01.04.2020
NSSI PIC ALREADY STATES ALSO AND ELECTRONICALLY
The National Social Security Institute (NSSI) provides an opportunity to apply for the issue of a Personal Identification Code (PIC) to the NSSI and electronically.
The service is already available to users of the institution's services and is provided through The Secure Electronic Service System (SESS) of the State Agency for Electronic Governance (SAEG). Through the system, the application for issuing a PIC is submitted to the respective territorial division of the NSSI, and the issued certificate is returned to the person through it again. The use of a SESS requires registration and the existence of a valid qualified electronic signature (QЕS).
Persons who do not have a QES can take advantage of the opportunity to issue a one-month free electronic signature from certification service providers who will provide an online opportunity to request a signature. More information can be obtained from the SAEG website.
The NSSI also provides for an additional opportunity to submit, by electronic means, an application, annex 13 to the Regulation on cash benefits and state social security aids regarding the authorization of a person to file in the NSSI documents for payment of cash benefits, provided that the authorizing officer has a qualified electronic signature (QES). Only in this case the request for authorization / withdrawal of the authorization can be submitted through the contact form of the NSSI with access to personal data to the respective NSSI TD where the authorizing officer is registered. The application shall be submitted as an electronic document signed with the QES of the authorizing person or as a scanned copy of a paper document. An application submitted electronically with the QES of the authorized person and not with the QES of the authorizing officer does not have the character of a duly signed supporting document and is left without consideration.
The ability to request the NSSI 's PIC electronically is part of the National Social Security Institute' s package of measures to limit client visits to institution offices throughout the country in a state of emergency. It also includes the decision to submit the documents related to the granting and payment of unemployment benefits to the labor offices together with the registration as unemployed.
The National Social Security Institute reiterates its call to all its clients to refrain from a personal visit to the offices of the institution. Alternative forms of contact with the NSSI are available: over 70 e-services, a Contact Center (0 700 14 802), letters or e-mail.
Berkovitsa Consultancy Center recalls the contact details with NSSI-Montana:
TD Montana of NSSI
address Montana 3400, Blvd.“Treti Mart” No.76
Phone 096 394 160;
email: montana@nssi.bg
01.04.2020
EXTEND THE TIME FOR NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE DISABILITY ACT
The Employment Agency will continue to accept annual notifications from employers seeking to hire people with permanent disabilities through the agency or other registered intermediary organizations and have not fulfilled the quota under Art. 38, para. 1 of the Disabled Persons Act.
If the employer does not wish to use mediation, he is not obliged to give notice, but to take independent actions to hire people with permanent disabilities. The Disabled Persons Act also lists cases in which employers are exempted from the quota obligation.
If there are grounds for notification, it must be drawn up in a standard form and sent to the employment office in the territory of which the registered office is situated.
The notification may be submitted within one month after the cancellation of the state of emergency, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 4, item 1 of the Law on Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency (LMASE), announced by a decision of the National Assembly of March 13, 2020.
Submission can be done through a licensed postal operator or electronically in accordance with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and the Electronic Document and Electronic Certification Services Act, including through a secure e-service system profile.
In the period of strict implementation of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the Employment Agency does not recommend that the notification be made through a visit to the relevant Labor office, but the reception of an on-site notification will not be refused either.
The Employment Agency reminds that employers have no obligation to notify the employment office of the jobs determined in accordance with Art. 315 of the Labor Code, and that these places are not taken into account when taking into account the implementation of the quota under Art. 38 para. 1 of the Disabled Persons Act.
The model notification and the Procedure for submitting notifications for occupation of jobs for people with permanent disabilities in accordance with Art. 41 of the DPA are published on the website of the Employment Agency and are available at the following link: https://www.az.government.bg/pages/uvedomlenie-ot-rabotodatel-zhu/.
The Employment Agency once again calls on its future and current clients to stay home and focus on its e-services, assuring them that they will receive all the necessary assistance remotely.
01.04.2020
PROVISION OF PAID AND UNPAID LEAVE UNDER EMERGENCY SITUATION
On 13 March 2020 the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, by its Decision, declared a state of emergency.
At the same time, pursuant to Art. 63 of the Law on Health, by its Order No. RD-01-124 of March 13, 2020, the Minister of Health introduced restrictive measures affecting certain economic activities, and the work of the employees mentioned in the order was terminated.
Another large group of operators, whose number is growing daily, are experiencing serious difficulties in operating normally for various reasons, directly or indirectly related to the declared emergency.
The first actions of employers in the situation that has arisen in the mass case are related to the provision of employee leave either because they cannot allow them to their jobs in non-functioning sites or because there is a drastic reduction in the amount of work and such cannot be assigned. On the other hand, due to the complicated epidemic situation, attendance at educational institutions was discontinued and some employees were forced to take leave to provide care for their children not attending schools and kindergartens.
Until March 24, 2020, no changes were made to the labor legislation and employers only had in place existing and well-known payment mechanisms, respectively. unpaid leave to their employees. Against this background, a Law on Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency was adopted, promulgated by a decision of the National Assembly of March 13, 2020 (LMASE). With the adoption of this law, new legal possibilities have been created regarding paid and unpaid leave, which are precisely the subject of consideration here.
PAID LEAVE UNDER EMERGENCY
Usually, the use of paid leave implies the implementation of a procedure which is 'activated' at the initiative of the employee through a leave application - in whole or in part, on the basis of which the employer authorizes or does not authorize the use (usually by order).
Therefore, the main features of this rule of principle are that the right to leave is exercised at the request of the worker and with the permission of the employer.
The existing regulations (and before March 24, 2020), exceptionally, provided for the employer to be able to provide paid leave unilaterally, ie. and without the consent of the employee. Three hypotheses were known in which paid leave may, exceptionally, be granted unilaterally by order of the employer. They are contained in Article 173, Paragraph 4 of the Labor Code and Article 37b, Paragraph 1 of the Ordinance on working hours, breaks and vacations. These are cases where:
In addition to these existing and well-known options, new rules for unilateral provision of paid leave, established through the LMASE, were adopted. Two new texts have been adopted regulating the unilateral provision by the employer of paid paid leave without the consent of the employee.
One text is located in the main body of the LMASE (art. 7, para 2), which means that this provision can only be applied temporarily while this extraordinary law is in force.
The other possibility for unilateral provision of paid leave, without the consent of the employee, became part of the Labor Code (Art. 173a, Para. 1). This provision will thus be able to apply in the long term, both in the current state of emergency and in any new emergency situation in the future.
Here are both texts:
Article 7, paragraph 2 of the LMASE:
(2) Employers and appointing authorities may grant up to one-half of the paid annual leave to the employee without his or her consent.
Article 173a, para 1 of the Labor Code:
Art. 173a (1) Where, because of a declared state of emergency, the work of the enterprise, part of the enterprise or individual workers and employees is terminated by an order of the employer or with an order of a state body, the employer shall have the right to grant paid annual leave to the employee and without his consent, including an employee who has not obtained 8 months of service.
At first glance, an impression of contradiction is created, since the former limits the possibility of unilaterally granting leave up to half its size, and the full amount of the leave may be granted under the possibilities provided for in the LC. In fact, it is a matter of settling different hypotheses, and in Article 7, paragraph 2 of the LMASE, the employer or the appointing authority may unilaterally order the use of paid leave without the need for any additional condition, provided that do this within the term of the special law, i.e. for the duration of the current state of emergency. When granting leave under the new Article 173a, paragraph 1 of the Labor Code, the legislator provides several conditions for the employer to take advantage of this opportunity.
In order to explain the new texts in full, we will note their specifics by comparing them:
What are the differences between Art. 7, Para 2 of LMASE and Art. 173a, para 1 of the Labor Code?
Conclusion from this comparison:
There is no regulated possibility for the appointing authority to grant civil servants more than half paid leave without the employee's consent.
It applies only "where, owing to a declared state of emergency, the work of the enterprise, part of the enterprise or individual employees is terminated by an order of the employer or an order of a public authority", i.e. the prerequisites are:
-> State of emergency declared;
-> Suspension due to a state of emergency;
-> The termination of employment is based on an Employer Order or a Governmental order.
The termination of employment may cover the whole undertaking, part of it or individual employees. Article 173a, paragraph 1 may be applied only to those employees whose work has been terminated.
NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYEES to take paid annual leave at his request, without the right of the employer to refuse:
Regarding the use of paid annual leave, in principle, the so-called “permit regime” is generally applicable, according to which the employer has the last word to allow or not to use. With the adoption of the new Art. 173a of the Labor Code, in its para 2 an exception from the procedure established by law is introduced.
Art. 173a, para 2 of the Labor Code: (2) The employer is obliged to allow the use of paid annual leave or unpaid leave in case of declared emergency at the request of:
Similar to the quoted provision, it was adopted as a text with the new Article 64a, para 1 of the Law on the Civil Servant:
Art. 64a. (1) In case of a state of emergency and when it is not possible to introduce telework in the home environment under art. 51a, the appointing authority shall be obliged to authorize the use of paid annual leave or unpaid leave at the request of:
In these circumstances, the employer and the appointing authority are not entitled to judgment and are obliged to grant paid leave if a request to that effect, by an application, has been received by the employee.
Here, there is a subjective right conferred on certain categories of workers, which the legislature exhaustively refers to. If the employee falls into any of the categories explicitly mentioned, he or she may state his / her request and the employer is obliged to provide the requested leave.
The prerequisites that must be available in order for the hypothesis of Article 173a, paragraph 2 of the Labor Code, respectively. Article 74a, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Civil Servant are the following:
UNPAID EMERGENCY LEAVE
The main conclusion is that unpaid leave, even during the state of emergency, can be granted and used only at the request of the employee, in accordance with the procedure of Article 160 of the Labor Code.
In principle, unpaid leave is provided in the legislation only as a legal option and not as a right in favor of the employee. This is because it depends solely on the will of the employer not only when and in what amount to provide unpaid leave, but also whether it will be allowed at all. A new exception to this principle rule was created by the provisions of Article 173a, paragraph 2 of the Labor Code cited and commented above, and Article 64a, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Civil Servant. At the request of the employee, in addition to paid leave, the employer is obliged to provide the use of unpaid leave, subject to the same prerequisites and conditions that were considered above regarding the use of paid leave. In this case, the entire period of unpaid leave, without restriction, shall be recognized as work / service experience in accordance with the explicit provision of Article 173a, paragraph 3 of the Labor Code, respectively. Art.64a, Para 2 of the LCS.
One additional point should be noted when discussing changes related to unpaid leave. The government has publicly announced various measures to promote employment during the state of emergency. One of these publicly announced measures is the envisaged possibility of providing interest-free loan, without collateral, up to BGN 4,500 for employees for the time they take unpaid leave.
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.
