On 3 February 2021, the Slovenian National Assembly adopted the Eighth Anti-Corona Act[1], which will enter into force the next day after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia. The Eighth Anti-Corona Act provides for the following measures relevant for employment relationships:
- Partial reimbursement of salary compensations
The measure of partial reimbursement of salary compensations for employers who order employees to wait for work at home due to the implications of the epidemic has been prolonged for all industries until 30 April 2021. The measure may be further prolonged by the government twice for one month respectively, i.e. until 30 June 2021 at the latest.
Employers are eligible for partial reimbursement of salary compensations if they anticipate that their revenue in 2021 will decrease by more than 20 % compared to 2019 and 2020, respectively. Employers who did not operate during the entire year 2019, 2020 or 2021, are eligible if they anticipate that their average monthly revenue in 2021 will decrease by more than 20 % compared to the average monthly revenue in 2019, 2020 or 2021.
Employees who are ordered to wait for work at home remain entitled to salary compensation in the amount of 80 % of their average salary in the last three months, but not less than EUR 1,024.24 gross. The State will reimburse 80 % of paid salary compensations to employers, whereby no more than the amount of average monthly salary in October 2020 (i.e., EUR 1,821.44 gross) shall be reimbursed. The employers can apply for reimbursement of 100 % of paid salary compensations, provided that the total amount of received public funds will not exceed EUR 800,000 which includes the amount of public funds received so far. Employers who are prohibited from carrying out their business activities in accordance with government decrees are entitled to reimbursement of salary compensations with all taxes and contributions of the employer (i.e., gross II).
Employers who claimed partial reimbursement of salary compensations and later determined that they do not meet the revenue decrease condition, must notify the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (“FURS”) no later than by the deadline for submitting corporate income tax for 2021 (i.e. by 31 March 2022). In such case the amount of received reimbursements must be repaid within 30 days from the receipt of the decision issued by FURS. Statutory default interest will not be charged if the 30-day repayment period is respected.
The employers will be obliged to repay the reimbursement received under the Eight Anti-Corona Act if they distribute profits, buy their own shares, pay rewards or part of the salary for business performance to the management after 1 February 2021. The employers still cannot initiate termination procedures due to business reasons against employees for whom the reimbursement was granted, otherwise they will be obliged to repay the received amounts.
- Measures related to the increase of minimum wage
In line with the recently amended Minimum Wage Act, the formula for calculation of minimum wage has been amended from 1 January 2021 onwards. The minimum wage for 2021 shall amount to EUR 1,024.24 gross.
The increased minimum wage will also increase salary costs, which is why the Eight Anti-Corona Act introduces the following measures for employers:
- (i) Subsidies
Employers are entitled to a monthly subsidy in the amount of EUR 50 for each employee whose basic salary does not reach the amount of the minimum wage. The subsidy shall apply to work performed from 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021.
To receive the subsidy, the employer must submit a statement electronically through the information system of FURS. The statement must be submitted by the end of the month for the preceding month, in any case no later than the end of July 2021.
Employers are not eligible for the subsidy if they are direct or indirect users of the State budget or municipal budgets, as well as if they are organized as foreign diplomatic missions and consulates, international organizations, representatives of international organizations and institutions or bodies and agencies of the EU in the Republic of Slovenia.
The employers will be obliged to repay received subsidies if they distribute profits, buy their own shares, pay rewards or part of the salary for business performance to the management in 2021 or for 2021. During the period of receiving the subsidy and for three months thereafter, the employers are prohibited from initiating termination procedures due to business reasons against employees for whom subsidy was granted, as well as from terminating employment relationships with a larger number of employees due to business reasons, unless the redundancy programme was adopted before the Eight Anti-Corona Act entered into force.
- (ii) Reduction of the minimum basis for payment of social security contributions
The minimum basis for payment of social security contributions from salaries paid from July to December 2021 has been reduced from 60 % of the average monthly salary in the Republic of Slovenia[2] to the amount of minimum wage.
- Crisis allowance for December 2020
Many employees received part of salary for business performance together with their salary for December 2020, which is why their salaries exceeded the threshold for payment of crisis allowance. In line with the Eight Anti-Corona Act such employees will be entitled to receive the crisis allowance for December 2020 provided that their salary for November 2020 did not exceed twice the amount of minimum wage (excluding any payments due to business performance). Payment of outstanding crisis allowance must be performed together with payment of salary for January 2021.
If you have any questions related to this newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact:
→ slovenia@karanovicpartners.com
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Please note that this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal advice.
New measures and amendments to the legislation due to Covid-19 epidemic are presented by Government of the Republic of Slovenia on a daily basis, therefore the newsletter will be subject to further amendments and updates. We will keep you informed about all relevant updates.
