The measure that allows the long-term unemployed to build up salary with part of the subsidy only applies to fixed-term contracts with a term of six months or longer, according to the government document presented at the Social Concert on Wednesday.
According to the document to which Lusa had access, the measure will cover full-time, permanent or fixed-term employment contracts, with an initial duration equal to or more than 6 months, and permanent contracts “provided that the duration is foreseeable equal to or longer than 6 months”.
The recipients of the measure are the unemployed who have been receiving unemployment benefits for more than 12 months and who still have a remaining benefit period.
In the case of an open-ended contract, payment of 65% of the unemployment benefit is provided. “for situations where the beneficiary agrees to leave the unemployment situation after the 13th month”describes the document.
Depending on the month in which the beneficiary entered employment, the percentage is reduced, with 65% of the subsidy being paid between the 13th and 18th month; 45% between the 19th and 24th month and 25% between the 25th month and the end of the concession period.
In these permanent contract situations, the maximum eligible salary is €3,040, but during the period the measure is granted, it will be €3,800 “to encourage wage increases”, the government says.
For fixed-term contracts, the value of the incentive depends on the initial duration of the contract.
In cases where the initial term of the fixed-term contract is between 6 and 12 months, the incentive is 25% of the amount of the unemployment benefit “during the entire concession period”.
With a fixed-term employment contract of 12 to 24 months, 45% of the unemployment benefit is paid between the 13th and 18th month and 25% between the 19th and the end of the concession period.
The measure is in force for the duration of the income agreement signed in the Social Agreement (until 2026) and access to the measure is automatic and only paid once to each person.
According to the document, incentive transferability is allowed “provided there is no gap between the termination of one contract and the commencement of another.”
The government states that there were 142.4 thousand long-term unemployed in the third quarter of 2022, of whom 42.5 thousand received unemployment benefits.
Under the current rules, there is an obligation to accept suitable employment, which guarantees, in the case of the long-term unemployed, a gross wage equal to or greater than the amount of unemployment benefit or the amount of the gross wage earned in the immediately preceding function.
Labour, Solidarity and Social Security Minister Ana Mendes Godinho said on Wednesday that the incentive for the long-term unemployed to return to the labor market will come into effect in the second half of 2023.
Source: DN
