Government measures in key jurisdictions 5th edition - Flipbook - Page 142
The Netherlands
Employment
•
A measure named BL-C is available for agricultural SMEs that are established in the
Netherlands and have substantial activities in the Netherlands. The Dutch government
has decided to temporarily amend the scheme to provide more financial leeway for
agricultural SMEs that run into difficulties and need working capital and/or liquidity. The
temporary extension is aimed at regular agricultural loans and means that the State
guarantees 70% of the total amount of the loan granted by the financier. This
temporary extension can be used by agricultural SMEs to obtain a bridging loan or an
increase in current account credit from a lender for a maximum term of two years.
On 10 April 2020, the measure has also been extended to include fisheries and
aquaculture companies. Companies within these sectors can make use of the scheme
retroactively per 18 March 2020. Furthermore, the premium for the government
guarantee has been decreased from 3% to 1.5% and from 1% to 0.5% for starters. The
eligible companies make an application to the accredited financier which is usually a
bank.The accredited financiers can submit an application to Rijksdienst voor
Ondernemend Nederland. Applications may be submitted until 31 March 2021. You can
find the eligibility criteria and the list of accredited financiers here.
•
The government introduced a scheme with a EUR 650 million budget for the compensation
of damages suffered by specific agricultural sectors as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Businesses in the ornamental horticulture sector and specific sections of food
horticulture with a loss in turnover of at least 30% were compensated for up to 70% of their
loss in turnover in March, April, May and June 2020. The benchmark was the average
turnover in the same period in three preceding years. As of 11 June 2020 only EUR 156
million of the available EUR 600 million was requested. Chip potato growers received
compensation in relation to the quantity of potatoes they still had in storage. The
compensation applied to potatoes that can no longer be processed into chips for this
season. The total compensation amounted to 40 percent of the average market value of the
potatoes over the period from September 2019 up until February 2020. A total of EUR 50
million was made available to this end. The schemes were not extended beyond 18 June
2020. Further details on the measures may be found here and here.
•
A guarantee fund for events will be put into place, to make sure event organisers can start
planning and set up their events. 1 July 2021 is being considered as a starting date. At least
EUR 300 million has been reserved for this scheme. Further details are still being
worked out.
•
A subsidy is available for employers that pay Dutch wages and expect to see at least a
20% decline in turnover. The scheme is known as NOW 3.0 and replaces the preceding
furlough scheme. The NOW scheme has been extended from 1 October to 1 July 2021.
The extension is divided into three intervals of three months. As at 15 February 2021, the
application period for the fourth period has started (for January until March 2021). This is
the 4th application period. It is no longer possible to apply for subsidies for previous
periods. The limit for the turnover loss percentage will remain at 20%. The compensation
for wages which can be claimed depends on the turnover loss, up to a maximum amount
80% for the period October until December and of 85% of the wage bill for January until
late June. Employees must be paid 100%. The compensation must be used to pay wage
costs, employer’s contributions, holiday allowance, pension contributions and the like.
•
The benchmark is the average turnover over the course of four months in 2019
for companies which existed in 2019. Only in the event of a 100% decline in turnover,
will 80% or 85% of the total wage bill be paid out. If the decline in turnover is lower, the
subsidy will be set at a proportionately lower level.
What
financial support is
the government
providing to
businesses and to
individuals on
employment issues?
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Government measures in key jurisdictions
