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Tomas Tomilinas, an elderly deputy from the Lithuanian Green and Peasant Union faction, told Delfi that the problem could be solved by changing the law.
“The wording should probably be changed due to the fact that the activity was not canceled within a month before the announcement of the emergency and quarantine declared by the government, during which restrictions were imposed on economic activities,” he said.
For his part, the chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs and Labor, Mindaugas Lingė, said that the Employment Law could be returned during the spring session of the Seimas.
Ask for help
Delfi has already written about a situation in which a hairdresser who is ill with Covid-19 has lost the right to a fixed benefit.
Later, Virginija Raulonienė, a market trader living in Alytus, wrote to the editorial office.
“We did not receive any benefits because we did not meet one of the conditions, we did not have a business license on the day of the quarantine, even though we had worked all the previous year,” said the businesswoman who works with her spouse. .
As you know, the second quarantine in Lithuania was announced on November 7.
“We have been operating for 10 years, we always buy a business license in good faith for about 2 months, then renew it again, etc. In October, when the business license expired, we only renewed it on November 12 due to illness, V. Raulonienė.
The interviewee taught that there are so many like her.
“We know more about small entrepreneurs in the same situation. Some were isolated, others became ill and a third stayed at home to observe their well-being. Others’ children were sick and, as you know, nobody gives us incapacity to work or pays us ”Alytus said.
V. Raulonienė summarized that he fell into the “traps of two governments”.
“Some did nothing to prevent the virus from spreading, while others told people to visit public places less. Let me now tell you where we made mistakes, because it turns out that if you get sick, buy a business license and sit down at home. Maybe our government will tell us how to survive from scratch, because we haven’t learned it yet, “he said.
Half did not have, but also worked little
Data from the State Tax Inspectorate shows that on November 7, 26,882 people in Lithuania carried out activities with business licenses according to the list of victims of COVID-19 economic activities approved by the Government.
Another 19,256 people did not have a valid business license on the day of the quarantine, but in 2020 they participated in similar activities.
Of these, more than 19 thousand. 3,169 people (16.5%) were active for more than 90 days in the 12 months prior to the quarantine date.
On the other hand, 8,650 people have worked in less than 20 days in the last year, which represents almost 45 percent. without a business license. More detailed data: in the graph.
The most important tool
As T. Tomilin pointed out, in a systematic way, the Law of Employment without Competition is the most important means of economic recovery, maintaining the viability of closed or barely existing businesses.
“During the first quarantine, about 900 million. EUR for downtime, allowances after downtime and self-employment, – taught the Seimas member. “No other subsidy measure will be so widespread and will affect practically all companies and freelancers.”
Tomas Tomilinas
However, as the interlocutor added, the law has deficiencies.
“There are at least four major gaps in the new wording. First, there is no support for commercial certificate holders who issued certificates for several days a month and did not have a certificate on the day of quarantine. Here, we are hampered by the bad wording of the law, which states that applicants for an allowance must not have registered for self-employment.
Another major problem with the law is the unforeseen post-state support, which was in effect until January 1.
Third, the January events in Druskininkai presuppose that there is a problem in the Employment Law: there is no way to apply the exceptions to international sanctions provided for in the European Union regulations.
Finally, during the first quarantine there was support from the Employment Law for small farmers (up to 4 sizes of economic farms), today the support is only for the largest ones, this gap also needs to be repaired ”, said T. Tomilinas.
Other options
Ms Linge told Delfi that the Labor and Social Affairs Commission had also received letters about people who were left overboard due to non-compliance with formal criteria.
“These are more exceptional and exceptional cases. The formal criteria that were defined during the first quarantine cover the majority of the self-employed, who receive support if their activities are restricted and people are affected, and it is essential to maintain the criteria so that forms of support are not abused.
However, the aid system must be precise and adhere to the general principle of reaching victims, which is why we first discussed with the Ministry of Social Security and Labor how to effectively help those who are left behind due to non-compliance with a formal criterion. despite limited activities and losses ”, – said the MP.
Mindaugas Lingė
Ms. Lingė taught that the ministry looks for opportunities to reach these people in other ways.
“Either through the review of the list of affected activities administered by the STI, or through the additional support measure planned for the self-employed, which will be linked to the taxes paid for 2019, or through forms of social support administered by municipalities.
If, together with the Ministry, we see that it is necessary to review the Employment Law, it can be returned to it during the spring session of the Seimas ”, he said.
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