Legislative update - simplifications in granting technical unemployment

Please be informed that the Emergency Ordinance no. 32/2020 has modified and simplified the technical unemployment procedure initially provided in the Emergency Ordinance no. 30/2020.

 

Thus, all the employees (not just 75% of them) can benefit from the technical unemployment allowance to all the employers who temporarily reduce or interrupt the activity totally or partially as a result of the effects of the coronavirus epidemic, during the period of emergency.
 

This eliminates the condition that the employers provide emergency certificates (in case they have partially or totally closed the activity as a result of establishing the state of emergency) or declarations on their own responsibility that show that the employer registers a reduction of the collections from the month prior to submitting the declaration on its own responsibility, with a minimum percentage of 25% compared to the average of the collections from January-February 2020 and that it does not have the financial capacity to pay all the employees, as stipulated in the initial form of GEO no. 30/2020 (for the other employers who have reduced their activity as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 epidemic). Practically, all the employers affected by the coronavirus epidemic can benefit from the technical unemployment facilities, during the period of emergency. Also, the number of employees who can benefit from the technical unemployment allowance is no longer limited to 75% of the total number of employees, as provided in the initial form of the ordinance.

 

In order to benefit from the facilities of the technical unemployment the employer must submit the following documents to the employment agencies (ANOFM) within the radius of which the companies have their registered office, in electronic format:

 

 

The documents are regulated in the order no. 741/2020 published in MO. no. 269 of March 31, 2020. These forms should appear shortly for download on the Ministry of Labor's website, to be used starting today, April 1, 2020.

 

Employers are responsible for the accuracy and veracity of the data recorded in the documents submitted.
 

The documents are submitted in the current month for the payment of the allowance from the previous month (starting with 1^st of April for the period 16^th of March – 31^st of March, starting with 1^st of May for the period 1^st of April -16^th of April). Payment from the unemployment insurance budget for these allowances is made no later than 15 days (initially the term was 30 days) from the submission of documents. Payment of the allowance will be made to the accounts opened by the employers at the commercial banks. The payment of the unemployment allowance is made to the employee within a maximum of 3 working days from the collection by the employer of the amounts from the unemployment insurance budget.

 

During the state of emergency, for the period of temporary suspension of the individual labor contract, the allowances that the employees benefit from are set at 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job occupied and is borne by the unemployment insurance budget, but not more than 75 % of the average gross salary. The average gross salary for the year 2020 is 5,429 lei. A maximum of 75% of the gross average salary represents 4,072 lei, the net equivalent of 2,382 lei (the amount which will be received by the employee). However, in addition to the facility provided by the state, if the budget of the employer allows, the technical unemployment allowance can be supplemented by the employer with amounts representing the difference of up to at least 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job occupied, in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code.

 

In the situation where an employee has several individual labor contracts of which at least one full-time contract is active during the establishment of the state of emergency, he does not benefit from the technical unemployment benefit.
 

In case an employee has several individual labor contracts and all are suspended as a result of establishing the state of emergency, he/she benefits from the technical unemployment allowance related to the individual employment contract with the most advantageous wage rights.

 

The technical unemployment allowance is subject to the taxation and payment of the compulsory social contributions according to the Fiscal Code (there is no insurance contribution for the work). The calculation, withholding and payment of income tax, the contribution of state social insurance and the contribution of social health insurance is made by the employer from the allowances collected from the unemployment insurance budget. The declaration of this allowance is made by the statement 112 "Declaration regarding the payment obligations of the social contributions, the income tax and the nominal evidence of the insured persons". The term of payment and declaration of fiscal obligations is given 25, inclusive, of the month following the month in which the payment is made from the unemployment insurance budget. Basically, the employer will collect from the unemployment insurance budget a gross indemnity, from which he will pay the employees' net indemnity, the rest, representing income tax, state social and health insurance contributions, will be paid to the state.
 

Employees in technical unemployment are automatically insured for medical leave. Even if the employers do not owe and do not pay the insurance contribution for the work, which also contains the contribution that goes to the medical leave fund, the period that the employees spend in technical unemployment represents a contribution period for this type of leave.
 

For the entry into technical unemployment the labor contracts must be suspended in Revisal (art. 52 paragraph 1 letter c)) at least one day before the date of the suspension operation (art. 3 of the GD 905/2017), based on a decision of employer.
 

 

 

The county agencies for employment and those for payments and social inspection process, from April 1, the applications for obtaining technical unemployment.
 

The Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Violeta Alexandru, announced that, starting Wednesday, April 1, applications and declarations can be filed on their own responsibility in order to obtain the support offered by the Government, during the state of emergency, in the form of technical unemployment.
 

The official gave assurances that all the county agencies are ready to take and process these requests quickly and that efforts will be made to pay the amounts requested by the employers within 15 days, and in the case of PFA, contracts of rights of author, sportsman etc. payments will be made in less than 10 days.  

Thus, the employers will send online to the County Employment Agencies (AJOFM), each one in the county where it has its registered office, the documents necessary to obtain the state funds in order to cover the salaries/incomes of their employees who are in technical unemployment. Each AJOFM has a dedicated email address for the retrieval of documents: the name of the numelejudet@anofm.gov.ro (ex: braila@anofm.gov.ro).
 

We mention that these funds can be requested for employees with individual employment contracts registered in REVISAL and who have been suspended according to the Labor Code - Law no. 53/2003, based on art. 52 lit. c), until the state of emergency caused by COVID 19 ceases.
 

The payment of the necessary funds to the employers will be made within a maximum of 15 days, and the payment of the employers to the employees in technical unemployment will be made in 3 days.
 

We specify that the employee in technical unemployment will receive 75% of the basic salary corresponding to the job occupied, but not more than 75% of the gross average wage, and during the period of technical unemployment will be paid CAS, CASS and the related taxes.
 

Employers or employees wishing to obtain additional information regarding the granting of technical unemployment may call: 021 / 4444-000, number with normal tariff.

 

Also from Wednesday, April 1, 2020, the necessary documents for obtaining the funds / financial support from the state can be sent to the County Agencies for Payments and Social Inspection (AJPIS) to cover the income of the following categories affected by the COVID 19 crisis:
 

2. The athletes, respectively those with contracts of sports activity, the coaches, the referees, etc.
 

3. Individuals with copyright and related rights (eg writers, composers, photographers, plastic artists).
 

The basic condition that these categories of people must fulfill in order to benefit from the financial support from the state is the interruption of activity due to the state of emergency determined by COVID 19.
 

Individuals wishing to obtain additional information regarding obtaining state support through ANPIS can call the following telephone numbers: 0786.59.46.87; 0786.56.09.30; 0786.56.09.22; 0786.16.95.92; 0786.39.39.86, and the email addresses of each county, where the documents can be sent can be found here:  http://www.mmanpis.ro/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EMAIL-PLATI-COVID.pdf.
 

The Minister of Labor and Social Protection has stated that the submission of documents, for the period March 16-31, 2020, is made between April 1-10.