Bern, 13.03.2020

13.03.2020

philstar.com (17.03.2020) The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has temporarily suspended the cash grants to beneficiaries of its poverty alleviation program in order to help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The agency suspended the payouts for the  Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps),  social pension and unconditional cash transfer (UCT) for indigents as well as the distribution of 4Ps cash cards and field surveys for the 2019 National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or the Listahanan.

elconfidencial.com (12.03.2020)

zus.pl (23.0.2020) Additional care allowance is granted for the duration of childcare in connection with the closing of a crèche, children's club, kindergarten, school due to COVID-19. Additional care allowance is payable to parents or legal guardians of children who:

⇒ look after a child under 8 years old;

⇒ are covered by sickness insurance (e.g. employees, contractors, entrepreneurs).

16.03.2020

Sick leave does not require personal attendance NAV accepts sick leave without personal examination when it comes to infectious disease that is of importance to public health.  NAV encourages patients to use the telephone. E-consultation can also be a suitable form of consultation. The person who reports the patient must, based on a professional judgment, consider how the examination should be conducted. This is an exception to the main rule that sick leave requires personal examination.

In this first phase, the government has prioritized the following measures:

jdsupra.com (16.03.2020) If the activities of the company are strongly affected by COVID-19, employers can apply for a permit for a reduction in working time (werktijdverkorting) at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. This means that employees will temporarily work reduced time. Employees can receive a temporary unemployment benefit for the hours not worked, while they remain fully employed by the Employer. The permit is valid for a period of maximum 6 weeks and can be extended for a maximum total period of 24 weeks.

pmo.gov.my (11.03.2020) UTRAJAYA. The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government today launched a special fund which will give financial aid to those directly affected by the COVID-19 infection. Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said for a start, RM1 million had been channelled into the fund to help COVID-19 patients and those under 14-day quarantine but not holding any jobs. “We don’t want their lives to be affected. So, this is one type of humanitarian aid we are giving.

straitstimes.com (04.03.2020) Some 2.3 trillion won will be allocated to medical institutions and fund quarantine efforts, with another 3.0 trillion won going to small- to medium-sized businesses struggling to pay wages to their workers, and child care subsidies, the finance ministry said. Loans will be made on relaxed terms to affected exporters while people who have lost their jobs will be re-trained.

europapress.es (16.03.2020)  Brasil inyectará 26.705 millones por el coronavirus. Se destinarán hasta 83.400 millones de reales (15.140 millones de euros) a la población más vulnerable, un total de 59.400 millones de reales (10.778 millones de euros) al mantenimiento de puestos de trabajo y al menos 4.500 millones de reales (816 millones de euros) a la lucha directa contra la pandemia. Esta partida presupuestaria se une a algunas medidas que el Ejecutivo de Jair Bolsonaro ha adoptado durante las últimas semanas.

(14.03.2020) As part of the response, the House passed H.R. 6201, Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Here are some of the highlights in the bill:

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (16.03.2020) Reforming EI to protect more workers. This paper examines how well protected Canadian workers are now and what else should be done to better insulate them from these risks.

KPMG China (15.03.2020) Hubei Province : Between February and June 2020: All enterprises enrolled in China Social Security Schemes are exempt from making employer contributions to pension, unemployment and work-related injury insurance schemes. 

National Post (13.03.2020) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced changes to Canada’s sick-leave benefits under employment insurance Wednesday, to respond to concerns about COVID-19

japantimes.co.jp (06.03.2020) Amid mounting criticism over the low number of people who have been tested for COVID-19 in Japan compared to its neighboring countries, screenings are being covered from Friday by the national health insurance in an effort to increase testing.

citizensinformation.ie (March 2020) COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a new social welfare payment for employees and self-employed people who are unemployed or who have their hours of work reduced during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. This includes people who have been put on part-time or casual work. It will be paid for up to 6 weeks and has a simple one–page application form. The new payment aims to get a social welfare payment to unemployed people quickly.

Anshin Immigration & Social Security (27.02.2020) Employment Adjustment Subsidy is to support employers who are suffered from the business downturn but maintain employment by paying leave allowance and letting employees take partly paid leave, rather than firing them. The subsidy reimburses two third for a SME employer or a half for a large enterprise of the leave allowance.

Gov.ie (12.03.2020) The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection are introducing measures to provide income support to people affected by COVID-19 (Coronavirus). 3 major changes have been announced:

Une enquête vise la plateforme de livraison de repas, soupçonnée d'exécution de travail dissimulé à l'encontre de plusieurs personnes et de recours abusif à des CDD.

Selon le Congressional Budget Office (CBO), les fonds auraient perdu au total 2 000 milliards de dollars en quinze mois (20 % de leur valeur). Les célèbres CalPERS et CalSTRS, dédiés au financement des retraites des fonctionnaires et professeurs de Californie, ont fondu de 26 % et 10 % depuis fin juin.

Federal Government (10.03.2020) The spread of the coronavirus is a major challenge for the economy and the labour market. To address this effectively, the German government has adopted a bill that will facilitate access to short-time work allowance.

ameli.fr (13.03.2020) Un téléservice, « declare.ameli.fr », est mis en place par l’Assurance Maladie pour permettre aux employeurs de déclarer leurs salariés contraints de rester à domicile suite à la fermeture de l’établissement accueillant leur enfant, sans possibilité de télétravail. Cette déclaration fait office d’avis d’arrêt de travail.

bruegel.org (12.03.2020) 'Whatever it takes' needs to be the motto to preserve lives and reduce the impact on the economy of the epidemic.

businessinsider.fr (13.03.2020) Face à l'épidémie de coronavirus, qui gagne chaque jour un peu plus de terrain en France, le président de la République, Emmanuel Macron, a annoncé toute une batterie de mesures jeudi soir, lors d'une allocution télévisée.