Continuation of Part-Time Unemployment Benefits in a Modified Form
The Highlights of the Part-Time Unemployment Benefit
Scheme:
- The purpose of the scheme is to keep professional staff
employed who are necessary in order to be able to quickly
extend production if the economy improves again;
- Employers can reduce the working time of the employees up
to a maximum of 50% of the working time. Employees must
continue to work for at least 50% of their working hours;
- The employee will receive part-time unemployment benefits
over the hours not worked (if and to the extent that the
employee complies with the criteria of the Dutch Unemployment
Insurance Act);
- Employers may only make temporary use of a part-time
unemployment benefit scheme. The first period will be thirteen
weeks. This period can be extended twice for a consecutive
period of 26 weeks. The maximum period will be 65 weeks;
- After the expiry of the part-time unemployment benefit the
employee must resume his work for the original working
time;
- The employer who wishes to rely on the part-time
unemployment benefit scheme requires the consent of the
employee representatives;
- The hours during which the employee makes use of the
part-time unemployment benefit scheme must be spent on
educational activities and secondment of employees.
Evaluation of the Part-Time Unemployment
Benefit Scheme
The use of the part-time unemployment benefit during the first
three months has been evaluated. Since the start in April 2009, in
less than three months 40,000 employees have registered with the
UWV (Employee Insurance Implementing Body) for part-time
unemployment benefits. Therefore, in the past months the part-time
unemployment benefit scheme has been widely used. Many businesses
have applied for part-time unemployment benefits for a substantial
part of their workforce. The applications are not specifically
aimed at keeping professional staff but at keeping (a substantial
part of) the workforce. For instance, it appears from the figures
accompanying the evaluation that 64% of the employers have applied
for part-time unemployment benefits for more than 50% of the
employees.
It has further appeared from the evaluation that the number of
people applying for part-time unemployment benefits seems to have a
greater positive effect than expected on the number of people
starting to claim regular unemployment benefits. Therefore, the
savings with regard to the regular Unemployment Insurance Acts are
higher. As a result, the budgetary room for part-time unemployment
benefits is increased by €175 million and therefore more employers
and employees can make use of the part-time unemployment benefit
scheme. Nevertheless, according to Minister Donner narrowing and
refinement will be necessary in order to assure that part-time
unemployment benefits will remain available for employers and
employees. To conclude, it appears from the evaluation that also in
the event of this amendment and the higher available budget, in
view of the influx in the past months no guarantee can be given
that the influx will remain possible until the end of this year. It
is expected that in the short term the new scheme will be
definitively established.
Continuation of the Part-Time
Unemployment Benefit Scheme
Minister Donner has concluded in the evaluation report that
"the part-time unemployment benefit scheme must be amended
in the sense that businesses themselves must choose between a
long-term deployment of the part-time unemployment benefit scheme
for a limited part of the personnel or application to a larger part
of their workforce for a shorter period of time". The
amendments of the part-time unemployment benefit scheme are -
briefly summarized - as follows.
The number of extensions will be changed into a maximum of four
thirteen-week periods instead of two 26-week periods. The period
during which businesses use the part-time unemployment benefit
scheme must be at least 26 weeks and the working hours per employee
must be reduced by at least 20%. Making use of the part-time
unemployment benefit scheme is not possible for employees whose
employment agreement will terminate during a period of reduction of
working hours. The total duration of the use of the part-time
unemployment benefit scheme will be linked to the number of
employees using the part-time unemployment benefit scheme. In the
event of less than 30% of the employees the maximum duration will
be 15 months, in the event of 30 to 60% the duration will be 12
months, and in the event of more than 60% the duration will be 9
months. Within their own business, employees who are making use of
the part-time unemployment benefit scheme may train apprentices and
employees who are employed by the employer less than one year. In
the event of established fraud, the employer will terminate the
participation in the part-time unemployment benefit scheme for all
employees. The employer will owe the UWV a compensation in the
amount of all benefits granted.
Tips
- The changes will apply from the start to new applications
for part-time unemployment benefits;
- Businesses that are already using the part-time
unemployment benefit scheme will fall under the new scheme as
of the next granting of part-time unemployment benefits;
- The changes for businesses that are already participating
in the part-time unemployment benefit scheme mean that the
percentage of employees participating can remain the same but
that in the event of a renewal the maximum duration will be
reduced;
- The scheme will end on 1 January 2010 or as soon as the
budgetary ceiling has been reached.