COVID-19 has affected the incomes of some health professionals by reducing demand for care and increasing expenditures for treatment preparedness. In a survey of 14 European countries, we found that most countries have incentivised substitutive e-health services to avoid loss of income.

OpenGov Asia (01.12.2020) The pandemic has fundamentally changed lifestyles and thought processes across the world. There is a paradigm shift in the way people now interact with each other. With social distancing becoming the new norm, citizens are increasingly becoming dependent on technology to communicate and interact among themselves. In order to help public sector utilise digital applications and APIs to enhance service delivery and get digital transformation right, OpenGov Asia hosted an OpenGovLive!

Gov.pl website (02.12.2020) Insured persons in quarantine or isolation (including at home) are entitled to sickness benefits. In principle, you do not need to submit a declaration to receive the benefit. The IT system of the e-Health Center is a system from which the Social Insurance Institution obtains information about the imposed quarantine or isolation and places it on the Electronic Services Platform (PUE ZUS) . It is seen both by the insured and his employer.

Gov.pl website (26.11.2020) PFR 2.0 Financial Shield for micro-enterprises - up to PLN 3 billion of support

Gov.pl website (09.11.2020) A parent can apply for care allowance if they are looking after people in quarantine or solitary confinement at home:

US Social Security Administration (November 30th) On September 28, India's president approved a law (the Code on Social Security, 2020) that consolidates and amends nine existing social security laws. Among the law's changes are an extension of benefit eligibility to fixed-term workers under the employer-liability gratuity scheme, a broadening of the definition of wages for contribution calculation purposes, and new protections for informal-sector workers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put a lot of pressure on health care services and elderly care. Staff have had an extremely heavy and often stressful workload and have worked very hard. The risk of mental ill health may have increased. This is why the Government proposes funds to support staff in regional and municipal health care and elderly care in its autumn amending budget for 2020. This will make money available for crisis support, counselling and trauma support. The proposal is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party.

blogs.worldbank.org (28.10.2020) Covariate shocks including disasters, economic crises, and pandemics threaten to reverse decades of gains achieved in poverty reduction and shared prosperity in the region. These shocks tend to disproportionately affect the poor and push near poor households into poverty.

worldbank (2020) The Sourcebook synthesizes real-world experiences and lessons learned of social protection delivery systems from around the world, with a particular focus on social and labor benefits and services. It takes a practical approach, seeking to address concrete “how-to” questions, including: How do countries deliver social protection benefits and services? How do they do so effectively and efficiently? How do they ensure dynamic inclusion, especially for the most vulnerable and needy?

politica.expansion.mx (10.07.2020) A one-time cash benefit of 3,000 pesos is intended for people 18 years of age and older who live in the State of Mexico (Edomex) and who during the last four months lost their formal or informal employment, due to the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The cash support will be delivered in two monthly installments, each of 1,500 pesos. Informal workers will need to sign a declaration under oath of saying the truth about having lost their (informal) employment due COVID-19 situation.

NHK (27.11.2020) The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that the exceptional treatment of Employment Adjustment Subsidy is extended to February 2021. The exceptional treatments include the increase of maximum amount of daily allowance to 15,000 yen per an employee. The Minister also implied that the treatment would be gradually reduced after March 2021. 

canada.ca (24.11.2020)

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), which  covers up to 65% of an employee’s wages for qualifying eligible employers, has been extended until June 2021. 

candada.ca (24.11.2020)

swissinfo.ch (25.11.2020) The reform of the occupational pension scheme is intended to secure the pension level, strengthen financing and improve the protection of part-time employees and thus especially women, Interior Minister Alain Berset said at a press conference on Wednesday. He said he hoped it would be the first successful pension reform in the 21st century.

Government of Iceland (20.11.2020) A one-time payment of ISK 50,000 will be made before 18 December to recipients of disability and rehabilitation pensions who are eligible for pensions during the year, in addition to the December supplement that is usually paid during the month.

Gouvernement.fr (13.11.2020) Employers can postpone all or part of the payment of employee and employer contributions for the dates of November 5 and 15, 2020, on request online from URSSAF (in the absence of a response within 48 hours, this request is considered accepted). In addition, personal social contributions for self-employed workers (excluding contracted health professionals) will not be deducted in November .

Gouvernement.fr (13. 11. 2020) This concerns companies with less than 50 employees closed administratively and those with less than 250 employees in the tourism, events, culture, sport, air transport sectors with a loss of activity of at least 50% :  

• employers benefit from a total exemption from employer social contributions excluding supplementary pensions, and assistance with the payment of social contributions of 20% of the payroll;
• the self-employed receive a lump sum reduction of social contributions.

Infobae (24.11.2020) The Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) presented the second phase of the pilot test for the affiliation of Household Workers, through which the payment process carried out by the employer is simplified and automated . This provides continuity and simplifies the operation of the pilot test, benefiting 2.4 million informal workers who carry out paid activities at home .

On April 8, Uruguay enacted Law No. 19,874 creating the Covid-19 Solidarity Fund , a precedent seen by the cross-sectional group of 16 economists who proposed a similar formula to address the emergency and post-pandemic recovery in Chile. The formula of creating a Covid fund, from which up to US $ 12 billion could be drawn  to finance support for  individuals and companies, seeks that the Government does not have to go to Congress for each measure: once the framework of action has been agreed, it would be issue decrees charged to fund financing.

BPS (09.11.2020) Workers with activity and health coverage in March 2020, terminated between the 1st. August and October 31, will maintain their mutual membership for three months, as well as that of their dependents.

Membership will be extended to:

BPS (12.11.2020) Beneficiaries of family allowances (AFAM) from the Equity Plan who do not have a Uruguay Social Card will receive a reinforcement of 50% of their monthly allowance in November and December due to the health and social emergency situation that the country is going through.

BPS (20.11.2020) Transportation companies and school canteens are exempted from paying employer retirement contributions in the period between April 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021. There are already 293 companies that have this benefit.

Euronews (24.11.2020) How do you get by without a bank account? This is a question asked daily by millions of refugees worldwide who simply don’t have access to standard financial services. Even the digital and online services that many of us take for granted - tools that help us to save, transfer and receive money - are often out of reach for displaced people.

(25.10.2020) Le Conseil des ministres a validé vendredi la prolongation du droit passerelle jusqu’au 31 décembre et le doublement des montants du droit passerelle de crise.  Concrètement, le droit passerelle permet d’offrir une garantie de revenu minimum aux indépendants qui, après avoir temporairement interrompu partiellement ou totalement leur activité, ont pu la reprendre mais subissent une perte de chiffre d’affaires. L’accès à ce droit passerelle de soutien à la reprise aurait dû s’arrêter à la fin de ce mois d’octobre.