Decree-Law 23-A/2021, of 24 March, aims to establish an update of the support measures for workers and companies, within the scope of the COVID-19 disease pandemic.
Decree-Law 23-A/2021, of 24 March, aims to establish an update of the support measures for workers and companies, within the scope of the COVID-19 disease pandemic.
Rules are approved that broaden the scope of the extraordinary support for the reduction of the worker's economic activity, extraordinary support for the maintenance of the employment contract in a situation of business crisis and extraordinary support for the progressive recovery.
The following in particular:
Article 5 of Decree-Law 23-A/2021, of 24 March, provides for the creation of a new extraordinary incentive which will be granted to employers:
I) When requested until 31 May 2021, it has the value of twice the minimum monthly guaranteed remuneration (RMMG), i.e., 1330 Euros, and is paid in a phased manner over six months,
II) When applied for after the date referred to in the previous sub-paragraph and until 31 August 2021, it has the value of one RMMG, i.e., 665 Euros, paid in one lump sum, corresponding to the period of three months.
To the incentive foreseen in point I) there is also the right to a partial waiver of 50% of the payment of social security contributions to be borne by the employer, with reference to the workers covered, during the first two months of the incentive.
To be granted the incentive the employer must:
a) To keep their tax and social security contributions and tax payments in order with the Social Security and Tax Authority;
b) Not to terminate, during the granting period, as well as in the following 90 days, labour contracts due to collective dismissal, dismissal due to the extinction of the job and dismissal due to unsuitability, foreseen in articles 359, 367 and 373 of the Labour Code, approved by Law no. 7/2009, of 12 of February, in its current wording, nor to initiate the respective procedures;
c) To maintain, during the period of concession of the support, as well as in the 90 following days, the employment level observed in the month prior to the submission of the request for the mentioned incentive support.
This support cannot be accumulated with (i) the Progressive Takeover Support; (ii) the Simplified Support for Micro-enterprises, (iii) the Lay-Off (simplified or common).
This support will be regulated by an Executive Order from the Government member responsible for the area of labour.
Latest regulation on the state of emergency decreed by the President of the Republic:
The year 2020, with the pandemic COVID 19 on a global scale, has become an unforgettable milestone in the various areas of human health.
In our specific area, it forced the closure of the Clinic for weeks with the natural consequences, both in terms of the provision of care, which was restricted to emergency care, and in financial and economic terms.
The "modus operandi" of the consultation routine was changed both in terms of the number of patients and due to the governmental limitations imposed and the introduction of more protective equipment and the whole panoply of disinfection and sterilization which was already extensive, complex and thorough.
All of this had direct and indirect repercussions on the running of the Clinic, on the daily lives of all our employees, as well as on the costs to be borne by the Clinic and the patients.
The expectation of the Clinic's activity is directly conditioned to the country's economic evolution and I think that the whole sector shares this uncertainty.
However, let us wait patiently and determinedly for everything to return to a sense of normality as close as possible to the one we once knew.
Opinion of Dr. Miguel da Silva Nóbrega
Clinical Director of Clínica S. Lourenço
www.clinicasaolourenco.com