Тhe large number of companies in the restaurant sector will receive compensation for restrictions on activities without submitting an application. The business can apply for the employees re-employment support from 5 June 2020.
Catering companies can receive financial support for the job retention and re-employing of employees when their business restarts, as well as compensation for restricting business activity due to COVID-19. KEHA Centre (TE-toimistojen kehittämis- ja hallintokeskus), which provides development and administrative services for the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres) and Employment and Economic Development Offices (TE Offices) is responsible for paying the support and compensation.
On June 5, 2020, the KEHA Center will publish instructions for companies on how to apply for support and compensation. The search channels will open on the same day.
Some companies will receive support through so-called mass payments, and in that case the company does not have to apply for support separately. The amount of the compensation is calculated on the basis of information received from the Tax Administration. You can check whether your company is covered by mass payment at KEHA Centre's website. For companies that cannot be included in the mass payment, the compensation will be granted upon application.
The amount of support and compensation depends on the company
The restaurant business support model has two complementary parts. One part supports companies in job retention and re-employment of their employees, and the other part compensates for operating restrictions on business activities and supports companies in managing inflexible costs. The amounts of support and compensation are company-specific.
Compensation for restriction of activity:
- The size of the compensation is affected by how much the company's sales in April 2020 have decreased compared to the average sales in April-May 2019 or January-February 2020. The more favorable period for the company is automatically selected as the reference period.
- The compensation is a maximum of 15% of the sales decrease and a maximum of EUR 500 000.
- The compensation is paid to companies mainly without an application, in the form of a mass payment on the basis of company-specific VAT information received from the Tax Administration. In this case, the entrepreneur is not required to take any action of his own. For companies that cannot be included in the mass payment, a compensation will be granted upon application.
- The compensation will be paid in two installments to the companies in case of the form of a mass payment. The first installment will be paid as soon as possible. The rest of the compensation will be paid in late June.
- The amount of compensation is not affected by other subsidies received by the company. The possible coordination between different forms of aid will be assessed separately.
Support for re-employment of employees:
- The amount of support is EUR 1 000 per employee. The maximum number of employees for whom the company is eligible for support is those who worked for the company on a full-time basis in February 2020, including temporary or subcontracted work. However, according to EU State aid rules, the maximum amount of support per company or group has to be no more than EUR 800 000.
- The aid will be paid for those employees to whom the company will pay a total of EUR 2 500 for the period from 1 June to 31 August 2020 or for whom it will pay a total of EUR 4 500 per employee to a temporary agency or subcontractor during that period.
- In order to get this support, it does not matter what type of employment relationship with the employee.
- The support will not be granted to cover the wage costs of employees who have already received any other public aid.
- The support is granted on an application basis. The payment will be made as soon as the KEHA Center will make a decision to grant support.
Special support for the restaurant sector is based on the regulation of the Finnish Parliament
On June 4, 2020, the Government issued a decree on the entry into force of the Act on supporting the job retention and re-employment, as well as compensating for operating restrictions caused by COVID -19 for the companies of the restaurant (catering) sector. As required by Parliament, the law provides for reasonable compensation for restrictions on activities in the accommodation and catering services sectors, as well as measures to mitigate the effects. In accordance with the law, catering services enterprises were required to keep indoor and outdoor areas closed to customers from April 4 to May 31, 2020.
The full information and the source text can be found at Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland website.
Published 04.06.2020, FINREPO