Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for measure PT-2020-35/1254 – measures in Portugal
Country | Portugal , applies nationwide |
Time period | Open ended, started on 28 August 2020 |
Context | COVID-19 |
Type | Legislations or other statutory regulations |
Category |
Promoting the economic, labour market and social recovery into a green future
– Active labour market policies (enhancing employability, training, subsidised job creation, etc.) |
Author | Heloisa Perista and Maria da Paz Campos Lima (CESIS) |
Measure added | 06 October 2020 (updated 15 October 2020) |
To face the economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government established as one of the priority axes of the Economic and Social Stabilisation Programme (Programa de Estabilização Económica e Social), approved by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers no. 41/2020, of 6 of June, the maintenance of employment and the gradual recovery of economic activity.
The measure ATIVAR.PT Incentive was created in this context. It is framed by a wider package of active labour market policies, the programme ATIVAR.PT - Enhanced Support Programme to Employment and Vocational Training (ATIVAR.PT — Programa Reforçado de Apoios ao Emprego e à Formação Profissional). This Programme aims to ensure an adequate and rapid response with support programmes for hiring and internships, in articulation with programmes for specific sectors and groups. It includes two policy measures: a) ATIVAR.PT Internships; b) ATIVAR.PT Incentive.
The Ordinance 207/2020, of 27 August, regulates the measure ATIVAR.PT Incentive, a support to the hiring of unemployed people oriented to the creation of sustainable employment and to the promotion of the employability of groups more distant from the labour market. This measure introduces reinforced incentives to stimulate the hiring of unemployed persons with low employability, notably young registered unemployed aged 29 years old or less, while providing for a set of transitional mechanisms to respond to the new unemployed and to adapt to the exceptional context that the country is experiencing.
The objectives of the measure ATIVAR.PT Incentive are (article 2):
The measure ATIVAR.PT Incentive, corresponds to a financial incentive to the employer that concludes an employment contract with an unemployed registered for at least six months at the PES (transitory and until 30 June 2021, this period has been reduced to three months), who match specific conditions, notably those who are aged 29 years old or less (article 6). This mandatory period of registration at the PES is reduced to two months when the unemployed aged 29 years old or less.
The private for profit or not for profit employer must meet the following requirements (article 3):
The granting of financial support requires the maintenance of the job for at least 24 months, in the case of an open-ended contract, or the initial contract duration, in the case of a fixed-term contract (article 9).
The employer is obliged to provide vocational training to the hired worker, in one of the following modalities (article 10, paragraph 1):
The employer is entitled to financial support corresponding to (article 11):
This financial support is increased by 30% notably in the case of hiring unemployed persons aged 29 years old or less with an open-ended contract. The financial support is also increased when the job is located in inland areas; and when the person hired belongs to the under-represented sex in that occupation.
The employer that converts, under this Ordinance and respecting specific requirements, a fixed-term contract into an open-ended contract is entitled to a ‘conversion award’. The amount of this award is equal to twice the monthly basic wage defined in the contract, up to the limit of five times the value of the IAS (€2,194.05) (article 12, paragraph 1); transitory, until 30 June 2021, this amount is equal to three times the monthly basic wage defined in the contract, up to the limit of seven times the value of the IAS (€3,071.67).
Not yet estimated.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Unemployed
|
Applies to all businesses |
Youth (18-25)
|
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
National government
Company / Companies Public employment service |
European Funds
National funds |
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Consulted | Consulted |
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:
As stated in the Ordinance regulating the Incentive measure ATIVAR.PT, the social partners represented at the tripartite Standing Committee for Social Concertation were consulted.
Furthermore, this measure will be evaluated by the Standing Committee for Social Concertation within three years from the entry into force of this Ordinance.
Social partners supported the measure.
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Financial support for the hiring of young unemployed - Incentive ATIVAR.PT , measure PT-2020-35/1254 (measures in Portugal), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/PT-2020-35_1254.html
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