Background information

The subsidy is approved for a period of up to one year for workers over the age of 50 who had been made redundant due to economic difficulties, and who now work for a new employer. The maximum amount of the annual subsidy is limited according to the size of the new employer's company and the employees' level of formal education.

Due to low interest, this measure has not been incorporated in the measures of the active employment policy since 2020.

Content of measure

The subsidy is approved for a maximum of 12 months to all employees over the age of 50, people with disability and members of specific groups of the society who were made redundant due to business restructuring and now work for another employer, regardless of the size of their new employer's company.

The available public funds range from 50-75% of an employee's gross annual salary. The highest subsidy is allocated to people with disability and the amount of the subsidy is the same regardless of the size of the employer for whom they now work. For those who have completed primary school, the subsidy is up to €4,375 per year, and it increases with the educational attainment of possible user. Unlike subsidies approved for people with disability, the subsidies for workers older than 50 depends on the level of education of the worker in question and the size of the company by which they are employed. Subsidies for employees aged 50 and older with a primary school diploma and who have had permanent work contracts for at least 12 months and are at risk of redundancy are up to €1,750 in a large company and €2,916 in SMEs. For employees aged 50 and over with a high school diploma, the subsidy ranges from €2,233 in a large company to up to €3,722 per year in an SME. The subsidy for employees aged 50 with a university degree is equal for those employed in an SME and a large company – up to €2,792.

Use of measure

There are no separate data for the number of users of this kind of subsidy, but according to the data for all forms of subsidies, the number of users has been relatively small (only few hundred users per year – annual report by the Croatian Employment Service, various years). There has been almost no interest due to the small amount of the subsidy, employers have not been able to understand and apply the measure and there was also almost complete lack of promotion for the measure.

During the first half of 2021, the year-on-year growth of registered unemployment stopped, while in the second half a significant decrease was achieved, so at the average annual level, registered unemployment fell by 9.3%, i.e., from 150,824 persons in 2020 to 136,816 persons in 2021. At the same rate of 9.3%, the number of unemployed men and women decreased. Percentage reduction of the average number of unemployed it was recorded in all age groups, and the most significant in younger age groups (14.7% from 20 to 24 years and 13.4% from 25 to 29 years). Furthermore, the average number of unemployed persons of all educational groups decreased, and the highest among the group of persons without completed elementary school, which was 16.8%. In almost all activities, there was a decrease in the number of unemployed in 2021 compared to 2020, and the most in providing accommodation, preparing and serving food and beverages by 26.6%, administrative and auxiliary service activities by 15.2%, and in in the field of art, entertainment and recreation of 12.5%. Due to the decreases in unemployment, the interest of unemployed persons for various types of subsidies, particularly for this measure, significantly diminished.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Public employment service	Employer National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal

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

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

The representatives of social partners - from representative trade unions, primarily two biggest TU confederations - the Union of Autonomous Trade Union of Croatia (Savez samostalnih sindikata Hrvatske) and Independent Trade Unions of Croatia (Nezavisni hrvatski sindikati) from workers' side and representatives of Croatian Employers’ Association, from employers' side, are members of the Governing board of the Croatian Employment Service. Therefore, in that way they participate in the design, implementation and monitoring of the measure.

Views and reactions

Social partners are fully aware of the importance of the active employment policy and always support its implementation.

Sources

• 03 May 2017: Godišnjak Hrvatskog zavoda za zapošljavanje (Yearly Report by the Croatian Employment Service), 2016 (www.hzz.hr)
• 01 January 2018: Active Employment Policy Measures (gov.hr)
• 09 May 2018: Godišnji izvještaj Hrvatskog zavoda za zapošljavanje (Yearly Report by the Croatian Employment Service), 2017 (www.hzz.hr)
• 05 May 2020: Croatian Employment Service, Yearbook 2019 (www.hzz.hr)
• 07 June 2021: Godisnjak Hrvatskog zavoda za zaposljavanje (Yearly Report by the Croatian Employment Service), 2020 (www.hzz.hr)
• 02 June 2022: Godisnjak Hrvatskog zavoda za zaposljavanje (Yearly Report by the Croatian Employment Service), 2021 (www.hzz.hr)