Compensation of employers under Decree No. 55
 

On 31.03.2020 the Employment Agency opened a procedure for applying to employers for payment of compensation under the procedure of Article 1, Paragraph 1 of Decree No. 55 of 30.03.2020 laying down the conditions and procedure for payment of compensation to employees. employers in order to preserve the employment of employees in the state of emergency announced by a decision of the National Assembly of March 13, 2020, submitted by MLSP. The resolution was adopted after an extraordinary government meeting.

It is envisaged that the state will take over 60% of the workers 'insurance income and 60% of the employer's insurance, while the employer will pay the remaining 40%, but only if the company keeps the jobs despite the crisis.

Compensations will be paid for the whole or part of the period of validity of the Law on Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency of March 13, 2020, but for no more than 3 months.

Companies have to prove that their sales revenue decreased by at least 20% in March 2020 compared to March 2019, or that their activity was terminated due to the order of Health Minister Kiril Ananiyev on March 13.

The adoption of the Council of Ministers' decree will support the employment of workers in the hotel, restaurant, cultural, sports and entertainment activities, retail, passenger transport and others.

Employers applying for compensation must not be bankrupt or be bankrupt or liquidated. Another condition is that they have no tax obligations and compulsory social security contributions and that they do not lay off staff during the period of compensation.

Submission and examination of documents
From March 31st to 5:00 pm on April 21st, 2020, all Labor Office Directorates in the country will accept documents from employers applying for compensation under Decree 55/2020.

To apply, employers must submit the following documents to the Labor Office in whose territory they operate:

Application for payment of compensations and declarations (in the form);
List of employees applying for compensation (by model);
Order for termination of employment or establishment of part-time employment (certified copy);
Documents certifying a decrease in sales revenue of not less than 20% in the month preceding the month of filing of compensation claims compared to the same month of the previous year and for companies established after 1 March 2019 compared to average earnings for January and February 2020, when the work is terminated by order of the employer or part-time is established by the employer. It is not necessary to submit documents certifying a decrease in sales revenue when employers have terminated work on the basis of an order of a public authority.
The necessary instructions and templates are published under the heading "Payment of Employment Compensation Allowances" in the "Job Offers" section of the Employment Agency's homepage.

The documents are sent electronically through the Secured Electronic Service System (CESE), signed by qualified electronic signature (QES), or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt through a licensed postal operator.

If the documents cannot be submitted remotely, they may be submitted to the relevant Labor Office Directorate on paper, subject to the restrictions and requirements for emergency situations and measures to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), regulated by acts of the competent authorities.

The documents will be considered for compliance or non-compliance with the requirements of Decree No. 55 / 30.03.2020 within 7 working days of their submission. Information on the results will be provided to the employer and the National Social Security Institute. The Employment Agency will electronically send the information to the NSSI, which will pay the funds if the employer meets the criteria.

The financial means for payment of the compensation will be provided by the Unemployment Fund of the State Social Insurance Fund.

What the Decree reads
1. Which employers can apply for compensation?
The following employers qualify for compensation:

Employers whose activity is directly affected by restrictive measures imposed by order of a public authority
As a result of the measures, they were forced to cease, in whole or in part, the work of the undertaking or individual employees. It is necessary for the employer to have issued an order for termination of the activity, in which he explicitly stated that it was issued on the basis of an order of a state body.

Employers can apply for compensation