Background information

The legislative background of this measure is the Act No. 5/2004 on Employment services, as amended, Section 54. The measure is provided as a National Project within the Operational Programme Human Resources, Priority Axis 3: Employment. The applications for financial support have been accepted since 15 July 2020. Since October 2020, the measure has been included in the First Aid Plus programme.

Content of measure

Due to pandemic, preschools had to be closed from 13 March 2020. Some of them were closed to 30 June 2020. Since 15 July 2020 employers (the preschools or preschool providers) can apply for financial support for this period of closure. Eligible employers receive 80% of employee's gross monthly wage. The support is limited to the maximum of €1,100 a month per one employee. The target group include: preschool teachers and professional staff (such as teacher's assistant) and support employees at preschools who started their employment on 1 March 2020 as the latest. The employers are obliged to retain these jobs at least three months after they apply for the support. The applications are accepted and support is paid by the Offices of Labour, Social Affairs and Family. Financial sources and methodical support are provided by the Ministry of Education.

Use of measure

According to the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family 23,967 jobs were saved in 2,698 preschools across Slovakia (including Bratislava region) at total amount of €58,767,582. It made about 90% of applicants by 13 January 2021.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment Particular professions	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government Public employment service	European Funds National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

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

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

The information on social partners' involvement is not available.

Views and reactions

The information on social partners' reactions and views on the measure is not available.

Sectors and occupations

Sources

• 15 July 2020: Predlžujeme prvú pomoc, podporíme aj materské škol (www.employment.gov.sk)
• 03 September 2020: Podpora udržania zamestnanosti v materských školác (www.minedu.sk)
• 01 October 2020: Oznámenie o predkladaní žiadostí - Podpora udržania zamestnanosti v materských školách (www.neprepustaj.sk)
• 28 October 2020: Prvá pomoc plus (web.archive.org)
• 20 January 2021: Pomohli sme 24 000 zamestnancom materských škôl sumou 58,8 mil. eu (www.employment.gov.sk)