The government extends another helping hand to the self-employed: they will receive support if their income falls Business

“Today we have seen many problems with the self-employed who did not fall on the list of victims, but did not receive income due to their direct connections with those who suffered,” Navickienė told reporters after meeting with the president.

According to her, the Ministries of Social Security and Labor, Finance and Economy and Innovation have agreed that the situation of the self-employed will be evaluated individually.

“Today the decision has been made that the self-employed, whose billing has fallen, may also receive support,” said the minister.

“Tomorrow we will have information on where to go for additional support,” he added.

Since January, the State has paid 260 euros only to those self-employed whose profession has been recognized as experienced due to the restrictions on economic activities imposed by the pandemic.

However, some freelancers complain that while their activities are not directly restricted, their clients or consumers are facing financial difficulties, which has led to a reduction in their income during the pandemic.

On Monday, the government approved another scheme to support the self-employed.

According to him, the subsidies for these people will reach 100%. Personal Income Tax paid in 2019. The minimum amount of support will be 100 euros, and the “ceiling” of the subsidy – almost 22 thousand. euros. Vice Minister of Economy and Innovation Vincas Jurgutis 15 minutes He stated that the vast majority of benefits should amount to 1,000 euros.

The new allowance will be available to residents who have worked individually or with a business license for at least three months in the last year, and their income from other activities will not exceed 12 minimum wages (EUR 7,284) per year.

Another requirement is that those self-employed whose income does not exceed 36 MMA or 16 thousand last year will be able to apply for the subsidies. euros “in hands” per year.

Under this scheme, those whose activities are included in the list of restricted economic activities due to the publication of quarantine would receive support.

Will help pregnant women affected during quarantine

The minister also announced that amendments to the law will be tabled in the spring session of the Seimas, which will ensure that the reduced income of pregnant women due to quarantine restrictions does not lead to lower maternity benefits.

The maternity benefit now stands at 77.58 per cent. of the average salary of a woman “on paper”, which is calculated on the basis of the insured income received during a period of 12 calendar months.

“Already in the spring session, we will present a bill to make the tax period according to which benefits are calculated more favorable, that is, if income decreased during the pandemic, the period before the pandemic would be calculated,” he said. M. Navickienė.

According to her, the Ministry of Social Security and Labor will also review the possibility of renewing unemployment insurance benefits.

“Now, due to the second termination of the unemployment condition, a person loses the right to receive the unemployment social insurance benefit previously granted,” said the minister.

She called it all short-term work to provide social protection during a coronavirus pandemic.

However, Ms Navickienė promises to make long-term long-term decisions, hoping for structural reforms and better quality of social services.

The president calls for a review of the unemployment insurance system

After the meeting, Simonas Krėpšta, an adviser to President G. Nausėda, said that if unemployment indicators increase during the pandemic in Lithuania, it is necessary to review the unemployment insurance system.

“This is the first pillow that could solve the situation for those people who lost their jobs during the pandemic,” said S. Krėpšta.

According to him, currently only 30 percent. the unemployed receive unemployment benefits and this is a “too low percentage”.

According to S.Krėpšta, attention should be paid to youth unemployment, as it is twice as high as general unemployment. According to him, research shows that it was young people who suffered the most from the pandemic.

The presidential adviser also said that the one-stop-shop principle should be introduced when pandemic relief measures are spread across multiple institutions.