Eurofound's COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the crisis, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for case HR-2020-12/391 – Updated – measures in Croatia
Country | Croatia , applies nationwide |
Time period | Temporary, 15 March 2020 – 15 June 2020 |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Income protection beyond short-time work
– Extensions of income support to workers not covered by any kind of protection scheme |
Author | Predrag Bejalovic (IJF) and Eurofound |
Case created | 08 April 2020 (updated 15 December 2020) |
The arts, entertainment and recreation industries are among the most affected activities, since concerts, theater plays and other cultural events are being cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Around 25% of persons active in the sector are self-employed or independent artists, without adequate institutional support, so for them the situation is very challenging. Furthermore, there are many single-person owned companies which are also very vulnerable in the current situation. An appeal to government and local authorities for urgent assistance was launched on 15 March by the Independent theater producers, authors and performers, and the Association of Concert Promoters and signed by more that 1,300 persons, most of whom are freelancers or independent authors in the sector.
The Ministry of Culture announced on 1 April an emergency aid payments for freelance artists whose contributions are paid from the budget of the Republic of Croatia and who can prove that due to special circumstances conditioned by the coronavirus they have been prevented or significantly impeded from performing artistic activities.
The Ministry of Culture allows emergency payments from HRK 1,625 (€217) to HRK 3,250 (€433) net a month to independent artists whose contributions are paid from the budget of the Republic of Croatia and who can prove that due to special circumstances they have been prevented or significantly impeded from performing artistic activities.
The said emergency payment is planned for three months - from 15 March to 15 June 2020 - and will be subject to review each month, depending on the inflow of funds from the state budget.
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
11 December 2020 |
Zagreb photographer Vladimira Spindler, one of the many local independent artists severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis, wrote emails out of desperation about her unfavorable financial situation, to the Minister of Culture, the Head of the City of Zagreb, President and PM. The local government of Zagreb aware of the dire situation in December 2020 decided to give a one-off financial support to young artists on the pressure from the artistic community, the City of Zagreb decided to give a one-off support to young artists in the gross amount of HRK 5,000 (€666.7). A one-off support to young artists is financed from the budget of the City of Zagreb. A one-off support to young artists is financed from the budget of the City of Zagreb. |
05 October 2020 |
The Government decided that for support in the amount up to HRK 4,000.00 (€533,33) per month also persons who independently perform activities within the cultural and creative sector are eligible. They should pay compulsory insurance contributions for pension and health insurance according to the amounts for payment determined by the Tax Administration (independent artists, media workers, etc.). Eligible are persons in the mentioned sector who due to the circumstances such as cancellations of public events, manifestations, plays, events, etc., are left without a source of income. Art organizations registered in accordance with the Act on the Rights of Independent Artists and Support of Artistic Creativity (OG 43/96, 44/96), registered in the register of art organizations with the Ministry of Culture may apply for job preservation only for jobs in which they earn their own income, in accordance with the Financial Operations and Accounting of Non-Profit Organizations Act (OG 121/14). |
The Ministry of Culture invites professional associations and representatives of specific sectors in the field of culture, who will be particularly affected by the social and economic consequences of the epidemic, to integrate all analyzes and preliminary estimates and submit them to the Ministry. The government is preparing a proposal for measures for entrepreneurs who will be able to prove the losses incurred in the context of the epidemic. Given the diversity of artistic fields, the Ministry of Culture calls on all professional associations and representatives of the independent cultural sector, in times of crisis identified as particularly fragile, to submit impact assessments so that the proposed measure is as accurate as possible and adapted to all segments of the independent cultural sector and their creators. Around 1,000 people are believed to request financial support from the Ministry.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Self-employed
|
Solo-self-employed
One person or microenterprises |
Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Other social actors (e.g. NGOs) |
National funds
|
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:
Due to the nature of the measures social partners were not involved, but they usually support any measure that support the living standard of self-employed.
No involvement.
This case is sector-specific (only private sector)
Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
---|---|
R - Arts, Entertainment And Recreation | R90 Creative, arts and entertainment activities |
This case is not occupation-specific.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Support for persons in the sector arts and entertainment , case HR-2020-12/391 (measures in Croatia), COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19eupolicywatch
Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process. All information is preliminary and subject to change.