Background information

By virtue of the Legislative Act 20 March 2020 "Urgent measures to address the consequences of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, to support the society and entrepreneurship, and to safeguard the smooth operation of the market and public administration" and as was amended by Art. 25 'Financial support measures for freelancers, self-employed and sole propriators who are affected by COVID-19 pandemic' of the Legislative Act 30 March 2020 "Measures to combat the pandemic of coronavirus COVID-19 and other urgent provisions", freelancers, self-employed and sole proprietors are entitled to a special state benefit of €800. In addition, according to Art. 8, LA - 20.03.2020 as amended by art. 25, LA - 30.03.2020 & Δ.15/Δ'/οικ.21552/681/26.6.2020, employees and the self-employed receiving the 800-euro handout will be given a suspension of social security contributions pertaining to May 2020.

Content of measure

By virtue of the Legislative Act 20 March 2020 "Urgent measures to address the consequences of the spread of COVID-19 coronavirus, to support the society and entrepreneurship, and to safeguard the smooth operation of the market and public administration" and as was amended by Art. 25 'Financial support measures for freelancers, self-employed and sole propriators who are affected by COVID-19 pandemic' of the Legislative Act 30 March 2020 "Measures to combat the pandemic of coronavirus COVID-19 and other urgent provisions", freelancers, self-employed and sole proprietors, who are affected by COVID-19, are entitled to a special state benefit of 800 Euros for the period 15/03 – 30/4/2020. Social security contributions on the nominal amount of the salary for the aforementioned period is covered by the State.

The special state benefit is exempted from tax, seizure and shall not be offset against any liability. In addition, according to Art. 8, LA - 20.03.2020 as amended by art. 25, LA - 30.03.2020 & Δ.15/Δ'/οικ.21552/681/26.6.2020, employees and the self-employed receiving the €800 handout will be given a suspension of social security contributions pertaining to May 2020. The payment of said contributions will be made in four monthly instalments starting in October 2020.

Use of measure

According to data of the Ministry of Development & Investments 480,810 freelancers, self-employed and individual business owners and legal entities employing 0-20 employees received the special purpose compensation of EUR 800, for the period 17 March to 30 April 2020. The overall cost was € 384,000.000, out of a total budget of € 500,000.000, and it was financed by the Partnership Agreement (PA) 2014-2020 through the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) resources. According to an announcement of the Ministry of Finance 178,538 freelancers, self-employed and individual business owners and legal entities employing 0-20 employees received (July 2020) the exceptional financial support of € 534 or € 300, for the time period 1 May to 31 May 2020, (Joint Ministerial Decision 134/16-06-2020). The total budget is approximately EUR 110,000.000, borne by the state budget

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Self-employed	Solo-self-employed SMEs One person or microenterprises	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies	European Funds National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

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

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

There was no involvement.

Views and reactions

According to the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsmen & Merchants (GSEVEE), as one of the social partners, they did not participate, at least at an official level, in the planning of the measures. Besides, the time for the planning and implementation of the measures was minimal. However, although there was no consultation, the Confederation's proposals concerning the improvement of the procedures and the broadening of the scope of business support measures were, in general, adopted by the Government and the competent Ministries. For the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) this measure was also a result of social partners’ pressure towards this direction since it was clear, at least from ESEE’s point of view, that the lock down impact had to be somehow offset by state’s aid. Of course, the amount of cash flow was not exactly generous, but budget restrictions and other supportive measures taken by the public sector had also to be considered. ESEE, did not propose a specific amount of aid but underlined the need for a bold support by the government as well as to retain this measure for the necessary period of time.

Sources

• 20 March 2020: Act of Legislative Content on “Urgent measures to address the consequences of the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, to support society and entrepreneurship and to ensure the smooth functioning of the market and public administration.” (O.G A’ 68/20-3-2020) (www.e-nomothesia.gr)
• 30 May 2020: Legislative Act 30.03.2020 (www.et.gr)
• 27 June 2020: Circular Δ.15/Δ'/οικ.21552/681/26.6.2020 (www.taxheaven.gr)
• 18 September 2020: Law 4722/2020 (www.taxheaven.gr)
• 17 November 2020: Financial assistance to lawyers, engineers and economist (www.odigostoupoliti.eu)
• 29 December 2020: Reimbursement of insurance contribution (www.odigostoupoliti.eu)