Factsheet for measure
LV-2020-11/595
–
Updated
– measures in Latvia
Additional child-bonus for employees entitled to the allowance for idle time
Papildus maksājums dīkstāves pabalstu saņēmējiem par katru bērnu vai apgādībā esošu personu
Background information
On 9 March 2020, the government adopted amendments to Cabinet Regulations No. 165, introducing an additional children-related bonus for employees receiving allowance for idle time.
Allowance for idle time in general is described in Section 14 of the law 'On Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Threat to the State and Its Consequences Due to the Spread of COVID-19' (adopted on 20 March 2020, valid from 22 March 2020).
The conditions of eligibility for the allowance are set by the Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 165, 'Regulations Regarding the Employers Affected by the Crisis Caused by COVID-19 which are Eligible for the Allowance for Idle Time and Division of the Payment for Late Tax Payments in Installments or Deferral Thereof for up to Three Years'.
Content of measure
An employee who receives the allowance for idle time is granted also with an additional bonus of the amount of €50 for each dependent child in age 24 years old if, at the moment of awarding the allowance for idle time, the personal income tax relief for the child is applied to the employee.
The additional payment is made by the State Social Security agency for the period in which the employee is entitled to the idle time allowance.
The State Social Security agency is informed about the persons receiving the allowance for the idle time from the State Revenue Service. The additional payment is transferred to the employee's bank account to which the idle time allowance is transferred.
In addition, entitlements to the parental benefit expiring during the state of emergency are extended for the duration of the state of emergency (capped at €700) for persons who are not able to return to work and gain income due to the emergency circumstances.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
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30 June 2021
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The support period for the measures to which this support relates ended on 30 June 2021. Consequently, this support also ended on 30 June 2021.
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15 January 2021
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On 15 January 2021 the Government ruled, that measures this support is tied to, will be available until 30 June 2021, but not longer than the period during which the statutory restrictions on economic activities related to epidemiological precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 infection are in force.
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28 November 2020
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On 28 November 2020 the Government adopted new regulations Nr. 709 “On support for taxpayers for downtime to continue their activities during the COVID-19 crisis”. These regulations set out the criteria and procedures for the provision of idle time support to taxpayers – employees and self-employed.
The new regulations sets in force re-introduced idle time allowance for employees (
See case at COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch
) and idle time allowance for self employed. (
See case at COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch
).
Additional child-bonus now is tied together with these support measures, and will be in force as long as the measures are available.
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Use of measure
During the first wave of the pandemic (April 2020 to July 2020) the support has been paid 27,967 times (to 6,989 persons per month on average) in the total amount of €1.58 million.
During the second wave of the pandemic (December 2020 to July 2021) the support has been paid 56,226 times (to 6,247 persons per month on average) in the total amount of €4.06 million.
Target groups
Actors and funding
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Actors
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Funding
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National government
Social insurance
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National funds
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Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
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Trade unions
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Employers' organisations
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Role
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Consulted
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Consulted
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Form
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Direct consultation outside a formal body
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Direct consultation outside a formal body
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Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
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Unknown
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Main level of involvement: Unknown
Involvement
Top level social partner organisations – the Latvian Employers’ confederation and the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia – on 17 March 2020 has published 'Statement on support for government action to limit the spread of COVID-19 and reduce the impact of the crisis on Latvian companies and workers'. The social partners emphasized the need for cooperation of government, businesses, workers and citizens to ensure that everything we do helps to address this crisis.
Views and reactions
As far as we know, social partners participate in discussions on measures for the prevention and suppression of the spread of COVID-19 and on crisis impact on economy. However, specific opinions of social partners are not published.
Sources
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09 April 2020: Law On Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Threat to the State and Its Consequences Due to the Spread of COVID-19
(likumi.lv)
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09 April 2020: Regulation of the Cabinet of Ministers Nr. 165 “Regulations Regarding the Employers Affected by the Crisis Caused by COVID-19 which are Eligible for the Allowance for Idle Time and Division of the Payment for Late Tax Payments in Instalments or Deferral Thereof for up to Three Years”
(likumi.lv)
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10 June 2020: Law on the Suppression of Consequences of the Spread of COVID-19 Infection
(likumi.lv)
