Business

Croatian Companies Who Lay Off Staff Can Access Government Support

The Croatian Employers' Association's request is set to be granted by the Croatian Government early next week, and now even Croatian companies who have been forced to lay off staff during the ongoing and unprecedented coronavirus crisis will be allowed to access support from the government.

As Novac writes on the 5th of April, 2020, the Croatian Employers' Association (HUP) welcomes the announcement from the Ministry of Labour that at the CES Governing Council session on Monday, their request for all Croatian companies who were forced to lay off workers and/or close their companies to be able to access support will be granted.

The ability to seek financial support from the various economic measures recently presened by the government will be given to all Croatian companies who were forced to lay off workers and close down their operations before the entry into force of the measures passed by the Government of the Republic of Croatia in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

Last week, the Croatian Employers' Association addressed three ministries requesting that the second package of government measures, in the part related to job support grants, be made available to all small and micro enterprises who laid off workers because they didn't see any prospect for that in the first package of announced measures. Small and micro-enterprises, as the HUP has repeatedly emphasised, should then have been required to write off all payments, as mere delays were not sufficient to preserve jobs.

''As soon as the second package of measures was announced, the HUP requested understanding from the Croatian Government towards all micro and small enterprises, which were forced to lay off their workers due to discontinued operations or great difficulties. We're pleased that this move means returning workers to their jobs, restarting businesses and believing that this crisis can be overcome more quickly. This crisis teaches us how important it is to preserve our own production, develop and invest in our own knowledge and our own resources,'' stated Davor Majetić, CEO of the Croatian Employers' Association.

More detailed information on the use of government grants is expected early in the coming week following the end of the aforementioned session due to take place on Monday.

Follow our dedicated section for more on coronavirus in Croatia.

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