Employment Flash No. 7/2022 – Latest news in the labor law field
02.06.2022 – Latest news in the labor law field regarding prolongation of the period when state support for Kurzarbeit is applicable
The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 73/30.05.2022 supplementing GEO no. 132/2020 on support measures for employees and employers in the context of the epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, and for stimulating employment was published in the Official Gazette no. 536 of May 31, 2022.
The new legal provisions establish the extension of the period when state support for reduction of the working schedule (Kurzarbeit) may be accessed, even after the expiry of the previous deadline, this facility therefore encompassing also the period starting June 8th, 2022, but no later than December 31st, 2022.
In addition, the new GEO also addresses the issue of compliance of one of the conditions for obtaining the Kurzarbeit support, during the specific prolongation period mentioned above – namely the condition concerning justifying the activity reduction by a reduction in turnover in the month prior to the application of Kurzarbeit (or at most the month before that) by at least 10%, as compared to the similar month or the monthly average turnover from 2019.
As such, if the condition above is not met, the employer may still access the Kurzarbeit state support (also subject to meeting the other conditions as per the law) if the production corresponding to the month for which the measure application is requested has decreased by at least 10% compared to the same month of 2019 / to the monthly average of the production from 2019.
In this context, for companies established in the period January 1st, 2022 – March 15th, 2020, having at least one employee, the production reduction shall be compared to the production from the month before applying the Kurzarbeit measure.
*Note: the reduction in production mentioned above shall be reflected in the affidavit to be submitted by the employer in the process of applying for state support. The template for such affidavit will be approved by Ministerial Order.
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