"Antivirus" program - Categories A and B extended until the end of the year
On 14 October 2020, the Government of the Czech Republic approved the extension of Category A of the Antivirus program until the end of 2020. With the extension of Category A, there is also an increase in support for employers whose operations have been forcibly restricted. The extension of Category B until the end of 2020 was also approved on 26 October 2020.
The Antivirus program is a targeted employment support program through which employers can claim compensation for the payout of employees' wages, including levies, if their economic activity was endangered as a result of the spread of COVID-19. Under the Antivirus program, several types of compensation are prepared for employers, depending on the different situations in which employers may find themselves. We have already informed you in a previous article about how to apply for compensation under the Antivirus Program.
Category A applies to employers whose operations have been forcibly restricted or whose employees are quarantined. In accordance with the current form of Category A, employers could, under these circumstances and the fulfillment of the set conditions, submit a request for compensation in the amount of 80% of the paid compensation of employees' wages up to the amount of CZK 39,000 per employee. As of October 1, 2020, employers can apply for 100% compensation of paid wage compensations in the event of a forced restriction of their operations, and in addition, the limit is increased to CZK 50,000 per employee.
However, it is necessary to warn the employer that this change will not affect the situation when the employee is in mandatory ordered quarantine. In this case, the employer is still entitled to claim compensation in the current amount, i.e. 80% of the paid wage compensation, incl. levies, with the maximum amount per employee remaining CZK 39,000.
While Category A has been extended in a more favorable form for employers whose operations have been forcibly restricted, Category B, which is linked to barriers to work on the part of the employer due to related economic difficulties due to the spread of COVID-19, has been extended until the end of the year in its existing form. As before, employers will be able to claim compensation in the amount of 60% of the paid wage compensation, incl. levies. The limit per employee is CZK 29,000 under Category B.
Therefore, none of the suggestions for the modification of Category B addressed by the MLSA by the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic were incorporated. Among other things, it proposed to the Ministry the abolition of one of the conditions for drawing compensation, namely the ban on dismissal by employees or allowing the claiming of support subsidies also by registered branch offices.