Meet the Law | Covid-19: Extraordinary and Urgent Measures having an Impact on Labour Relations

At the end of yesterday the Council of Ministers published a communication in which it presented the guidelines for a set of extraordinary and urgent measures in response to the epidemiological situation of the new Coronavirus - COVID-19.

Although these measures still need to be regulated, please find below a sum on the measures with an impact on legal-labour relations, which will be complemented with additional information as soon as published.

1. Attribution of justified absences, for employees who have to stay at home with their children up to the age of 12, due to the suspension of school activities and cannot resort to teleworking. It should be noted that this measure will cover one parent and NEVER both at the same time;
2. Exceptional financial support to employees, amounting to 66% of the basic remuneration (33% from the employer, 33% from Social Security);
3. Exceptional financial support for self-employed workers, who have to stay at home with their children up to 12 years old, equal to 1/3 of the average salary, with a limit of 2,5 IAS (EUR 438.81 X 2.5= EUR 1,097.02);
4. Extraordinary support for the reduction of the economic activity of the self-employed and postponement of the payment of contributions to which they are obliged for a period after the control of the pandemic;
5. Creation of an extraordinary professional training support, in the amount of 50% of the employee's remuneration up to the national minimum wage (EUR 635,00), plus the cost of training, for the situations of employees without work in productive activities for considerable periods;
6. Guarantee of social protection for trainees and trainers in the course of training activities, as well as for beneficiaries engaged in active employment policies who are prevented from attending training activities;
7. Equal treatment in case of sickness and prophylactic isolation for 14 days for employees and self-employed workers in the general social security system, motivated by situations of serious risk to public health decreed by the entities exercising the power of health authority. With this amendment, employees who are declared by the health authority to be in prophylactic isolation will have ensured that 100% of the reference pay is paid during the respective period (this scheme has already been regulated and we have published our own information on it);
8. Sickness benefit is not subject to a waiting period (of 3 and 10 days);
9. The granting of childcare allowances to children and grandchildren in the event of prophylactic isolation without a guarantee period;
10. Simplified 'Lay off': Extraordinary support for the maintenance of employment contracts in companies in business crisis, amounting to 2/3 of the remuneration, with Social Security paying 70% of this amount, and the remainder being borne by the employer.