Background information

On 30 April 2020, the government issued the second COVID-19 Law ('Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Contain the COVID-19 Epidemic and Mitigate its Consequences for Citizens and the Economy', ZIUZEOP-A). Article 61.a recognizes to persons who lost their employment due to the pandemic (after 13 March 2020), but do not fulfil the requirements for unemployment benefits, the right to ‘temporary unemployment benefits’. The measure is limited to the period of emergency measures.

Content of measure

The measure (exceptional unemployment benefit) aims to prevent social hardship of persons who lost their employment during the lockdown, but do not meet the ordinary requirements for unemployment benefits, determined in the Labour Market Regulation Act. Eligible are people who lost their employment for business reasons or termination of a fixed-term employment contract.

The applicant must be registered with the Employment Service of Slovenia. The maximum unemployment benefit is limited to €513,64 per month. On top of this, ‘temporary unemployment benefit’ covers all social security contributions. The Employment Service of Slovenia is charged to manage the applications for this measure.

Use of measure

From 4 May to 15 June 2020, the Employment Service of Slovenia received 1,930 requests for temporary unemployment benefits. Up to 15 June 2020, employment Service issued decisions on 80% of applications. Among these, about 500 applications were refused and 800 approved. Employment Service of Slovenia approved temporary unemployment benefits to 954 people. Its average value was €513.64 and the total sum paid off €907,000. It is much less than expected. The ministry of labour reserved €4 million for about 2,500 dismissed persons. Trade unions whose idea was the temporary unemployment benefit, are nevertheless satisfied. Jakob Počivalšek, the secretary of the Confederation PERGAM thinks that the measure should be reactivated during the second wave of the epidemic and that all workers regardless of the type of work contract should be eligible not only those working on an employment contract

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Unemployed	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Direct consultation outside a formal body	Direct consultation outside a formal body

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

• Only employers' organisations
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

Up to 15 May 2020, social partners communicated with the government mostly by the written proposals. Negotiations between social partners were blocked because the new government, which came to power on 13 March 2020 had not appointed its members in the Economic and Social Council. On 20 April, trade unions protested against the exclusion of social partners in the preparation of emergency laws. They demanded the reactivation of the Economic and Social Council. The first meeting of the Economic and Social Council was held not before 15 May 2020. Since 15 May, the Council is involved in negotiations about next emergency laws.

Views and reactions

In their written comments on the first emergency law (ZIUZEOP ), seven confederations of trade unions demanded unemployment benefits for persons whose employment was terminated during the pandemic. They wrote that persons whose fixed-term employment contract expired during the lockdown should also receive temporary unemployment benefit. Their proposals were included in the second emergency law (ZIUZEOP-A, issued on 10 March 2020).

Sources

• 25 March 2020: Seven confederations of trade unions, Letter to the governmen (www.zsss.si)
• 30 April 2020: Zakon o interventnih ukrepih za zajezitev epidemije COVID-19 in omilitev njenih posledic za državljane in gospodarstvo, ZIUZEOP-A [Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Contain the COVID-19 Epidemic and Mitigate its Consequences for Citizens and the Economy (www.uradni-list.si)
• 15 June 2020: Employment Service of Slovenia, The first payment of temporary unemployment benefi (www.ess.gov.si)
• 09 August 2020: [Less money spent for exceptional unemployment benefits than planned] Za krizna nadomestila za brezposelnost manj kot četrtina predvidenega denarj (www.primorske.si)
• 30 December 2020: Act Determining Intervention Measures to Assist in Mitigating the Consequences of the Second Wave of COVID-19 Epidemic (Zakon o interventnih ukrepih za pomoč pri omilitvi posledic drugega vala epidemije COVID-19, ZIUPOPDVE (pisrs.si)