I am an employer
What will change for me as an employer during the extension from the 13th of July up to and including the 12th of October, 2021?
- The ban on work is abolished. This allows you to (fully) bring your employees back to the workplace, while you still receive support for paying the wage costs.
- The percentage that is reimbursed goes down. While currently 80% of the wage costs are subsidized, during the extension you will receive 60%.
- No more new employees may be registered. The regulation will only be continued for employees who were already covered by the emergency regulation on the reference date 24th of June, 2021.
Do I have to do anything to make use of the extension?
No. The subsidy will continue for employees who were in the regulation on the reference date 24th of June, 2021. There must be at least a 20% loss of turnover and the employees concerned must still be employed by you.
Do I have to report changes during the extension?
You do not have to report changes about the deployment of your employees. After all, you may fully deploy the employees for whom you receive the wage cost subsidy, while retaining the subsidy.
Only if you no longer employ employees for whom you receive support, or if you no longer meet the requirement of 20% loss of turnover as a result of the corona crisis, you must report this to the SZW unit of RCN. Failure to notify changes may have legal consequences.
Can I place employees who I have brought under the regulation on a part-time basis in the regulation on a full-time basis during the extension?
No. You may not scale up the use of the emergency regulation compared to the reference date 24th of June, 2021.
I use the ‘flexibilization for most affected entrepreneurs'. Will this continue during the extension?
Existing flexibilizations or exceptions no longer apply. After all, during the extension you can fully deploy your employees while retaining the subsidy.
Can I dismiss staff because sales are down?
The regular provisions with regard to dismissal are applicable again during the third phase of the emergency regulation. This means that you can request dismissal at the RCN unit SZW or at the court. You must demonstrate that the expiry of the job in question is unavoidable. When reviewing the request for dismissal, the specific situation and the availability of emergency arrangements will be taken into consideration.
The emergency regulation does not fully compensate for labor costs. Do I have to pay the remaining amount myself?
To be entitled to the emergency regulation, you are obliged to pay your employee(s) at least the amount that SZW pays you. NOTE: The emergency regulation does not set aside the provisions of the Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek BES). The application of the Civil Code lies in the private law sphere, over which the RCN-unit SZW has no control. We advise you to discuss the remaining part of the wages with your employee(s) and to make joint agreements about this. This helps to understand each other's position and to weigh in on the business economic interest versus the continuity of the income of the employee(s). (You can look this up in article 1614d, Burgerlijk Wetboek BES).
Do I have to continue to pay my usual employer contributions?
Yes.
What should I do if an employee for whom I receive compensation becomes ill or goes on maternity leave during the extension?
You cannot make use of the Emergency Regulation SZW and the loss of wages benefit for the same employee at the same time. Contact us to discuss what the best option is in your situation. This can be done via our e-mail address NoodregelingSZW@RijksdienstCN.com or by telephone (Bonaire: 781 5555 or 781 5556, Saba: 416 5652, Sint Eustatius: 790 0052).
When will I receive the allowance?
In the event of an allocation, the SZW unit of RCN will pay you the allowance on a monthly basis. The legal payment term to receive the first payment is up to five weeks. The SZW unit of RCN strives to pay you faster.
What happens if I do not pay the amount I receive from SZW to my employee(s)?
In that case you are committing a crime. This has legal consequences.