Background information

The instrument has been added by the national Employment Agency into the national 'Human Resources Development' 2014-2020 programme, in the chapter 'Improving access to employment and quality of jobs'.

This measure is aimed at employers and self-employed in the sector of transport and tourism. Applicants must prove that they have at least a 20% drop in sales revenue and have paid their taxes and social security contributions for 2019. The duration of the measure is six months. The measure is projected to help maintain the employment of more than 22,000 people.

The total amount provided for this measure is BGN 40 million (€20 million).

The measure may be combined with measure 'COVID-19: Income support for workers 60/40'. In this way, sector-specific support can become 80/20.

Content of measure

The measure aims to maintain the employment of workers and self-employed engaged in the sectors - hotels and restaurants, transport and tourism, by providing compensation for part of the salary, taxes and social security contributions in amount of BGN 290 (€148) monthly, for a period up to six months.

The requirement towards the employers, who benefit from the programme, is to sustain the employment of the supported workers and self-insured persons for the entire period of subsidised employment, as well as for an additional period equal to half of the period for which the compensations have been paid. For example, if they receive benefits for six months, they must keep the particular worker at work for at least nine months. This will ensure a relatively sustainable employment of people for a longer period of time.

Use of measure

The measure is projected to help maintain the employment of more than 22,000 people. Interested employers and self-employed persons may submit an application to a local 'Labour Office' directorate. In cases of multiple sites, the employer submits an application to only one directorate. The application shall be submitted on paper, electronically or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt through a licensed postal operator.

The decision of the Council of Ministers is from 26 June 2020. The measure itself came into force on 01 July 2020. There is still no confirmed official information on the number of submitted applications. Data for July will be released in August 2020.

The preliminary assessment of the measure shows that €14.5 million have been paid so far (only Transport and Tourism sectors). The amount was received by 2,055 employers across the country, allowing 27,529 jobs to be maintained in these sectors.

As of the 22 January 2021 the preliminary estimate of the measure for the hotel and restaurant sectors shows that €41 million have been paid to 1,058 employers, which has allowed the retention of about 30,000 jobs so far.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	European Funds National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

The measure was proposed by the social partners and developed during the negotiations in the National Council for National Cooperation. The measure is proposed by the unions.

Views and reactions

The unions fully support the measure. It builds on the existing measure 'COVID-19: Income support for workers 60/40' by focusing on the most affected sectors of the crisis in the Bulgarian economy.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 26 June 2020: МЯРКА ЗА ЗАПАЗВАНЕ НА ЗАЕТОСТТА В СЕКТОРИТЕ "ТРАНСПОРТ" И "ТУРИЗЪМ" (coronavirus.bg)
• 20 July 2020: Short-term employment support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (www.az.government.bg)
• 22 January 2021: Помощта от над 200 млн. лв. за затворените бизнеси се бави (www.mediapool.bg)
• 20 May 2021: Нови мерки в помощ на туризма готви служебният кабине (news.bg)