Benefits Provided by the State to Employers during the State of Alert and after Its Termination

What benefits does the state provide to employers?

• partial salary reimbursement;
• grants for employing specific social categories;
• technical unemployment indemnity.

Partial salary reimbursement

What does partial salary reimbursement mean and who benefits from it?

• In case of resumption of activity, employers whose employees received the technical unemployment indemnity during the state of emergency and state of alert can benefit, as of June 1, 2020, from a financial aid granted by the state, consisting in the partial reimbursement of salary rights from the unemployment insurance budget;

• Employers with more lines of business with at least one being under the restrictions established by the deeds of the competent authorities must choose between technical unemployment indemnity for those employees whose activity is suspended and partial salary reimbursement for those employees whose activity is resumed.

Who does NOT benefit from these amounts?

• Public institutions and authorities;

• Employers who at the date of requesting the granting of these amounts are in bankruptcy, dissolution or liquidation or employers with suspended or restricted activity for other reasons that those generated by the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

What is the amount of the aid representing the partial salary reimbursement?

• 5% of the gross basic salary corresponding to the occupied job, but no more than 41.5% of the average gross salary income;

• The monthly maximum gross amount covered by the state budget is approximately lei 2,253, and the difference up to 100% of the gross basic salary corresponding to the occupied job is covered by the employer.

What is the maximum period for granting these benefits?

• 3 months as of the suspension is lifted.

What are the conditions employers must meet to benefit from this aid?

• Employers may benefit from this aid only for those employees having their individual employment agreements suspended for at least 15 days during the state of emergency or state of alert and having benefitted from the technical unemployment indemnity;
• Employers must maintain employment relationships until December 31, 2020, except for seasonal workers. Otherwise, employers who terminate the individual employment agreements of their employees before December 31, 2020, must fully reimburse to the employment agencies the amounts received for every person whose employment relationship has been terminated before the deadline stated by law, plus the reference interest of the National Bank of Romania, in force at the date when the individual employment agreements have been terminated;
• These amounts shall not be cumulated with other grants awarded to employees for whom the employers have concluded contracts or agreements with county employment agencies.

How will the employees’ salaries be paid?

• Employers will fully cover the value of their employees’ salaries and will apply afterwards for the reimbursement of the salary part paid from the state budget.

What are the formalities that must be followed by employers?

• Until the 25^th of the month following the reporting period to which the income is related, the employers shall submit by electronic means to the country employment agencies or to the Bucharest employment agency, in whose area their registered offices are located, an application signed and dated by their legal representatives, accompanied by affidavits and the list of the persons who are going to benefit from this allowance, assumed by the employers’ legal representatives;
• Reimbursement from the unemployment insurance budget will be performed within maximum 10 days as of the date of fulfillment by the employers of the reporting and payment obligations related to salary incomes and incomes assimilated to salaries from the reporting period for which the request is made;
• Payment shall be made by bank transfer to the accounts opened by employers at credit institutions.

Grants for employing specific social categories

Who benefits from these grants?

• Employers who from June 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 employ, for an indefinite period, on a full-time basis, persons aged over 50 whose employment relationships have terminated for reasons unrelated to them, during the state of emergency or state of alert, registered as unemployed with the county employment agencies or with the Bucharest employment agency;
• Employers who employ no later than December 31, 2020, for an indefinite period, on a full-time basis, persons aged between 16 and 29, registered as unemployed with the county employment agencies or with the Bucharest employment agency;
• Employers who employ people from both categories mentioned above may optionally benefit from only one of the measures implemented to stimulate employment.

For how long does the state grant the aid and what is its amount?

• For a period of 12 months in the amount of 50% of the employee’s salary, but no more than lei 2,500.

How is the aid granted?

• for granting these amounts, the employers conclude an agreement with the county employment agencies or with the Bucharest employment agency, in whose area their registered offices are located, but not later than December 31, 2020;
• In order to conclude the agreement, employers submit by electronic means an application accompanied by the affidavits, made by their legal representatives, showing that the employer is not among the categories that cannot benefit from such aid, a true copy of the identity card, a true copy of the deed based on which the employees were employed;
• The amounts are granted monthly for the payment of the salary pro rata to the actual time worked by the employee and shall not be cumulated, for the same employee, with the grants awarded to employers who have concluded contracts or agreements with the country employment agencies or with the Bucharest employment agency.

Who does NOT benefit from these amounts?

• Public institutions and authorities;
• Employers who at the date of requesting the granting of these amounts are in bankruptcy, dissolution or liquidation or employers with suspended or restricted activity for other reasons that those generated by the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

What conditions and formalities do employers have to follow in order to benefit from these amounts?

• Employers must maintain employment relationships for at least 12 months as of the end of the 12-month period provided for the grant of the aid. Otherwise, employers who terminate the individual employment agreements must fully reimburse to the employment agencies the amounts received for every person whose employment relationship has been terminated before the deadline provided by law, plus the reference interest of the National Bank of Romania, in force at the date when the individual employment agreements have been terminated;
• For the check and grant of the monthly amount, employers shall submit, until the 25^th, included, of the month following the reporting, by electronic means to the county employment agencies or to the Bucharest employment agency, in whose areas their registered offices are located, a nominal table, accompanied by a certified timesheet and the payroll for the respective month, in excerpt, as true copy certified by the employer;
• For the month for which the employers do not submit the documents until the 25^th, the monthly amounts are not granted.

Technical unemployment indemnity

For how long does the technical unemployment indemnity apply?

• technical unemployment will continue to apply for all the areas of activity where restrictions are maintained, until their lifting, but not later than December 31, 2020.

What is the amount of the technical unemployment indemnity?

• 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the occupied job, but no more that 75% of the monthly gross average salary, i.e. the maximum monthly gross indemnity covered by the state budget is lei 4,071.75.

What formalities does the employer have to follow in order to benefit from these amounts?

• Employers shall submit by e-mail, to the county employment agencies or to the Bucharest employment agency, in whose area their registered offices are located, an application signed and dated by their legal representatives, accompanied by affidavits and the list of the persons who are going to benefit from this indemnity;
• Payment shall be made to the accounts opened by employers at commercial banks, in maximum 15 days as of the submission of the documents;
• Employers must transfer their employees the technical unemployment indemnity in maximum 3 working days from the receipt of such amounts from the state.

What is the situation of employees with more individual employment agreements concluded?

• If at least one full-time agreement is active, the employee in question will not benefit from the technical unemployment indemnity;
• If all agreements are suspended, the employee in question will benefit from the technical unemployment indemnity related to the individual employment agreement with the most advantageous salary rights.

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