An Overview of Economic Measures Providing Assistance to Businesses

We recommend all businesses to evaluate their situation in relation to the COVID 19 crisis and consider the possibilities of drawing the available economic assistance. Every single company finds itself in a specific situation and it is not easy to navigate through all the available government measures and to differentiate which of them are applicable for your business and which are not. Our overview contains various types of situations in which any company may find itself during this crisis. Each of the situations features the types of economic assistance for which your company may be eligible. In case you need to select a single measure from several options (in the table below, these are the options signed with an asterisk), we recommend calculating, which measure may result in a higher contribution. It is also necessary to take into account that you will not be allowed to change some of the measures in the upcoming months (i.e. the calculation of the respective option will have to be estimated also for the upcoming months), while other measures will allow you to switch from month to another, depending on which measure is more advantageous for your company.

 

Situation →	A company, which had to close down its operation due to the order  of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (ÚVZ  SR)	A company, which did not have to close down its operation but (one part of) its employees are at home (obstacles at work) due to lack of work	A company, in  which one part of the enterprise is closed by an order of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic (ÚVZ  SR) and the other part continued in business	A company, where employees keep working (e.g. using home office), but it has suffered a decline in turnovers	An operating company without a decline in turnovers, employees are working but the company has problems with liquidity
Type of assistance ↓
Contribution 1) 80% of the average wage (max 1100€)	X*		X**
Contribution 3A) 80% of the average wage (max 880€)		X***	X**
Contribution 3B) Contribution depending on the actual decline in turnovers	X*	X***	X**	X
Release from payment of social insurance contributions by the employer for the month of April 2020	X		X
Release from payment of mandatory additional pension saving contributions (DDP) by the employer for the month of April 2020	X		X
Postponement of loan and leasing instalments	X	X	X	X	X
Loans from Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank (SZRB) and Eximbanka covered by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic	X	X	X	X	X
Loans from commercial banks (‘anti-corona loans’)	X	X	X	X	X

* Companies which had to close down their operations based on the order by the Public Health Authority (ÚVZ) can choose between the contributions 1 and 3B the one which is more advantageous and can even switch from one contribution to another on a monthly basis.

** Companies which had to close down one part of their operations based on the order by the Public Health Authority (ÚVZ) and employees at home due to obstacles at work on the part of the employer) can apply for contribution 1; for the other part of the employees who remained working, these companies may apply for contribution 3A/3B.

*** To choose between the contribution 3A and 3B with no possibility of further switch.

 

Contribution no. 1

• Wage compensation amounting to 80% of the average wage, with cap at €1100 or possibly up to the amount of the paid-out wage compensation              
• The underlying condition is to maintain the job for at least two months after the month for which the company applies for the contribution
• It is prohibited to transfer the emplyee to another operation
• The employee had to be officially hired by 1 March 2020 at the latest (no contribution is provided for new employees)
• Contribution shall not be provided for the time during which the employee received any social insurance benefit (sickness benefit, allowance for leave to care for a family member [abbreviated in Slovak as OČR], while he/she was in notice period or for an employee for whom the employer receives another contribution within the scope of AOTP (Active Measures on the Labour Market)                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Contribution no. 3A/ 3B

• Not to terminate employment for the period of 2 months, for which the company applies for the contribution                              
• Data on the number of employees as of 31 March 2020 shall be submitted                     

Contribution 3A

• 80% of the average wage, with cap at €880 or possibly up to the amount of the paid wage compensation
• Payment of wage due to obstacle at work on the part of the employer                  

Contribution 3B

• Flat-rate contribution to cover one part of wage costs per each employee (an employee to whom the employer assigns work as well as an employee to whom the employer cannot assign work due to an obstacle on the part of employer) depending on the decline in turnovers (the amount of the contribution will be calculated using the method similar to the measure no. 2)

 

After April 2020 decline in turnovers (categories)		March 2020 decline in turnovers (categories)
>20%	€ 0	>10%	€ 0
20.00-39.99%	€ 180	10 %-19.99%	€ 90
40.00-59.99%	€ 300	20 %-29.99%	€ 150
60.00-79.99%	€ 420	30 %-39.99%	€ 210
80% and over	€ 540	40 % and over	€ 270

         

• A condition for eligibility for the contribution pursuant to 3B is that no obstacles were encountered on the part of the employee (i.e. no sickness benefit, care for a sick relative allowance, paid vacation etc.) for more than 50% of his/her fund of monthly working time.       

The employer may select only a single option for the whole period of provision of the contribution.                       

All the applications for March 2020 need to be submitted by 15 May 2020. The applicant which submits the application for the month of May or April does so by the end of the calendar month following the calendar month for which this employer (or a self-employed entity who is an employer) applies for the contribution.

 

Release from payment of mandatory social insurance contributions by the employer  

• Concerns the employer who had its operation closed in April 2020 based on the decision by the Public Health Authority for at least 15 days.
• In its decree, the government may also provision a different period to which the said release  from payment of social insurance contributions applies.
• The said release from payment of social insurance contributions shall not concern the contributions that the employer pays on behalf of the employees. These shall be payable in standard statutory deadlines.
• Closing of the operation is demonstrated to the Social Insurance Company  in a statutory declaration, which needs to be submitted by the 8^th day of the month following the month for which the insurance contribution is not paid. The statutory declaration for April 2020 shall be submitted to the Social Insurance Company by the 11 May 2020, as the 8 May is a bank holiday.

Release from payment of the mandatory additional pension saving contributions (in Slovak abbreviated as DDP) by the employer (the so-called 3^rd pillar).

• Concerns the employer whose operation was closed in April 2020 due to the decision by the Public Health Authority at least for 15 days.
• The release from payment of mandatory additional pension saving contributions (3^rd pillar) concerns the contributions that the employer is obliged to pay for the employees who perform the so-called risky work.

               

Suspension of loan and leasing instalments

• Mortgages and consumer loans – suspension for 9 months; in non-banking and leasing companies - suspension for the maximum of 6 months
• The applicant must not be in arrears with repayment of the loan by more than 30 calendar days  
• However, the loan keeps bearing interest and the suspended instalments will have to be repaid later               

                       

Loans from Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank (SZRB) and Eximbanka (covered by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic)

SZRB             

• Has been providing loans since 20 April 2020
• The concerned loan is titled ‘PODNIKATEĽ 2020’
• Minimum amount of the loan is €10 000, and the maximum amount is €350 000
• Maturity of 3 years, suspension of repayment of the principal and interest for the period of         1 year
• 4% interest rate
• Interest rate subsidy of the whole interest (this is an interest-free loan, provided that some specific conditions are fulfilled) shall be gradually paid out after the one-year suspension expires
• The amount of the loan must not exceed 50% of the turnover for 2019
• More detailed information is provided on the website of Slovak Guarantee and Development Bank:

https://www.szrb.sk/files/files/prevadzkovy%20uver%20PODNIKATEL2020.pdf                      

Eximbanka               

• The loan is designed for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating for at least 2 complete (finished) accounting periods before applying for the loan
• Minimum loan amount is €100 000 while the maximum is €500 000
• Maximum loan amount must not exceed 50% of the total turnover of the SME for the year 2019
• Loan maturity is 3 years, suspension of repayment of the principal and interest is for 1 year
• 4% interest rate
• Assistance in the form of interest rate subsidy shall be provided only after 12 months of the initial drawing of the loan for operation 
• More detailed information is provided on the website of Eximbanka:

https://www.eximbanka.sk/slovenska-verzia/produkty-eximbanky-sr/bankove-produkty/uver-na-podporu-udrzania-prevadzky-covid-uver.html?page_id=219621

 

Loans by commercial banks (anti-corona loans)  

• Maximum loan amount is €1 200 000 per single entrepreneur
• Loan maturity is 4 years (including one-year suspension)
• 0% - 2% interest rate p.a.
• Provided in cooperation with the Slovak Investment Holding and the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic      

As of today, so far provided by 4 banks:

•  Slovenská sporiteľňa (online information remains yet to be published)
•  VÚB banka: https://www.vub.sk/firmy-podnikatelia/uvery-financovanie/financovanie-pre-firmy/dohoda-zarucnom-nastroji/
•  BKS Bank (online information remains yet to be published)
•  UniCredit Bank (online information remains yet to be published)