The Dutch Government has published further details to compensate companies for the loss of turnover during the Corona virus.

Who will be eligible ?

Companies who see their turnover drop by at least 20% in the three months following March 1^st, 2020 will be eligible for a compensation. These companies will be compensated to retain and keep paying salaries to its employees. The compensation will be granted on the condition that during the compensation period, employees will continue to receive their usual salary and the company will not lay off employees due to economic circumstances.

There will be no differentiation based on employment contracts, i.e. the compensation applies to temporary employment contracts, flex workers, etc.

Loss of turnover

The loss of turnover will be calculated as a percentage of the turnover realized in 2019 divided by four, compared to the turnover realized in the months March, April and May 2020 (“compensation period”). Because a loss of customers or engagements might not be visible and/or effective immediately, companies may also choose to allocate the loss of turnover to another three months’ compensation period, i.e. April-May-June or May-June-July. If the employer is part of a larger group, the percentage of loss of turnover has to be calculated on a consolidated group level (instead of on a company-only basis).

Compensation  

The compensation will be maximized at 90% of the total wages and will be paid on a pro-rated basis. This means that a 100% decrease of turnover will lead to a compensation of 90%, whereas a 50% decrease of turnover will lead to a compensation of 45%.

The wages reported in the January payroll tax returns will form the basis for the compensation. This information is already available with the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) and no further input from the company will be necessary. The wages to be compensated include the regular salary income added with a 30% surcharge for employee related cost (e.g. holiday pay, pension and social security premiums). Important to note is that the wage per employee is maximized at € 9,538 per month.

The Dutch Government calls upon companies to continue to keep paying the regular salaries to its employees. Any drop in wages compared to the January 2020 period will lead to a lower compensation.

When to expect ?

The UWV strives to be ready to go live on April 6^th, 2020 and the filing deadline will end on May 31^st, 2020. Companies meeting the prerequisites can expect to receive 80% of the respective compensation in advance. The advance will be paid out in three instalments and the first instalment will be transferred within 2-4 weeks following the filing request. Within 24 weeks following the end of the compensation period, the company will need to file a final request relative to the compensation.

In order to examine possible misuses of the compensation process, an auditor’s report may be required. The Dutch Government has not yet decided whether or not to apply certain thresholds for a mandatory auditor’s statement, or even what type of auditor’s report will be required.

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