Portal, can be found at www.egov.bg.
Employers from the Montana Region can apply for financial support from the state to hire unemployed persons and single parents. As of yesterday, the Employment Agency launched a procedure for accepting applications from employers seeking to take advantage of this opportunity. The deadline for submitting documents to the Labor Offices is March 4.
The financing parameters are set out in the National Employment Action Plan for 2020 and provide for the provision of wages and social security contributions for employed unemployed persons with a stay in the Labor Office for more than 6 months, up to 24 years of age or above 50 years old, with primary and lower education, unemployed mothers with children under 5 years, etc.
Encouragement measures offer full-time or part-time options. The duration of the employment provided and the subsidy period also varied and ranged from 3 to 12 months. The Labor Offices Cooperation Councils will evaluate by 9 March the applications submitted according to established criteria and will approve the jobs that can be subsidized within the available free financial resources.
Employers can also apply for other preferences to hire certain groups of unemployed people. In parallel, the Employment Agency also provides financial incentives for the unemployed to stimulate their mobility or entrepreneurship. Unemployed people can apply for and receive financial support for day-to-day commuting expenses for long-distance transport to and from work, as well as housing and other expenses when starting work in a locality more than 50 km away from their place of residence. Starting your own business can be supported on the basis of an approved business project by receiving a one-off unemployment benefits or providing a lump sum for starting a business as a micro-enterprise, which this year is already up to 4000 BGN. In both measures, funds can be provided for other start-up services.
For more information and assistance, you can call the phones of the Counsultancy Center for Disadvantaged People in Berkovitsa 0953 89137 and 0890943741.
18.02.2020
INDIVIDUALS AND LEGAL ENTITIES CAN APPLY FOR PROJECTS UNDER TRANSNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP PROCEDURES AT OP HRD
Individuals and legal entities and their associations may apply with project proposals under the Transnational Partnerships procedure of the Operational Program "Human Resources Development". Applicants must be involved in a partnership with at least one partner from another EU Member State. The total budget of the procedure is over BGN 15 million.
The aim of the operation is to improve interregional and transnational cooperation between partners from EU Member States through the transfer and introduction of social innovations, good practices, partnership approaches to finding common solutions, building specific partnership skills, etc. The exchanges between partners should be in the areas of the labor market and quality of jobs, social inclusion and combating poverty, health, equal opportunities and non-discrimination, working conditions or administrative capacity building in these areas.
Obligatory project activities should be the organization of seminars, workshops and trainings to encourage the exchange of experience, information, good practices and innovative approaches. The project should increase the capacity of partners and stakeholders to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate good practices and innovative approaches. Applicants should also include in their activities the adaptation and / or validation of innovative models, practices, services, products from other countries and / or the pilot implementation of innovative approaches and models developed. Projects should assess the feasibility of innovative elements and provide for activities to disseminate the results achieved. Ancillary activities may include the preparation of specific analyzes and studies of the experience of other EU Member States, as well as the establishment and / or incorporation of partner networks and twinning.
The application deadline is May 15, 2020, 5:30 pm.
03.02.2020
GRANTS OF THE GIVE EUR-HOPE ASSOCIATION FOR POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION
The Association GIVE EUR-HOPE (GEH) is always prepared to examine requests for financial support submitted by communities or local associations for the completion of microprojects working to combat poverty and social exclusion. GIVE EUR-HOPE is also ready to study such requests when they are submitted by NGOs or those representing these communities, provided that there are guarantees that they correspond to the real needs and wishes of the communities themselves.
Given its limited human and financial resources, GIVE EUR-HOPE has had to define the scope of its interventions and has, therefore, set out intervention criteria, which should really be consulted before submission of a request for financial support.
GIVE EUR-HOPE has prepared a memorandum for projects proposal to help those wishing to submit a project. This sets out the information required for the analysis of any request. It is important to include with any submission verifiable references which would ideally be given by several reliable organisations.
On their receipt by the Association, all requests are examined and analysed. This may take several weeks depending on the applicant being able to reply to any requests for additional information.
Projects supported by GEH aim to contribute to combating poverty and social exclusion. They cover principally:
the setting up or support of professional development and tutorial networks.
28.01.2020
TAILORING COMPANIES ARE FIGHTING FOR HR
Managers of 9 Montana sewing companies demand before the Regional Education Department and the Regional Governor the Vocational High School for Light Industry to retain the class " Production of textile clothing". This was announced by Maya Grigorova, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in the regional city.
According to the Labor Office, 1,200 people were employed in the sewing industry in the Montana District in 2019. 15 years ago, their number was over 3,000. Traded firms say the decline in employment is due to labor shortages rather than fewer orders. Tailors and builders are constantly on the job market, informs Svetla Uzunova, director of Labor Office -Montana. They then start further vocational trainings. The industry envisages the need for new 180 employees. According to the employers, in the plan for the 2020-2021 it is imperative to preserve the lesson on "Production of textile clothing". The high school is the only one that trains the sewing industry, and this year's admission did not take place. “It is very important to feed the local economy against the background of the demographic collapse,” says Maya Grigorova. Thus, there is a big gap between the needs of business and education. Practice shows that students from Vocational High School for Light Industry are trained mainly as beauticians, hairdressers and manicurists. The school had trained teachers in modeling and clothing production.
