Government has proposed temporarily hiking the non-deductible portion of unemployment benefits, effectively increasing the portion of the benefit that is protected from deductions for reasons such as brief stints of work.
Under normal circumstances, unemployment benefit recipients can earn up to 300 euros a month without affecting their benefits. According to the government’s proposal, that sum would temporarily rise by 200 euros to 500 euros. Only persons pocketing more than 500 euros a month will then see their benefits affected by their earnings.
The government is therefore seeking a temporary exemption from the relevant clause of the Unemployment Security Act due to the crisis. The change would take effect as soon as possible and would last until the end of October.
The government’s vision is that the increase in the non-deductible part of the benefit would help unemployed people in part-time work to become more financially secure.
It also hopes that it would assist others doing short work stints or gigs in a situation where full time work would not necessarily be available. The goal is also to support unemployed persons doing seasonal work in the agricultural sector.
The change would also cover individuals who previously earned income from business activity, such as sole entrepreneurs and freelancers, and who became eligible for unemployment benefits because of the epidemic.
