Reliefs for employers – current state

27. May 2020 | Reading Time: 3 Min

Reliefs for employers – current state

Antivirus A and B – contributions to firms for covering salaries – extension until the end of August – approved by the government

The government will extend until the end of August the Antivirus program with contributions to cover salaries. The program was originally to cover the period from the declaration of the state of emergency on 12th March to the end of May 2020, as we informed you in the special edition of our Newsletter No. 11.

The government will provide from Antivirus two types of contributions for salary compensation to firms on which the restrictions due to coronavirus have fallen. They can receive 80% of the salary compensation paid to people in quarantine or during closure of operations = regime A, or 60% of salary in the event of a shortage of workers, raw materials or drop in demand = regime B.

Antivirus C – Pardoning of social insurance payments – approved by the government, awaiting approval at the Parliament and the President’s signature.

On 25th May, the government approved the proposal by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs for further aid to firms. This is the so-called regime C of the Antivirus program, i.e. pardoning of social insurance payments for firms with up to 50 employees. Firms will be pardoned payment of part of social insurance – the part paid by the employer (i.e. 24.8%) for the months of June, July and August 2020.

The process is announced to be easy in terms of administration. Employers will not present a request but will in the monthly report only notify the Administration of Social Security of a reduction of the contribution basis and will pay reduced insurance.

The conditions for pardoning of insurance payments:

  • The employer has a maximum of 50 employees employed who participate in sickness insurance. The number of employees is ascertained as at the last day of March.
  • The employer will not lay off more than 10 % of the employees and will likewise maintain 90 % of the salary volume as in March 2020.
  • The employer has paid insurance for the employees (i.e. the part paid by the employees) on time.
  • The employer does not draw funds from the Antivirus program in regime B (hindrances in work from the employer’s side) in the pertinent calendar month.

The proposal of the Act will be negotiated by the Parliament in a state of legislative emergency, and after the President of the Republic has signed it, the Act will take effect on the day it is declared.

Postponement of social insurance payment – approved

A further updated piece of information to our Newsletter No. 11 is the confirmation that the Senate approved on 20. 5. 2020 the government proposal of the Act on reduction of penalties for late payments of social insurance and social security paid by the employer (sněmovní tisk č. 860)

This Act enables employers to postpone social insurance payments for the employer for the months of May to July 2020. Should the conditions be fulfilled, late payment will be penalized at a reduced rate amounting approximately to 4 % p.a.

The conditions for reduction of the penalty rate:

1) Timely payment of insurance for employees (i.e. employees’ part of the insurance and social security)

2) Payment of due amounts by 20th October at the latest (i.e. employers part)

In the event that the conditions are not fulfilled, a penalty at the full amount, i.e. 18% p.a. will be imposed.

Firms which utilize the postponement will not be listed as debtors; they can be issued with a confirmation of no outstanding payments.

Care-giver’s allowance after the re-opening of schools

All parents who for objective and serious reasons cannot allow their child to go to school or nursery school will continue to have a right to a care-giver’s allowance until 30th June 2020. These reasons are defined as:

  • Health: The child is susceptible to illnesses, has allergies or lives in the same household as someone from a high-risk group.
  • Capacity: The facility cannot accept all children.
  • Operational: The opening hours of the facility cannot be connected with the parents’ working hours.

In the event that the parents, for objective reasons, do not place their children in a school facility, they are to mark out this fact on the Care Report, which the Czech Social Security Administration has newly amended for this purpose.

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