During the coronavirus crisis, the government initiated several programs to support business. Among them is the compensation of employers' costs for hired personnel and social contributions (Noodmaatregel Overbrugging Werkgelegenheid, NOW). At the same time, NOW payments were made by the Workers' Insurance Agency (Uitvoeringsinstituut Werknemersverzekeringen, UWV) over several periods in advance.
About NOW
As a reminder, NOW is a temporary emergency measure to prevent layoffs at businesses during the coronavirus crisis. The state has taken over the reimbursement of employee wages and related deductions if the employer does not lay off employees and reduce staff even in the event of a significant drop in income. NOW was charged in proportion to the loss of turnover.
Submit request for NOW the employer could, if it met certain criteria. In particular, the turnover loss had to be at least 20%. Upon request, payment was made in advance, whose amount was based on the expected loss of turnover. At the same time, UWV plans to verify the accuracy of the information provided by employers in the future. If false information is revealed or if the expected loss of turnover of the company turned out to be less than expected, the advanced funds must be partially or completely returned.
NOW recalculation results
During the first NOW period (NOW1) from March to May 2020, more than 7,9 employers received advances totaling approximately EUR 139 billion. According to applications from 500 thousand (90%) employers, the amount of the advance paid does not require adjustments.
The Workers' Insurance Agency has released a register of the final amounts to which employers who apply for the first period of NOW are eligible. And for tens of thousands of companies, the advance paid for the first period of NOW was too large, and some companies were not eligible for it at all.
About 26% of employers did not qualify for NOW in the first period. Thus, more than 32 employers must fully return the advance received. In most cases, this applies to employers who ended up losing less than 000% of their turnover. Now UWV is demanding a refund of 20 billion euros. For example, Autofabriek VDL Nedcar has to return almost 2,3 euros of its advance.
However, there were also employers who, on the contrary, received less than they should. To such companies, UWV will transfer additionally (in addition to the advance payment received by them) another 455 million euros. There are 36 such employers in total.
Who is among them?
In the category of companies eligible for additional payouts, KLM, which received more than 293 million euros in advance, will now receive another 9 million euros for the first period of NOW. Also millions of euros for NOW will be given to Schiphol Airport, the Tata Steel plant in IJmuiden and the gaming company Holland Casino.
Publication date: 06.07.2022/XNUMX/XNUMX
