Partial unemployment benefits to compensate for a reduction in working time

The aim of the measure is to ensure, to the extent possible, that firms keep workers on their payrolls, rather than dismissing them. The maintenance of employment relations is of value to both workers and businesses. It is important to protect workers against the consequences of a temporary contraction in the economy so as to minimise the negative financial and social effects suffered by each individual.

A business may ask its employees to agree to a reduction in working time with an equal reduction in pay only on the condition that it has been forced to reduce its operations because of the current unusual situation.

A reduction in working time with reduction in pay can only take place on the basis of an agreement (see link below this pdf on the website) concluded between the employer and the employee.

Main features of the legislative provisions providing for the payment of unemployment benefits in cases of reduced working time:

• Any decision to implement reduced working time for reduced pay must be based on an agreement concluded between the firm and each individual and stipulating the proportion by which working time is reduced and the period during which the reduction will apply.
• The reduction in hours worked must be at least 20 percentage points.
• The number of hours worked after working time has been reduced must correspond to at least 25 per cent of full-time hours.
• Partial unemployment benefits are paid out in direct proportion to the reduction in hours worked.
• The sum of wages received from the employer and unemployment benefits paid is limited to 90 per cent of the pay earned prior to the reduction in working time taking effect, and may not exceed ISK 700,000.
• Workers whose pay for a full-time position prior to the reduction was ISK 400,000 or less will receive full compensation.
• Workers whose pay for a full-time position prior to the reduction was higher than ISK 400,000 are given a guarantee that the sum of wages received from the employer and unemployment benefits paid will not fall below ISK 400,000.
• Agreements on reduced working time for reduced pay do not affect workers’ rights to receive wage-related unemployment benefits if they lose their jobs at a later date.
• Students at the university level are entitled to receive partial unemployment benefits if they meet the conditions laid down in the legislation.
• Workers’ rights to receive payments from the Wage Guarantee Fund are safeguarded in cases where an employer becomes bankrupt.
• Self-employed persons are covered by the legislation.
• The legislative provisions outlined above are to remain in force from 15 March to 1 June 2020.

A few points of clarification:

• If a firm requests that its employees agree to a reduction in working time with an attendant reduction in pay without a period of notice, an employee may refuse to accept this and may insist that the period of notice be respected.
• An employer may not require a worker to put in longer hours of work than stipulated in the agreement on reduced working time.
• The right to receive unemployment benefits as a compensation for reduced working time applies to all workers, including students at the university level, irrespective of their rights to other benefits.

How to apply for partial unemployment benefits

Workers apply for partial unemployment benefits by filling in an electronic form in the My pages section of the website of the Directorate of Labour. The employer concerned must also provide certain information on its pages on the Directorate’s website. The application for partial unemployment benefits can be processed as soon as both the worker and the employer have entered the required information.

For more information:

www.asi.is

Í ljósi aðstæðna í þjóðfélaginu verður ekki um hefðbunda kynningarfundi að ræða heldur hefur verið útbúið sameiginlegt kynningarefni fyrir öll aðildarfélögin af hálfu Starfsgreinasambandsins og er það aðgengilegt hér.  Einnig má nálgast stutt kynningarmyndband um helstu atriði samningsins. Kynningarbæklingur er í prentun og er von á honum í pósti á næstu dögum en hann er einnig að finna rafrænan í gögnunum.

Kjörskráin og atkvæðagreiðslan er sameiingleg með þeim 18 félögum sem að samningum standa. Hófst hún kl. 12:00 núna þann 19. mars og lýkur fimmtudagin 26. mars kl. 16:00 - sjá slóðin á kosninguna

Þeir félagsmenn sem lenda í vandræðum með að komast inn á kosninuna sjálfa er bent á að snúa sér til félagsins í síma 470 0300. Ef frekari spurningar vakna um efni samningsins sem kynningarefnið svarar ekki, er velkomið að hafa samband.

Í samræmi við þríhliða yfirlýsingu Alþýðusambands Íslands, Samtaka atvinnulífsins og ríkisstjórnarinnar frá 5.3 2020 um nauðsyn þess að hægja á útbreiðslu COVID-19 hefur á undanförnum dögum verið unnið að lagafrumvarpi sem tryggja á launarétt launafólks sem þarf að sæta sóttkví skv. fyrirmælum yfirvalda. Frumvarpið hefur nú verið lagt fram á Alþingi og er þar til meðferðar.

Meginreglan verður sú að atvinnurekendur haldi áfram að greiða laun en ríkið endurgreiði þeim allt nema launatengdu gjöldin. Kanna ber möguleika á að starfsmenn fari í fjarvinnu og skerðast þá endurgreiðslur sem því nemur. Greiði atvinnurekandi ekki laun meðan á sóttkví stendur geta einstaklingar sótt sjálfir um greiðslur. Ef fjarvinna er möguleg skerðast greiðslur sem því nemur. Gert er ráð fyrir að greiðslur verði aldrei hærri en 633.000 kr. miðað við heilan almanaksmánuð og hámarkgreiðsla fyrir hvern almanaksdag því 21.100 kr. Frumvarpið gerir einnig ráð fyrir að sjálfstætt starfandi einstaklingar í sóttkví geti átt sambærilegan rétt og launafólk.

Eftir að vinna hófst við gerð frumvarpsins var sett á tímabundið samkomubann. Af þeim ástæðum hefur orðið alvarleg röskun á skólastarfi þannig að nemendum er gert að sækja ekki skóla tiltekna daga eða tilteknar stundir dagsins. Af þeim ástæðum munu margir foreldrar ekki geta komið við gæslu barna sinna. Jafnframt hafa heilbrigðisyfirvöld hvatt til þess að samgangur barna og eldri kynslóða, afa og ömmu, verði takmörkuð til verndar þeim síðarnefndu. Samkomubann yfirvalda getur þannig haft sömu beinu áhrifin á launafólk eins og sóttkví þess sjálfs. Af þessum ástæðum hefur ASÍ að höfðu samráði við SA gert tillögur um að frumvarpinu verði breytt til þess að ná utan um þennan hóp launafólks.

Heilbrigðisyfirvöld leggja mikla áherslu á að smit nái ekki til viðkvæmra hópa. Sá hópur sætir ekki sóttkví skv. fyrirmælum heilbrigðisyfirvalda en ASÍ telur brýnt að haga málum þannig að úrræði frumvarpsins nái einnig til þeirra enda fari það í sóttkví að læknisráði. Breytingar hafa verið lagðar til í þessu efni.

(fréttatilkynning Alþýðusambands Íslands)

Measures in response to a contraction in the labour market

The Icelandic labour market is currently fraught with uncertainty following the declaration of a global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. Tourism and a number of related sectors are already facing a severe contraction, and there is a constant stream of news about official action being taken in other countries which will aggravate the economic contraction in Iceland. We are dealing with an unprecedented, temporary situation in the labour market to which we must react quickly, decisively and with foresight.

The goal is to protect workers and businesses from loss caused by a temporary setback, thus minimising the economic and social harm suffered by individuals, and helping businesses to survive this temporary downturn and return in full strength when the market recovers. An important part of this is to ensure that companies do not start laying off employees or act in ways that infringe on workers’ rights. This applies to all workers, whether they are Icelandic citizens or not.

The Icelandic government is preparing legislation to make it possible for businesses to offer their staff a modification of their employment contracts whereby a temporary reduction in working hours and pay would be compensated for through the payment of an unemployment allowance. The exact form the legislation will take is not known yet, but the bill is expected to be put to a vote in the Icelandic parliament later this week.

As soon as the content of the new legislation is known the trade unions will relay the information to their members and provide guidance on how to proceed. We advise everyone to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest developments, and we recommend that workers do not sign any new employment contracts relating to specific measures until the new legislation is in place.

Działania w związku z recesją na rynku pracy

Obecnie na rynku pracy występuje sytuacja kryzysowa po ogłoszeniu pandemii koronawirusa. Odczuwalne są już skutki recesji w sektorze turystycznym i gałęziach pokrewnych, a ponadto cały czas dochodzą do nas informacje na temat podejmowanych działań za granicą, które jeszcze w większym stopniu przyczyniają się do recesji. Ponieważ mamy do czynienia z bezprecedensową i tymczasową sytuacją na rynku pracy, należy zareagować szybko oraz podjąć zdecydowane i dalekowzroczne działania.

Naszym celem jest ochrona pracobiorców i pracodawców w związku z tymczasowym kryzysem w taki sposób, aby ponieść jak najmniejsze szkody, zarówno finansowe, jak i społeczne, oraz aby przedsiębiorstwa przetrwały tymczasową recesję i wyszły z niej całe, a nawet mocniejsze. Ważne, aby przedsiębiorstwa nie podejmowały działań w postaci zwolnień pracowników czy naruszania ich praw. Dotyczy to zarówno pracowników islandzkich, jak i zagranicznych.

Właśnie trwają prace nad wprowadzeniem ustawy, zgodnie z którą przedsiębiorstwa będą mogły zawierać tymczasowe porozumienia z pracobiorcami o zmniejszenie etatu, natomiast pracobiorcy będą mogli otrzymywać za utraconą część etatu zasiłek dla bezrobotnych. Projekt ustawy nie jest jeszcze gotowy, jednakże zatwierdzenie ustawy o powyższej treści zaplanowano na dalszą część tygodnia.

Związki zawodowe poinformują swoich członków o treści ustawy od razu, jak tylko zostanie przyjęta, a następnie poinstruują ich na temat dalszych etapów w sprawie. Apelujemy do pracobiorców o uważne śledzenie postępów w sprawie oraz wstrzymanie się przed zawieraniem umów ze swoimi pracodawcami dotyczącymi potencjalnych działań do czasu wejścia ustawy w życie.

Á stjórnarfundi AFLs í gær voru samþykktar nýjar reglur um endurgreiðslur vegna niðurfelldra leiga í orlofsíbúðum. Reglurnar eru tímabundnar á meðan óvissa vegna Covid-19 er að ganga yfir.  Þannig var samþykkt að endurgreiða allar leigur sem felldar hafa verið niður frá 13. mars (að frádregnu staðfestingargjaldi) án tillits til hversu mikill fyrirvari var á niðurfellingunni.  Þetta mun gilda til 25. mars en eftir 25 mars verða leigur sem eru afpantaðar með 2ja daga fyrirvara eða meira - endurgreiddar skv. reglum félagsins.

Venjulega þarf að afbóka íbúð með 10 daga fyrirvara til að tryggja sér skilyrðislausa endurgreiðslu - og verður fyrirvarinn lengdur aftur upp í 10 daga um leið og ástandið fer að verða eðlilegt aftur.  Mikið hefur verið um afbókanir síðustu daga þar sem viðburðir hafa verið felldir niður.

Engu að síður eru íbúðir okkar í talsverðri notkun og nauðsynlegur þáttur í þjónustu AFLs við félagsmenn sem  þurfa að vera í nágrenni Landsspítalans t.d. vegna meðgöngu eða alvarlegra sjúkdóma og meðferða.  Hjá félaginu liggja nú endurgreiðslubeiðnir fyrir um tveimur milljónum króna og verða þær afgreiddar í dag og á mánudag.

Zwroty za wynajem mieszkań

Na wczorajszym posiedzeniu zarządu urlopowego AFL zatwierdzono nowe zasady zwrotu kosztów za anulowane wynajmu. Zasady są tymczasowe, do momentu ustabilizowania się sytuacji związanej z wirusem Covid-19. W związku z tym uzgodniono zwrot wszystkich umów najmu anulowanych od 13 marca (minus opłata za potwierdzenie) bez względu na ilość dni przed anulowaniem. Obowiązywać to będzie do 25 marca, zaś  po 25 marca anulowanie wynajmu  z zachowaniem 2-dniowego okresu wypowiedzenia lub więcej -  będzie rozpatrywane  zgodnie z regulaminem AFLu.

Zwykle mieszkanie musi zostać anulowane z 10-dniowym wyprzedzeniem, aby otrzymać bezwarunkowy zwrot - a rezerwacja zostanie przedłużona do 10 dni, gdy sytuacja zacznie wracać do normy.

Ze względu na zaistniałą sytuację w ciągu ostatnich kilku dni wiele rezerwacji zostało anulowanych.

Niemniej jednak nasze apartamenty są nadal w znacznym stopniu użytkowane i wciąż stanowią jedną z podstawowych usług AFLu. Korzystają z nich członkowie, którzy ze względu na leczenie muszą przebywać w pobliżu szpitali.

Do dnia dzisiejszego kwota zwrotu za anulowanie wynajmu mieszkań wynosi ok. 2.000.000 kr.Część zwrotów została juz wypłacona w piątek, a pozopstałą część AFL wypłaci w poniedziałek.

Refund for cancelled apartments.

AFL´s board decided last night to temporarily easy the refund policy for cancelled apartments.  All cancellations since March 13th will be refunded (- the confirmation fee). This will be effective till March 25th and after that cancelled apartments will be repaid if the cancellation is more than two days before the rent starts.  Normally the time limit to cancel and get an unconditional refund is 10 days and we will "ease" our rules back to normal - as the situations improves.

AFLs - sickness- and holiday apartments have been cancelled since the outbreak of Covid 19 and now AFL has a backlog of 2 million IKr of refund claims.  We will deal with them today and on Monday. However, our apartments are still in heavy use and are important in our service to our members - not the least those who must stay close to the hospital in Reykjavík due to pregnancy or serious illness or treatment.

Opnað hefur verið fyrir umsóknir í orlofshús félagsins fyrir sumarið 2020. AFL býður upp á orlofshús á 10 stöðum víðsvegar um landið. Umsóknafrestur er til og með 6. apríl, félagsmenn eru hvattir til að fara á innri vef félagsins “mínar síður” og sækja um þar. Einnig er hægt að hafa samband við skrifstofur félagins í síma 4700300 til að sækja um. 

Orlofsbæklingur er í dreyfingu á Austurlandi um þessar mundir, einnig hægt er að nálgast bæklinginn rafrænt hér - > Orlofsbæklingur 2020