The conditions for granting the technical unemployment allowance, as initially consecrated by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 30/2020  on the amendment and completion of a series of normative acts and establishing some measures in the field of social protection in the context of the current epidemic situation determined by the spreading of the coronavirus (”GEO 30”), were amended/ clarified by the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 30/2020   32/2020 (”OUG 32”).

As such, who is currently entitled to receive the technical unemployment allowance?

The allowance can be granted to employees whose employers temporarily reduce or cease their activity, totally or partially, due to the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemics, during the state emergency period, based on a self-responsibility declaration.

Nota bene 1: The employees having concluded more than one individual labour agreements are also included in the above category, provided that no full-time agreements remains active; should more individual labour agreements exist in case of a sole employee, he/she shall benefit from the allowance calculated to the agreement providing the most advantageous salary rights.  

Nota bene 2: The condition for the employer to obtain the emergency certificate is eliminated and the employer shall only have to submit a self-responsibility declaration attesting the interruption of the activity due to the pandemics.

Nota bene 3: The condition according to which the cash-ins must be 25% lower than the average for the months January-February 2020 was eliminated.

What is the quantum of the allowance?

In comparison with GEO 30, the amending legal enactment clarifies the fact that the maximum amount to be borne from the unemployment budget is of 75% of the gross medium salary provided by the 2020 State Social Insurance Budget Law no. 6/2020, respectively RON 4,071.75 RON, BUT this amount can be supplemented by the employer with amounts covering the difference to at least the amount representing 75% of the respective employee’s gross salary.

What is the procedure to be followed and how much will the employees have to wait?

The employers shall submit online, the following documents to the agencies for the workforce occupation:

• Request – standard form;
• Self-responsibility declaration – standard form;
• List of employees for which the allowance is requested – standard form,

all standard forms being mentioned within the content of the annexes to the Order No. 741/2020 issued by the Minister of Labour and Social Security.

The payment shall be done in the employer’s accounts within maximum 15 days as of the submission of the documentation, and the employer shall transfer the amounts to the employees within maximum 3 working days as of the moment the employer’s accounts is credited.

Nota bene: in order to give substance to the legal text stating that the submissions shall be made online, starting with 3 April 2020, a digital platform was launched, https://aici.gov.ro, which allows the effective implementation of the procedure, including in relation with the public institutions that do not have their own online registration system.