The Government today approved a one-month extension of the simplified lay-off, until the end of July, and new support for the resumption of activity that will be in effect from August and until the end of the year.

The measures were foreseen in the Economic Stabilization Program (PEES), created in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic and approved two weeks ago by the Council of Ministers.

The simplified lay-off, which foresees the suspension of the employment contract or the reduction of working hours and the payment of two thirds of the normal gross remuneration, financed 70% by Social Security and 30% by the company, initially ended in June but was extended until the end of July.

As of August, the simplified lay-off will continue to be possible only for companies that remain closed due to legal obligation.

For the remaining companies in difficulties due to the pandemic, new support is planned from August with a view to the gradual resumption of activity, without the possibility of suspending the contract, but only to reduce working hours.

Thus, for companies that have a turnover drop between 40% and 60%, working hours can be reduced up to 50% between August and October, increasing to a maximum of 40% from then on and until the end of the year.

If the revenue breakdown exceeds 60%, the company can reduce workers’ hours by up to 70% from August and up to 60% from October.

The employer pays all hours worked and the State ensures 70% of those not worked.

With this new regime and taking into account the hours worked, as of August the worker starts to receive between 77% and 83% of his remuneration and, from October, between 88% and 92% of his salary.

The measure that replaces the simplified ‘lay-off’ has as its main assumptions “the progressive convergence of the worker’s remuneration to 100% of his salary” as well as the “payment by the company of all hours worked”, it can be read in the PEES.

In turn, companies that have benefited from the simplified ‘lay-off’ regime can have an extraordinary financial incentive to normalize business activity, choosing one of two modalities: a minimum wage (635 euros) paid once or two wages minimum payments over six months.

The new regime approved today by the Government also provides for the progressive reduction of the exemption from the Single Social Rate (TSU).

As of August, the large lay-off companies will pay TSU in full, while micro, small and medium-sized companies will maintain the exemption and, from October, they will pay 50% of the fee until the end of the year. end of year.

The extension of the simplified lay-off and the new support will cost 2.5 billion euros, said the Prime Minister, António Costa, in the presentation of the PEES two weeks ago.

The Council of Ministers also approved the stabilization complement, with the objective of providing extraordinary support to workers who had a reduction in income as a result of the pandemic.

This is a measure to be paid in July, in the amount of the loss of income of a month of lay-off, in an amount that can vary between 100 and 351 euros, to all workers with February income up to two minimum wages and who have registered a loss of base salary (that is, they have a base salary higher than the minimum wage), who were in ‘lay-off’ in one of the months between April and June.

The measure costs 70 million euros.