DAILY COVID-19 – Measures to support workers and businesses

The new incentive to standardise business activity, as well as simplified support for micro-enterprises to maintain jobs, can now be applied for. It has until the next day 31 May to do so with the Portal of The IEFP – Institute of Employment and Vocational Training.

In view of the short deadlines, the employer’s duties and the assumptions of the measure, it is recommended that the measures be evaluated in advance with your Certified Accountant.

New incentive to normalize activity

This new support is directed to companies that have benefited, in the first quarter of 2021, from the extraordinary support for the maintenance of employment contracts or extraordinary support for the gradual resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis with temporary reduction of the normal working period, and that do not have debts to social security and the tax authority.

It aims to promote the maintenance of employment and reduce the risk of unemployment of workers from companies affected by the effects of the COVID-19 disease pandemic by allocating a financial incentive to the employer in the return phase of its workers to the normal provision of work and standardisation of business activity, after the end of the application of the social security support that precedes them.

Like the previous incentive to normality, there are two modalities:
I – 2 times the RMMG and partial exemption from social security charges:

• 1,330€ per worker covered by the above-mentioned support, which will be paid in two instalments in a period of six months, when requested by 31/05/2021;
• In addition, the right to partial exemption of 50 % of the payment of social security contributions by the employer, with reference to workers covered by this support, during the first two months from the month following the date of payment of the first benefit of the support.
• €665 per worker covered by the above-mentioned support, paid at once, when requested at a date subsequent to that referred to in the preceding paragraph and until 31/08/2021, and is considered to be a concession period of three months.

II – 1 RMMG:
Main duties:

• Maintain, proven, the contributory and tax situations regularized before social security and TA, during the 3 or 6 months of granting the support;
• During the 3 or 6 months of granting the support, as well as in the following 90 days:
  • not to terminate employment contracts by collective dismissal, dismissal for termination of the job and dismissal for inadjustment, or to initiate their procedures;
  • Maintain the level of employment observed in the month prior to the day of submission of the application application.

Simplified support for micro-enterprises for job maintenance

This support is directed to micro-enterprises* which fall within the concept of a business crisis and which have benefited in 2020 from at least one of the following support:

• Extraordinary support for the maintenance of a contract of employment (“simplified lay-off”);
• Extraordinary support for the gradual resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis, with temporary reduction of the normal working period

* Up to 10 workers in the calendar month prior to filing the application.

Basic support: €1,330 per worker covered by the above measures, paid in a phased manner over six months (twice the RMMG);
Additional support: €665 per worker covered, paid at once, for the employer who, during the first half of 2021, benefits from basic support and remains in a business crisis in June 2021.

Main duties:

• Maintain, proven, the contributory and tax situations regularized before social security and TA, during the 6 months of granting support;
• not to terminate, during the 6 months of granting the support, as well as in the following 90 days, employment contracts for collective dismissal, dismissal for termination of the job and dismissal for inadjustment, or to initiate their procedures;
• Maintain, during the 6 months of granting the support, as well as for the following 90 days, the level of employment observed in the month preceding the application.

Cumulation and sequentiality of supports

Cumulative:

• Simplified Support and the New Incentive to Standardisation are cumulative with the extraordinary incentive to normalize business activity;
• Other direct employment support.

Non-cumulative:

• Among themselves, i.e. if you use simplified support, you cannot use the new incentive to standardisation and vice versa;
• Simplified Support and the New Standardisation Incentive are not cumulative at the same time as:
  • “Simplified Lay off”;
  • “Lay-off of the Labor Code”
  • Extraordinary support for the gradual resumption of activity in companies in a business crisis situation.

Sequentiality:

• The employer who resorts to one of these two new support may, after these supports, can resort to the “lay-off of the Labour Code”.
• Access to either of these two new measures does not allow for the sequential use of extraordinary support for the gradual resumption of activity in companies in a business crisis.
• However, in the New Incentive to Standardisation, in the modality of 2 RMMG, after three full months after the payment of the first installment, the employer has the right to withdraw from this incentive and subsequently request support for the progressive recovery, in the following terms:
  • No need to return the amounts already received;
  • being entitled only to the incentive of the maximum amount of one RMMG, per worker covered;
  • Partial exemption of 50 % of the payment of social security contributions borne by the employer during the first two months of the incentive.

How can Moneris help?

Our Crisis Management team, in addition to the support of your usual Moneris manager, is available to analyze with you the measures in force, ensuring a holistic performance in the areas of taxation, labor, financial, technological and support and incentives, with the commitment to ensure the best solutions, adapted to the context of each sector and each company.

It remains essential to continuously evaluate the state of the art, plan and adapt the activity in the short and medium term, resort to extraordinary incentives and measures, adjust business plans, treasury plans, business plans and restructure the company’s strategy.

Talk to us: incentivos@moneris.pt.