Last Updated on 6 April 2020, 11:00 CET
The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia adopted new COVID-19 intervention measures by passing the “Anti-Corona” act[1], which supplements and partially repeals intervention measures already in force.
In relation to the majority of measures, the “Anti-Corona” act will be applied retroactively from 13 March 2020 onwards and shall remain in force until 31 May 2020. In case the epidemic will not be revoked by mid-May 2020, the validity of the “Anti-Corona” act may be prolonged by the end of June 2020. Below you will find an overview of measures that were amended or newly introduced:
Reimbursement of Salary Compensations
Salary compensations for all employees ordered to wait for work at home, as well as all employees who cannot work due to force majeure, will be reimbursed by the State in full.
Salary compensations for both types of employees amount to 80% of the average salary in the last three months, but not less than EUR 940.58 gross. Although there is no cap on salary compensations, no more than the amount of average monthly salary in 2019 (minus contributions) shall be reimbursed per employee.
An eligible employer shall be any employer on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, which fulfils the following conditions:
- is not a direct or indirect user of state or municipality budget, whose share of revenues from public sources in 2019 was higher than 70%;
- is not pursuing a financial or insurance activity listed under group K of the standard classification of activities;
- anticipates at least a 20% decrease in January-June 2020 revenues and no more than a 50% growth in revenues during the July-December 2020 period, both in comparison to the respective periods in 2019;
- if the employer did not operate in 2019, it shall be eligible for reimbursement if its March 2020 revenues are at least 25% lower in comparison to February 2020, or its April or May 2020 revenues are at least 50% lower than revenues in February 2020;
- its employees were ordered to wait for work at home or were unable to perform work due to force majeure in a period from 13 March until 31 May 2020;
- shall not distribute profits, pay management bonuses and/or business performance bonuses in 2020 (applicable for payments from the date the “Anti-Corona” act enters into force);
- dully and timely fulfils its tax obligations;
- has filed all tax return forms for the last five years as per the day the application for reimbursement is filed;
- is not subject to bankruptcy proceedings.
The right to reimbursement shall be claimed by filing an electronic application on the website of the Employment Service of Slovenia. More details on the application procedure will be published soon. It is advisable that the first step – the registration of an employer at the website – is made as soon as possible, as it may take some time for the registration to be processed. The relevant website for registration of employers can be found here.
Deadlines for filing applications are:
- 8 days from ordering employees to wait for work at home or from the day the employee could not perform work due to force majeure, but not later than by 31 May 2020;
- 8 days from the day the “Anti-Corona” act enters into force (yet to be announced), if the employer already ordered employees to wait for work at home or if the employees were unable to perform work due to force majeure before the “Anti-Corona” act entered into force (in such case the right to reimbursement may be claimed from no earlier than 13 March 2020 onwards).
All applications filed pursuant to the Intervention Act[2] shall be evaluated in line with the “Anti-Corona” act, which means that in order for employers to be eligible for reimbursement, they must, in any case, fulfil the conditions of eligibility indicated above.
Employees ordered to wait for work at home may be called back to work seven consecutive days per month. It is yet to be explained by the competent ministry whether rotation of employees ordered to wait for work at home will have any impact on eligibility for reimbursements.
Exemption from Payment of Social Contributions
From 13 March to 31 May 2020 all social security contributions for the employees ordered to wait for work at home, as well as all employees who cannot work due to force majeure, shall be paid by the State, however only up to the amount of salary compensation, which does not exceed the amount of average monthly salary in the Republic of Slovenia for 2019.
Exemption from Payment of Disability and Pension Insurance Contributions
All disability and pension insurance contributions due in April and May 2020 for employees working during the validity of the “Anti-Corona” act will be paid by the State.
Sick Leave Compensations
Salary compensation for employees on sick leave will be borne by the State from the first day onwards, applicable from the date the “Anti-Corona” act enters into force until 31 May 2020.
Crisis Supplement
Together with salaries for April and May 2020, employers must pay the “crisis supplement” in the amount of EUR 200 (free of taxes and contributions) to all employees who are working during this period and whose gross salary does not exceed triple the amount of minimum wage in Slovenia. The exemption applies to employers which directly or indirectly use state or municipal budget and employers engaged in financial and insurance activities under group K of the standard classification of activities.
[1] The Act on the intervention measures to stem and mitigate the consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) communicable disease epidemic for citizens and the economy.
[2] The Act on Intervention Measures to Salaries and Contributions (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 36/2020).
