All employees must agree: If one, out of all, employees does not sign the agreement, the employer forfeits all support for the month of June. Mind you, after the month has passed. Employers who, in good faith, paid their employees for this month are now left hanging to dry if just 1 of their employees refuses to sign the required statement drafted by Government. Apparently, the lack of consultation and consensus has upset the Chamber of Unions to such an extent that they are now advising their members (and private sector employees in general) to not sign the required statement. This is unfortunate as it will lead to mass layoffs and an increase in the number of business closures (bankruptcies). This has created an unworkable level of animosity and distrust between employers and employees.
SZV registered wages: These wages include all sorts of wage elements (vacation pay, fixed bonusses, premiable allowances, shares in service charge and tip pools, commissions, provisions, etc.) that will only have to be paid when earned. Since many businesses have been closed since mid-March (5 months by now) there are no sales (so no commissions, provisions, service charge and tip pool) and employees do not actually work (so no allowances). At the same time, it has become impossible for employers to mitigate the loss of those types of income for their employees. Yet they are still included in the basis (SZV registered wage) for the calculation of the employee’s and SSRP contribution. Especially for the performance-based remuneration, there is no legal basis for payment. This causes a lot of employers to not be able to apply for support.
Exclusions: Many businesses were excluded from the payroll support for April and to a lesser extent for May. The selection of excluded businesses was not always logical. Many businesses that did suffer significant loss of sales were not able to qualify for support. Supermarkets come to mind, even though they had to close for a few weeks and lost additional revenue because of the absence of tourists and the closure of the border. The published number of businesses that did apply for support and the amount of support paid out is significantly below the anticipated number and budgeted amount. One wonders whether the exclusion list has not been established overly broad, out of fear of overspending.
Time to process, accessibility of June support portal: While some business requests for support have been processed in time, many businesses are still waiting for an answer that they are eligible. This creates significant financial problems for these businesses. The conditions for the June payroll support were published late and the portal for the June payroll support was only accessible as of 7 August. Aside from financial problems, this creates large problems for all employers that did not pay the percentage of SZV registered wages, established in accordance with the rules of the new system, for the month of June. Employers that paid more will find it difficult to get their employees to agree, when they paid less they may not qualify, when the SZV registered wages include variable wage elements it becomes very difficult to qualify. Even though adjustments in pay on a later date are allowed, it still creates unnecessary problems for both employers and employees while it also adds to the lack of trust between employers and employees.
https://www.soualiganewsday.com/index.php?option=com-k2&view=item&id=33103:ssrp-has-become-a-topic-of-animosity-and-antagonism&Itemid=450
