31.03.2022
NSSI LAUNCHES THE PROPHYLACTIC AND REHABILITATION PROGRAM FOR 2022
From April 1 this year the implementation of the program for prophylactic and rehabilitation for 2022 begins. For its financial realization in the Law on the Budget of the State Social Insurance (SSI) for 2022 BGN 25,239,000 are provided. It is expected that about 45,000 people will receive financial aid for prophylactic and rehabilitation this year.
The program for one person lasts 10 days, and the price of accommodation and partial food allowance in the amount of BGN 8.00 for each day of the stay is covered by the state social security. Each person, at the expense of the social security budget, has the right to use up to four basic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures per day. Contracts have already been signed with 22 legal entities for a total of 52 establishments implementing the program.
Insured persons for general illness, maternity and/or occupational accidents and occupational diseases are entitled to financial assistance for prevention. Social security contributions must be paid or due for them for six consecutive calendar months preceding the month in which the rehabilitation takes place. The disease must be diagnostically specified and the attending physician must have identified the need for rehabilitation by the time of use of financial assistance.
Persons who receive a personal disability pension are also entitled. The condition for them is that they have not reached the age for acquiring the right to a pension for insurance length of service and age, the term of disability in the expert decision has not expired and the attending physician has identified the need for rehabilitation during the period of cash benefits.
Details on the conditions for using the program, the executors of the activity, the necessary documents and the diseases for which prevention and rehabilitation is carried out can be found in the menu "Benefits", submenu "Prophylactic and Rehabilitation" on the NSSI website.
31.03.2022
WHAT CHANGES IN SALARIES AND PENSIONS FROM TOMORROW
A new minimum wage comes into force tomorrow - it becomes BGN 710 compared to BGN 650 so far. The maximum insurance income is raised from BGN 3,000 to BGN 3,400, which will affect the people who receive the highest salaries. They will have to pay more insurance.
The unemployed will also receive more money - from tomorrow the minimum unemployment benefit will increase by BGN 6 - from BGN 12 to BGN 18, and the maximum - from BGN 74.29 to BGN 85.71 per day.
There is also an increase for disability pensions. People with 100% disability and the need for someone else's help will receive a separate, higher pension than other disability pensions, which are determined by the old-age social pension.
People with TEMC decisions for 100% disability and with someone else's help will receive BGN 272, and those between 91 and 100% must receive BGN 238 from April 1. For people with permanently reduced working capacity from 71 to 90%, the pension will be BGN 221.
The companies that give food vouchers can now give up to BGN 200 for coupons, and they can also be used to pay bills for electricity, heating, water, as well as to buy tickets for theater and cinema.
The cash benefit for raising a child up to 2 years of age is also increasing, which will be BGN 710 from tomorrow at BGN 650 until March 31. The maximum monthly amount of the guaranteed receivables of the employees will now be BGN 1,775, and a one-time assistance in case of death of an insured person - BGN 540.
30.03.2022
DRAFT NATIONAL STRATEGY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA FOR EQUALITY, INCLUSION AND PARTICIPATION OF ROMA 2021-2030 AND NATIONAL ACTION PLAN 2022-2023
In order to develop documents that reflect the current challenges at national and local level related to equality, inclusion and participation of Roma, from the beginning of 2022, discussions with civil society organizations and institutions have resumed.
The current drafts of the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma 2021-2030 and the National Action Plan for the period 2022-2023 include proposals of the civil sector, according to which the institutions have specified goals, measures, funding, deadlines.
The drafts of the National Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria for Equality, Inclusion and Participation of the Roma 2021-2030 and the National Action Plan for the period 2022-2023 are published for public discussion by April 7, 2022.
For more information, visit the Public Consultation Portal.
30.03.2022
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE DIFFICULT TRANSFORMATION
Today, companies are facing uncertain times and significant transformations. This means that today's leaders will also have to adapt to the ever-changing environment.
The companies that are most successful in the digital age are led by leaders who keep learning, evolving and changing. In other words, these are leaders who are not afraid to violate their own leadership approach.
Paul Lanewand of PwC and Mahadeva Matt Mani dive deep into this topic in his new book, Beyond Digital, which explores how great leaders are transforming their organizations and playing a key role in shaping our future. The book is based on interviews with CEOs of some of the world's largest and most respected organizations, including Jane Fraser of Citigroup and Frans van Houten of Royal Philips.
In the book, the authors discuss several paradoxes of leadership and the way leaders find balance. For example, they talk about leadership types such as "technological humanist", "modest hero" or "honorable politician" - seemingly contradictory characteristics. In order for leaders to understand the contradictions in their management style and find the right balance, the authors recommend that they work on several things:
Get to know yourself better
Honesty is always important, especially for leaders. "The most successful of the interviewed leaders are those who take a step back and think about what they are good at, what their organization needs and what areas they are not doing best and need to continue working to gain more competence. However, they are not satisfied with self-analysis alone. They gather information and seek feedback from everyone - boss, colleagues, customers, friends and relatives," says Lanewand.
Take, for example, Van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. When taking responsibility for a new region in which the company is growing its business, Van Houten explains that the then CEO of Philips sent him there "to learn to lead people, not just behave like a smart guy in class."
"Van Houten's whole journey is a great transformation. He became CEO of the semiconductor business in 2004 without being an expert in the field. In order to become a better leader, he repeatedly puts himself in situations that force him to learn and develop, "says Manny.
Use your strengths to overcome your weaknesses
Getting better at something you don't do very well is not so easy and time consuming. However, to speed up this process, you need to learn to take advantage of your strengths.
"We found that the best leaders use their strengths to build other skills they need. For example, if they are not creative but disciplined, they use this discipline to give themselves time for activities focused on creative thinking and to adhere to their schedule. If they are not very good at building social contacts, but are very organized, they develop a systematic approach and carefully plan their relationships with others," says Manny.
Study those who are different from you
Almost all of us have a tendency to build relationships with people who look and behave like us. However, leaders who do not go beyond their comfort zone and do not learn from others do themselves a disservice.
"We learn more from people who are not like us than from those who look like us," Lanewand said. "We have noticed that the best leaders are looking for people who have strengths and experience other than their own. They embraced diversity, even if it initially made them uncomfortable. These leaders then listened and learned. They adapted their leadership approach based on what they observed," he added.
Transformation is a time consuming task for you and your entire team. Your team depends on your ability to make the difficult decisions needed to succeed. While it may be difficult to find time to cultivate against the backdrop of the many tasks you are overwhelmed with, this would ultimately help you lead your company to a successful transformation in the digital age and beyond.
30.03.2022
THE "60 TO 40" JOB RETENTION MEASURE WILL RUN UNTIL 30 JUNE
The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy provides information on measures to support citizens and employers, which will continue to operate after the end of the epidemic:
The "60 to 40" measure will be extended until June 30, while maintaining the current conditions for support for job retention. Throughout 2022, up to 90 days of unpaid leave will be considered work and insurance experience.
Employers will receive funds from the state to maintain the employment of workers in the economic activities affected by Covid-19 until the end of the first half of 2022. This was decided by the government by adopting changes to Decree № 151 of the Council of Ministers of 2020, in which the conditions and the order for their payment are determined.
Funds will continue to be paid for employees who during the period from March 13 to December 31, 2020 worked part-time, used leave under Art. 173a of the Labor Code or their work has been suspended due to temporary restrictions on activities.
The companies established before January 1, 2020, will receive from the state 60 percent of the insurance income of employees for October 2021 and from the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer. To be eligible, their sales revenue in the month for which they apply for funds must have decreased by at least 40% compared to the average monthly revenue for 2019. With a decrease of at least 30%, the support from the state will be 50 percent of the insurance income for October 2021 and from the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer.
Companies established after January 1, 2020 will be entitled to funds of 60 percent of the insurance income of employees for October 2021 and the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer, if their income from sales in the month for which apply for support, have decreased by not less than 40% compared to the average monthly income for 2020. With a decrease of not less than 30%, the state will support them with 50 percent of the insurance income for October 2021 and from the insurance contributions at the expense of the employer. Among the requirements for employers is that they have no obligations for taxes and compulsory social security contributions before January 1, 2021.
Employers will pay remuneration to employees for whom they received funds in an amount not less than the amount of insurance income for October 2021.
Employers applying for the payment of funds for May 2022 can submit applications until June 10, 2022. For the month of June, employers will apply under the terms, conditions and deadlines for May 2022. The funds will be transferred to the employer under bank transfer from the National Social Security Institute. Information on the terms and conditions for applying will be published on the website of the Employment Agency and announced in the directorates "Labor Office". The decree enters into force on March 1, 2022.
Covid supplements to the pensions of all pensioners, amounting to BGN 60, will be paid by the end of June 2022. The National Social Security Institute will continue to transfer the one-time supplement of BGN 75 to all pensioners who in the period from January 1 to June 30, 2022 complete a full course of vaccination against covid or have a first dose from 1 to 30 June. By June inclusive, compensatory supplements to the pensions of people who in January 2022 received a lower total amount from the collection of covid supplement and pension compared to December 2021 will be paid.
TEMC decisions that have expired during a state of emergency or epidemic will be valid until June 30. Until the same date, the term for payment of disability pensions by expert decisions that have expired during the state of emergency or the extraordinary epidemic situation is officially extended. These pensions will continue to be received after June 30, 2022, if by that time people have been re-certified and the National Social Security Institute has received data on the new term of disability.
29.03.2022
ENTREPRENEURSHIP: FIVE STEPS TO INCREASE CONVERSIONS IN YOUR ONLINE STORE
Convenience is everything when it comes to online shopping.
E-commerce businesses know all too well how small barriers to purchase can make a big difference in conversion rates, writes RetailDive. For many users, a few extra clicks or just seconds of work are all it takes to move from wanting a product to giving it up.
How to optimize for higher conversions?
For starters, even people who like to shop find some aspects of it annoying. No one ever gets excited about filling out forms with data and information.
Here are five ways to help your customers get excited about their shopping and increase their conversions.
Offer rewards
The average global conversion rate of e-commerce is 3.29%. However, when customers activate money back rewards, they are up to 10 times more likely to make a purchase. Incentives also build brand loyalty.
The prize, if offered earlier in the consumer trip, can attract consumers to make a purchase and complete it. Reward programs are known to increase customer retention through gamification and make more purchases.
Add social proof
People usually trust regular stores more than e-commerce companies. So, if you are not a name in the field, show a symbol and / or social proof to build trust. More than three-quarters of consumers are willing to make purchases on an e-commerce site with a secure payment badge, for example, or if they see that their payment is powered by a network they trust.
You can also publish the recommendations of satisfied customers on your site. Encourage users to share on social media about their experience with you - this will increase trust in your brand and provide proof to new buyers that it is reliable.
Make shopping easy for customers
The internet is full of distractions. So the expectation that users will make every effort to come to you can be daunting. To reach people, you need to go where they already spend their time so they can buy in a moment of inspiration, such as when they see your product in a post or video.
People will never feel the same connection with a brand that they feel with another human being. That's why buying a product directly at the point of inspiration without redirects or additional documents is a quick and intuitive digital experience.
Unlock sales with CRO
As your business grows, so will your website traffic. Using data-driven practices, such as conversion rate optimization (CRO), to analyze your business and make revenue-maximizing improvements is critical to success.
Determine which products perform well and which need attention. Running A/B tests will allow you to determine which elements of your site perform better.
For e-commerce brands, all this contributes to more sales. The more you optimize your e-commerce store for conversion, the more sustainable your business will become. When you prioritize sales promotion in your store by making shopping as easy as possible, the profits from those sales will increase.
Provide a fast payment process
An effective way to speed up payments is to include a variety of one-click payment methods. This ensures a fast process, which is important for customers. Bet on secure payment methods, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, Klarna, Bolt and others.
29.03.2022
WORKING MEN HAVE HIGHER SOCIAL SECURITY THAN WOMEN
Men receive higher salaries than women and will receive higher old-age pensions. The average insurance income of men for 2021 is BGN 1201.20, and of women - BGN 1135.32, according to data from the National Social Security Institute (NSSI). Men are insured on incomes with BGN 66 higher than those of women, as the difference in favor of men is 5.8%.
One of the reasons for this is that in a number of sectors of the economy with higher wages, mostly men work, such as in the mining industry. In industries such as restaurants, hotels and the garment industry, wages have traditionally been lower and mostly women work. But even in a number of sectors where men and women work equally, such as finance and insurance, men's wages are higher than women's.
The average insurance income for December 2021 is BGN 1,266.44, and for the whole of 2021 it is BGN 1,169.25, according to NSSI data. The increase of the average insurance income for 2021 compared to 2020 is by 9.3%. But if we remove the average annual inflation for last year, the real growth of insurance income is 6.3%, according to NSSI calculations. The increase in insurance income is mainly due to several factors - the increase of the minimum wage from BGN 610 to BGN 650 (by 6.6%) from January 1, 2021; the increase of the minimum insurance income of the self-insured from BGN 610 to BGN 650; the increase in salaries of teachers and officials from January 1, 2021
People over the age of 62 work for significantly less money than younger Bulgarians, according to NSSI data. The insurance income of people born after December 31, 1959, who are also insured for a second pension in the universal pension funds, averages BGN 1,190.36. At the same time, people over 62 years of age born before January 1, 1960, have an average insurance income only from BGN 985.41. The salaries of these people are growing more slowly than those of the younger ones. The insurance incomes of people over 62 have increased by 7.6% per year, and the incomes of younger people have increased by 9.1%, according to NSSI data.
The average insurance income of the employees under the conditions of the third category of labor is BGN 1,191.47, and for the first and second categories of labor is BGN 1,383.56.
29.03.2022
THE LABOR MARKET IS RECOVERING
The main results of the labor force survey in 2021 show that the labor market is recovering from the adverse effects of the 2020 pandemic.
In 2021, the economic activity of the population aged 15-64 decreased slightly (by 0.1 percentage points) and the ratio reached 72.0%, while for men it remained significantly higher (76.2%) compared to that of women (67.7%). Employment increased by 0.5 percentage points to 68.1%, but still fails to offset the decline in 2020.
The most tangible positive development in the labor market is seen in the unemployment data. The unemployment rate of the population aged 15-64 decreases sharply by 0.8 percentage points and in 2021 it is 5.3%. Unemployment remains higher in rural areas, among young people and among the lowest educated. The highest values continue to be reported in the districts of Montana and Vidin, but even there the decline in unemployment is significant. Unemployment data for people with previous employment show that the share of those laid off and laid off is falling significantly.
Against the background of rising employment and declining unemployment, the main problems in the labor market are beginning to stand out again - structural unemployment and the mismatch of skills and skills of the workforce (more - here) and the large number of inactive people and people who do not work or study (more - here).
29.03.2022
ROMANIAN INVESTMENT PLATFORM FOR TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS SET FOOT IN BULGARIA
Romanian investment platform for technology startups SeedBlink has opened its first office in Bulgaria. It will play a key role in the company's plans for expansion in Europe in 2022.
The Bulgarian office, located in Sofia, will be managed by Angel Hadzhiev and will offer a number of investment tools and opportunities for technology startups. As well as market access solutions for local investors and partners.
Covering the startup investment ecosystem in the country, the new branch will work with local groups of so-called business angels; hedge funds and private investors. The aim is to help diversify their portfolios. The company will aim to cover their needs for deals and syndication, to support local startups in their access to capital and to increase the scale of the startups themselves, as well as the startup industry in Bulgaria.
The investment platform already has active Bulgarian partnerships, as well as a community of local investors. Those who are interested in investing in technology companies at an early stage of development and diversification of their portfolio.
The company specializes specifically in European technology startups, from the pre-seed stage to the B series, and has so far attracted more than 10,000 investors from 50 countries. The platform was launched in early 2020 as a solution for group investment in equity. It now brings together private investment and fundraising through technology, expertise and building strong communities of investors and startups.
29.03.2022
TWICE AS MANY BULGARIANS WILL BE ENTITLED TO SOCIAL BENEFITS
Bulgaria is about to leave in history the threshold of BGN 75 guaranteed monthly income, which for years distorts the social assistance system. From 2023, many more Bulgarians will be entitled to social benefits, because access to them will be tied to a much more adequate threshold - the poverty line. For 2022 it is set at BGN 413. In just one year, this is expected to double the number of people supported by the treasury - from 63,000 to 115,000 in 2023.
This is provided by amendments to the Law on Social Assistance published for public discussion. The changes are related to the regular criticism of our country by the EC that it does not guarantee adequate access to social assistance. The guaranteed minimum income over the years was literally frozen - for comparison, its amount in 2009 was BGN 65, and the threshold of BGN 75 was reached only in 2018. This inadequate amount affects the calculation of specific differentiated thresholds for access to aid, which are determined on the basis of the guaranteed minimum income and the corresponding coefficient.
In 2022, the coefficients were increased, but the amounts on which access to aid depends remain very low. All this over the years has led to a very large narrowing of the number of people eligible for assistance. The number of Bulgarians receiving monthly social benefits, for example, has decreased from 124,635 cases in 2005 to 23,702 in 2020, according to the reasons for the change in the Social Assistance Act. Thus, the policy of social assistance, instead of working to reduce the share of the poor in our country over the years, leads to the exact opposite - to increase it.
Apart from the abolition of the guaranteed minimum income, the bill contains other changes, some of which are related to increasing the rights of aid recipients, and others - to tighten control. For example, the unemployed who refuse to join employment programs will lose the right to benefits for a shorter period - 6 months instead of a year. At the same time, the state will have more rights to make deductions from the aid due, which is generally limited. From now on, it will be possible to deduct from the aid illegally received amounts for social assistance. The bill envisages another serious change - the budget of the Social Protection Fund will now be determined by the Minister of Social Affairs, instead of its managing board.
