Support measures for employees and employers - GEO no. 92/2020

In the Official Gazette no. 459 of May 29, 2020 was published OUG no. 92/2020 for the establishment of active support measures for employees and employers in the context of the epidemiological situation caused by the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, as well as for the amendment of some normative acts who entered effective from 29 May 2020.

I Settlement of an amount of 41.5% of the employment salary

With effect from 1 June 2020, employers whose employees have benefited from technical unemployment settled by the state according to GEO no. 30/2020 and the employers whose employees they had suspended individual employment contracts In accordance with Art. 52 para. (1) lit. c) of Law no. 53/2003 - Labor Code and did not request the settlement of the amounts during the state of emergency or alert, benefits, for a period of three months, by the settlement of a part of the salary, borne by the unemployment insurance budget, representing 41.5% of the gross basic salary corresponding to the job, but not more than 41.5% of the average gross earnings (5,429 lei).
Employers can request the settlement of a percentage of 41.5% of the salary for a period of 3 months if they meet the following conditions:
· maintaining employment until 31 December 2020, except for seasonal workers (termination of employment may occur for reasons not attributable to the employer: the employee's resignation, retirement or death);
· The individual employment contract has been suspended at least 15 days during the state of emergency or alert and benefited from technical unemployment benefits borne by the employer or the state;
Employers who have several objects of activity at least one of which is subject to restrictions (ex. fitness rooms, restaurants) established by acts of the competent authorities opt either for requesting an amount of 41.5% of the gross basic salary, or for requesting the full settlement of unemployment benefits until the restrictions are lifted.
The amounts are granted from the unemployment insurance budget, within the approved budget. In order to settle the amounts, the employers fully bear the equivalent value of the employees' salaries and subsequently, from the first to the 25th of the following month the reporting period to which the income relates, they submit, through electronic means, to the county employment agencies, as well as to the municipality of Bucharest, within the radius of which the following documents have their registered office:
· an application signed and dated by the legal representative;
· a statement on one's own responsibility;
· the list of persons benefiting from this amount, assumed by the legal representative of the employer, according to the model that will be approved by order of the president of ANOFM.
settlement from the unemployment insurance budget of the amounts is carried out within a maximum of 10 days from the date of fulfillment by the employers, according to the law, a declaratory and payment obligations related to income from salaries.

II Granting of a subsidy representing 50% of the gross salary earned (young people or persons over 50 years of age)

Employers receive monthly, for a period of 12 months, for each employee, 50% of the employee's salary, but not more than 2,500 lei if the period June 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 employs, for an indefinite period, full time:
· people over 50 years of age whose employment relationships have terminated for reasons not attributable to them, during an emergency or alert and are registered as unemployed in the records of the county employment agencies, respectively of the Bucharest municipality.
· people aged between 16 and 29 registered as unemployed in the records of the county employment agencies, respectively of the Bucharest municipality.
Employers have an obligation maintaining employment for a period of at least 12 months. The amounts received as a subsidy are granted for the payment of the salary proportional to the actual time worked by the employee and are not cumulated, for the same employee, with the subsidies granted to employers who have concluded contracts with the county employment agencies or the municipality of Bucharest. conventions pursuant to art. 80, 85 and 93 ^ 4 of Law no. 76/2002.
The subsidy representing 50% of the gross salary is granted from the unemployment insurance budget, at the request of the employers, submitted, by electronic means, at AJOFM within which they have their registered office. The procedure for granting the amounts is established by order of the president of the National Agency for Employment.

Careful! Employers who receive subsidies from I OR II and who terminates the individual employment contracts of employees before the deadlines (December 31, 2020 or 12 months) are obliged to return in full, AJOFM the amounts collected for each person for whom the employment relationship ended before the mentioned term, plus the reference interest rate of the National Bank of Romania in force on the date of termination of individual employment contracts, if their termination took place pursuant to art. 55 lit. b) (agreement of the parties), art. 56 para. (1) lit. d) and e) (nullity of the contract and reinstatement in the position held) and art. 65 (termination of employment) of Law no. 53/2003.
Of these two types of subsidies the following categories of employers cannot benefit:
· Public institutions and authorities;
· Employers who at the date of requesting these amounts are in bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation or having their activities suspended or restrictions on them for reasons other than those caused by the spread of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
· Employers have employees, for whom they already have agreement concluded with AJOFM based on art. 80, 85 and 93 ^ 4 of Law no. 76/2002.

III Settlement of technical unemployment benefits according to GEO no. 30/2020

Granting technical unemployment benefits according to GEO no. 30/2020 for all fields of activity in which restrictions are maintained under the conditions of Law no. 55/2020 on some measures to prevent and combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is extended after May 31, 2020, until these restrictions are lifted.
If the employer has several objects of activity from which at least one activity is subject to restrictions, then cannot request both the unemployment benefit and the 41.5% subsidy and will have to choose only one of the measures.