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In addition to allowing, at Christmas and New Year’s Eve, a longer schedule compared to what is practiced on weekends from November, the restoration will maintain at least until the end of the year, the right to compensation of 20% of the bill break . The Government confirmed this Friday the extension of this measure, according to the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar of Portugal (AHRESP), which applauds this “relief”, but ensures that there is a lack of “balance” between sanitary restrictions and support to the companies. .
“It’s better than nothing, but it’s short. These measures are not going to save companies or jobs ”, affirms the general secretary of AHRESP, Ana Jacinto.
When António Costa implemented the mandatory curfew on two weekends in November, he promised that it would cover part of the billing gap resulting from the reduction in opening hours. Thus, each entrepreneur would be entitled to 20% of the drop in income, calculated from the comparison of the income of those two weekends with the average billing from January to October. November has passed and these weekend hour restrictions continue in the municipalities with the highest levels of contagion risk, for which the Government has already decided, and informed AHRESP, that this 20% support will be maintained while it is carried out restoration. Required to close at 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
In the coming weeks, the exception will be the Christmas weekend, since the Government has decided that, in these municipalities, the sector can operate with longer hours on December 25 and 26. But it is likely that, as of the following weekend, January 2 and 3, the restoration will return to reduced hours, if in the meantime the Government does not modify any of the regulations presented this Saturday, and that it will be subject to a mid-term review, on December 18, as announced by António Costa.
For AHRESP, measurements for Christmas and New Year are welcome. “It is positive because it allows [nos horários]”It is a relief for both restaurants and hotels, because with the movement of people there can be more clients in tourist accommodation”, says Ana Jacinto, to the PUBLIC. However, “the usual concern remains, the need for a balance between restrictions and sanitary measures and support for companies,” he underlines.
“Having new schedules every 15 days is problematic in terms of management, so the fact that we have information for a longer period is also positive. However, we must not forget that we have closed agreements for nine months, that the restaurant operates with great limitations, in time and space, following the recommendations of the authorities, and it is not this change that will save companies or jobs “, guarantees the AHRESP spokesperson.
For this reason, businessmen await “with great expectation” the measures that the Minister of Economy will announce this week, as the Prime Minister said in this afternoon’s statement to the country. According to Ana Jacinto, the sector expects them to include a solution for commercial rentals, which are “a big problem” at the moment. “This income support is urgent because they are a substantial cost for companies that have a very limited work capacity, as well as it is necessary to expand and strengthen support to maintain employment,” he stresses.
These issues were already on the table at the last meeting between the Government and the social partners. So far, there is a commitment to extend the recovery support mechanism until September 2021 and a reinforcement of the levels of support that varies depending on the fall in income and, in the new design, will allow greater reductions in the working day without added costs. for companies.
However, there are still rules in this range of support that AHRESP wants changed, because they “unreasonably” exclude companies that need help. Ana Jacinto recalls that in some cases medium-sized companies are excluded, in others they are individual entrepreneurs under a simplified regime. “Support is not enough. The INE says that 50,000 jobs have already been lost in these sectors. We need to act now. “
