First aid + +

In October 2020, the government launched a project entitled First Aid Plus, which expanded the First Aid project. The aim of the new First Aid Plus project was to increase and extend financial assistance provided to protect jobs and to widen the scope of eligible applicants.

As of February 2021, the First Aid Plus project is supposed to be modified again. The aim of the proposal is to expand the target groups and to increase the amount of financial assistance provided. In addition, further extension of the project implementation until 30 June 2021 is proposed.

Entities eligible for assistance are those  which started working or doing business prior to 1 February 2021. The contribution can be used for employees hired to work prior to 1 February 2021.

Assistance for employers, including self-employed persons who are employers

Under the original project conditions, employers, including self-employed persons who are employers, could apply for assistance under measures 1 and 3 as follows:

• Measure No. 1 – assistance to employers forced to shut down their operations
• Measure No. 3A – assistance to employers unable to assign work
• Measure No. 3B – assistance to employers who experienced a sales drop

Once the First Aid Plus Plus project is launched, contributions paid under measures 1 and 3 should be increased as follows:

Measures no. 1 and 3A – assistance provided for the period during which the employer cannot assign work to an employee increases from 80% of total labour costs to 100% of total labour costs.

Measure	First Aid +	First Aid + +
Measure 1	80 % TLC max. €1,100	100 % TLC max. €1,100
Measure 3A	80 % TLC max. €1,100	100 % TLC max. €1,100

The maximum amount of the contribution under measures 1 and 3A remains unchanged – EUR 1,100.

 

Measure no. 3B – the number of sales drop categories increases from 4 to 7 ranging from EUR 330 to EUR 870. The maximum contribution in the event of a sales drop of 80% or higher increases from EUR 810 to 870.

Measure	First Aid + (October and the following months)		First Aid + + (February 2021 and the following months)
Measure 3B	Sales drop		Sales drop
	from 20 %	€270	from 20 %	€330
			from 30 %	€420
	from 40 %	€450	from 40 %	€510
			from 50 %	€600
	from 60 %	€630	from 60 %	€690
			from 70 %	€780
	from 80 %	€810	from 80 %	€870

 

Improved conditions under measures 1, 3A and 3B will apply to Applications and Reports submitted for the month of February 2021 and the following months with a maximum amount of EUR 1.6 million per enterprise. Once this threshold has been reached, the enterprise may continue receiving a contribution in the amount of 80% of total labour costs.

Contributions for self-employed persons and natural persons

Self-employed persons who are not employers could apply for contributions under the original First Aid project under measures 2 and 4 as follows:

• Measure 2 – assistance to self-employed persons forced to shut down their operations or with a sales drop
• Measure 4A and 4B – assistance to selected groups of self-employed persons, liberal professions and single-person businesses

Under the new First Aid Plus Plus project, financial contributions have been increased as follows:

Measure no. 2 – sales drop categories have been changed and the flat contribution has been increased, ranging from EUR 330 to 870.

Measure	First Aid + (October and the following months)		First Aid + + (February 2021 and the following months)
Measure 2	Sales drop		Sales drop
	from 20 %	€270	from 20 %	€330
			from 30 %	€420
	from 40 %	€450	from 40 %	€510
			from 50 %	€600
	from 60 %	€630	from 60 %	€690
			from 70 %	€780
	from 80 %	€810	from 80 %	€870

Measure No. 4A and 4B – based on the new conditions, the flat contribution for self-employed persons with no entrepreneurial income increased from the original EUR 315 to EUR 360.

Measure	First Aid +         (October and the following months)	First Aid + + (February 2021 and the following months)
Measures 4A and 4B	€315	€360

Increased contributions under measures no. 2 and 4 will apply to Applications and Reports submitted for the month of February 2021 and the following months.

In relation to measures no. 4A and 4B, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family informs self-employed persons of the possibility to switch to measure no. 2, which means that self-employed persons will receive a higher financial contribution of EUR 870. To be able to do so, the self-employed person must conclude a voluntary sickness and pension insurance by 15 February 2021 and apply for a contribution under measure no. 2.