The part of the self-employed does not reach the benefit of 260 euros – the ministry has proposed a solution

Dovilė, a reader of Delfi (her name has been changed at her request) is a specialist in the field of beauty, has a business license and is also studying in her final year.

During the first quarantine he received a payment of 257 euros, and now he no longer receives it, although the commercial certificate is the same, bought back in February.

“The business license was exchanged at the beginning of the year every two business days, because I combine work with full-time studies, I don’t work on weekends. During the first quarantine, there were no problems receiving the benefit on my own account and I received a fixed amount: 257 euros. During the second quarantine, a mockery of the Employment Service (OCT) in the literal sense. I did not receive the benefit in November or December, nor will I receive it in 2021, as long as the quarantine continues, ”the girl fears.

She explained to Delfi that the quarantine in the Kaunas district was announced on Saturday, November 7, when she was not working, and this date is used to assess whether or not a benefit is granted.

“When buying a business license in February, it was not possible to predict that it would be necessary to work on November 7, because the benefit will depend on it. It wasn’t even possible to imagine it, ”says Dovilė.

He assures that the business license was not terminated during the year and during the first quarantine he had no problems receiving the benefit.

“They don’t care at all that the activity was not suspended, that I worked on November 5, November 9, etc., and that I worked all year under commercial license. During the quarantine period, activities in the field of beauty are included in the list of victims on the pages of STI and Sodra. How does the State offer itself to survive a person whose main economic activity is suspended, no benefit is granted and it is not clear when the activity will be allowed again? ”- the girl is angry.

She explains that she lived off the savings for some time, even paying all state taxes before the holidays in late 2020.

“It just came to our knowledge then. The OCT consultant cannot help anyone, because the system automatically allocates the benefit, the management is not responsible for how much I tried to request a review of the situation by email. By mail,” he says Dovilė.

Officially, the Sodra website indicates that this year, people whose activity has been registered for at least 3 months can request a benefit of 260 euros. Before the announcement of the quarantine, the activity was included in the list of victims of the COVID-19 restrictions, the salary received does not exceed 642 euros and the need to work on a specific day is not mentioned.

Employment service: No exceptions are foreseen

The Employment Service (OCT) explained that when granting benefits to the self-employed, it is based on the personal data received from Sodra.

“When granting the benefit, compliance with the conditions for the grant is verified on the day of announcing the quarantine in the municipality of operation. It is not relevant if the self-employed person was already carrying out the activity after the announcement of the quarantine and it is not evaluated when granting the benefit ”, confirms the Employment Service.

It is explained that in the case of incapacity for work and self-isolation, the Employment Law does not provide exceptions to the granting of benefits to the self-employed.

“The benefit for the self-employed is granted from the beginning of the second quarantine in the municipality, paid the previous month from the 17th of the current month,” says the service. It is explained that the December payments started from January 18.

According to data from January 18, 81.6 thousand people applied for benefits, but benefits were granted to 70.8 thousand people. 6,264 people received negative decisions.

“Of all the applications for freelancers, hairdressers, beauty salons and beauty salons, solariums and various commercial activities were the main activities,” he explains.

It is clarified that the self-employed do not need to submit additional applications: applications submitted under the previous procedure are eligible, will be reviewed and, if people are still on the victim list, they will continue to receive benefits. If you are no longer on the list, benefits will be suspended as of January 1, 2021.

The Ministry approached the STI to evaluate individual cases

The Ministry of Social Security and Labor, aware of this situation, reported that it had requested the STI that the tax administrator assess individual cases when a self-employed person is not included in the STI list of self-employed victims of COVID-19, although COVID-19 had a negative impact.

“If a self-employed person is not on the list of victims of COVID-19, but the self-employed person is in financial difficulties, they may request tax relief measures from the tax authorities. Regardless of when the application is submitted, the aid measures will be they will apply from January 1, if the request is granted ”, states the sent comment.

The ministry says it seeks to allocate public funds to those most affected by the pandemic. In addition, opportunities are being sought to assess individual cases where the self-employed have been affected by restrictions in their activities as a result of COVID-19, even if they are not on the restricted activities list or are not entitled to a benefit to both raised for other reasons.

We note that the prerequisite to quarantine has been in force in the past and has not been modified, but the Ministry of Social Security and Labor listens to the concerns and questions of the self-employed and is in agreement with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, the Ministry of the Treasury and the State Tax Inspection. to provide additional support to the self-employed. A new and additional measure to support the self-employed is planned, which will be linked to the taxes paid for 2019, ”the ministry promises.

The self-employed affected by a pandemic can also benefit from other state aid measures:

• The self-employed may defer contributions to Sodra without interest if their activities are included in the list of victims of the COVID-19 restrictions published by the STI.
• The self-employed are temporarily exempt from payment of the PSD (they will have to pay contributions for the quarantine period within a period of 2 years. Even without paying the PSD, these residents can receive medical care.
• People with financial difficulties can apply to the municipality of their place of residence for social assistance in cash: social benefits, compensation for heating and water costs. In determining eligibility for this support, property owned is temporarily not valued.
• Municipalities also have the option of providing additional social support (one-off, specific, periodic, conditional benefits, or other types of social support) if the situation requires it, the ministry says.