How the suspensions will be paid

of Dimitris Katsaganis

The Minister of Labor, Mr. Kostis Hatzidakis, issued a decision clarifying the “status” of covering the contributions of suspended workers, in the framework of government measures to support companies and employees affected by the pandemic.

It is reminded that the contributions of the suspended employees are 100% covered by the state. This coverage concerns both the contributions of the insured and their employers. In fact, these contributions are calculated on the basis of the nominal salaries of the employees who were suspended and not on the compensation of 534 euros they received.

More specifically, the Ministerial Decision Hatzidaki for the employees who went on suspension and for the seasonal workers with the right of compulsory re-employment provides the following:

Article 1 – Procedure for covering insurance contributions due to suspension of employment contracts

1. The insurance contributions to the e-EFKA that are covered by the state budget for the employees in suspension of employment contract are determined through the Detailed Periodic Statements (APD) submitted for the respective salary periods.

2. For each monthly salary period, as well as for the ratio of Easter and Christmas Gifts, an APD is submitted, as provided by the existing provisions.

3. For employees who are remunerated by salary or wage, by employment under private law, for an indefinite or definite period of time, in full-time or part-time employment:

a. for the period of employment until the suspension of their employment contracts, as well as for the proportion of the Easter and Christmas Holiday Gifts, which corresponds to the period of actual employment, the details of their actual employment are registered in the DPA.

b. for the period of suspension of employment contracts, as well as for the proportion of Easter and Christmas Holiday Gifts, which corresponds to the period of suspension of employment contracts, the details of the salary or wage are entered in the DPA of the same salary period, with full or reduced or rotating employment, on the basis of private-law employment contracts of indefinite or fixed-term duration, as they would have been recorded if the employment contracts had not been suspended. The completion of the relevant fields of the APD is done based on the current coverage packages and in a distinct way according to the operating system of e-EFKA.

In any case, the date of commencement of suspension of employment contracts is that stated in the relevant DPA.

4. In cases where companies – employers pay remuneration voluntarily or voluntarily, to employees whose employment contracts are suspended and are entitled to special purpose compensation, the amounts of these remunerations paid by the liable companies – employers, are registered in the DPA in a distinct way during the operating system of e-EFKA.

5. In the event that within the same wage period the employer companies terminate the suspension of the employee’s employment contract, the employee provides employment and then re-puts the employee on employment suspension, the amounts of remuneration paid by the liable employer companies for the period of employment, are registered in the APD in a distinct way according to the operating system of e-EFKA.

6. The total of the insurance contributions corresponding to the earnings registered in the DPAs is covered by the state budget.

7. a. If there is an insurance obligation in the EDOEAP, the professional compulsory insurance funds and in the convertible NPIDs, the insurance contributions covered by the state budget for the employees in suspension of employment contract are determined through the detailed statements of contributions submitted in accordance with the provided by their respective statutory provisions, for each salary period, as well as for the proportion of Easter and Christmas Holiday Gifts.

b. I. For the period of employment until the suspension of their employment contracts, as well as for the proportion of Easter and Christmas Holiday Gifts, which corresponds to the period of actual employment, the details of their actual employment are recorded in the detailed contribution statement.

II. For the period of suspension of the employment contracts, as well as for the proportion of the Easter and Christmas Holiday Gifts, which corresponds to the period of suspension of the employment contracts, the data of the salary or the wage are recorded in the detailed statement of contributions of the same salary period. , full-time or part-time or part-time employment, on the basis of private-law employment contracts of indefinite or fixed-term duration, as they would have been registered if the employment contracts had not been suspended. The completion of the relevant fields of the detailed statements of contributions is done in a distinct way according to the operating system of the above bodies. In any case, the date of commencement of suspension of employment contracts is that stated in the relevant detailed statement of contributions.

The state budget covers all insurance contributions recorded in the detailed contribution statements.

8. a. For e-EFKA, when issuing the payment ID of the contributions of the relevant salary period, the amount of the required insurance contributions, of the insured and the employer, is calculated, which are covered by the state budget. E-EFKA collects through the prescribed procedure and sends to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs the monthly data of the required insurance contributions borne by the state budget.

b. For NPIDs, during the issuance of the payment ID of the contributions of the respective salary period, the amount of the required insurance contributions, insured and employer / or insured, covered by the state budget in accordance with this article, is calculated. The above bodies collect through the processing of detailed statements of contributions and send to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs the monthly data of the required insurance contributions borne by the state budget.

9. a. The data entered in the DPAs for the e-EFKA are cross-checked with the information system “ERGANI” of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, as well as with comparative employment data of previous months and historical data of the company, in order to confirm the correctness of employment data and insurance contributions declared, which are borne by the state budget, and where required, the provided contributions and debt certificates are issued and served electronically by e-EFKA.

b. For the NPIDs that are not connected to the information system “Ergani” of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, for the inclusion in the regulations of this article, the companies-employers submit a relevant responsible statement to the above bodies. The data entered in the detailed statements of contributions to the NPIDs are cross-checked with the data entered in the EPS EFKA DPAs, which have previously been cross-checked with the “Ergani” information system of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, as well as with comparative employment data. months and historical data of the operation of the company, in order to confirm the correctness of the data of employment and insurance contributions declared with which the state budget is borne, and where required, the foreseen acts of contribution and debt certificates are issued and served by legislation.

10. Any submitted DPAs and detailed statements of contributions related to salary periods for which the employment contract has been suspended, are amended to reflect the insurance contributions in accordance with the above paragraphs. Any amounts of insurance contributions, insured and employer / or insured, that have been paid by the company – employer, and relate to the above salary periods, remain as a credit balance in e-EFKA and NPID and are offset by insurance contributions of subsequent salary periods.

11. In the event that for any reason it arises that the companies – employers do not fall under the relevant regulations, the paid insurance contributions are returned by e-EFKA and the other insurance companies to the Greek State and are paid by the companies – employers in accordance with the provisions for insurance contributions charged with the late interest due to late payment.

Article 2 – Procedure for covering insurance contributions in the context of the implementation of financial assistance measures for seasonal workers with the right of compulsory re-employment

The coverage from the state budget of all insurance contributions, insured and employer, for seasonal employees with the right of compulsory re-employment is extended for the month of October 2020.

In case there is no insurance data available for the employee, a DPA is submitted with the coverage package corresponding to the capacity on the basis of which he received the special purpose compensation.

The provisions also apply for the period from 1.10.2020 to 31.10.2020 for seasonal workers with the right of compulsory re-employment.

The final date of production of the relevant DPAs and payment of the respective insurance contributions is set at 31.12.2021. From 1 November 2020, the beneficiaries of the special purpose compensation are considered to have been dismissed automatically, without any other action of termination of their employment contract and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs sends a relevant file to the Employment Agency (OAED) for the beneficiaries. . ”