Just published the procedures, conditions and terms of access to the New Incentive to the Activity’s Normalization and Simplified Support

- New incentive to the normalization of business activity, provided for in article 5 of Decree-Law No. 23-A/2021, of March 24, hereinafter referred to as the 'new incentive to normalization'; and

- Simplified support for micro-enterprises to maintain jobs, foreseen in article 14-A of Decree Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, as amended, hereinafter referred to as "simplified support".

The present Ordinance shall enter into force on 15 May 2021.

General dispositions

I - Applications

The opening and closing date of the application periods for the new incentive to normalization and for the simplified support foreseen in the present ordinance is defined by a decision of the directive board of the IEFP, I. P., and published in the website www.iefp.pt . 

Applications shall be submitted on a specific form via the portal https://iefponline.iefp.pt/ .

New incentive to the normalization of business activity

II - Beneficiaries

The new incentive to normalization is aimed at private employers, including those in the social sector, who have received, in the first quarter of 2021, at least one of the following supports:

• Extraordinary support for the maintenance of a work contract, under the terms of article 2 of Decree-Law no. 6-E/2021, of January 15, as amended;
• Extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a business crisis situation, with a temporary reduction of the normal work period, under the terms of article 4 of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of 30th July, in its current wording.

III - Financial Supports

The new incentive to normalization is granted in one of the following modalities:

• Incentive in the amount of twice the minimum monthly guaranteed retribution (RMMG) per employee covered by the supports referred to in Point II, paid in a phased manner over 6 months, when applied for by May 31, 2021;
• Incentive in the amount of one RMMG per employee covered by the support referred to in Point II, paid in a lump sum, when applied for after the date referred to in the previous paragraph and until August 31, 2021, being considered a 3-month concession period.

IV - Application

The application is presented in the terms of Point I, and is accompanied by the following documents:

• Declaration of no debt or authorization to consult online the contributory and tax situation before social security and the Tax and Customs Authority (AT);
• Term of acceptance, indicating the IBAN, according to the model provided by the IEFP, I. P.

The IEFP, I. P., will issue a decision within 15 working days from the date of submission of the application.

V - Duties of the employer

The term of acceptance, as foreseen in Point IV, defines the duties arising from the granting of the new normalization incentive, under the terms set forth in no. 5 of article 5 of Decree-Law no. 23-A/2021, of March 24.

These duties must be fulfilled by the employer during the entire incentive granting period, corresponding to 6 months and 3 months, respectively (depending on the incentive chosen, see Point III), as well as in the following 90 days.

VI - Payment of the support

The payment of the new incentive to normalization in the first modality foreseen in Point III is to be made in two installments, under the following terms:

• The first installment shall be paid within 10 working days from the date of communication of approval of the request, upon proof of the contribution and tax situation regularized before the social security and the AT;
• The second installment is paid within 6 months from the date of communication of approval of the request;

The payment of the second installment of the new incentive to normalization is subject to the verification of compliance with the duties set forth in paragraph 5 of article 5 of Decree Law no. 23-A/2021, of March 24.

The payment of the new incentive to normalization, in the second modality foreseen in Point III, is made in a lump sum, within 10 working days from the date of communication of approval of the request, upon proof that the tax and social security contributions have been settled.

Simplified support for microenterprises to maintain jobs

VII - Beneficiaries

The simplified support is aimed at private employers, including those in the social sector, that are considered micro-enterprises (i.e., companies that in the calendar month prior to the application submission employ less than 10 workers) that are in a situation of business crisis, under the terms of article 3 of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, as amended, and that have benefited in 2020 from at least one of the following supports:

• Extraordinary support for the maintenance of a work contract, provided for in article 5 of Decree-Law no. 10-G/2020, of March 26, as amended;
• Extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a business crisis situation, with a temporary reduction of the normal work period, provided for in article 4 of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, as amended.

Only employers that, in the first quarter of 2021, have not benefited from the extraordinary support for the maintenance of a work contract, under article 2 of Decree-Law no. 6-E/2021, of 15 January, as amended, or from the Extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis, can benefit from the simplified support.

VIII - Financial Support

The simplified support consists of financial support in the amount of twice the RMMG per worker covered by the measures referred to in Point VII, paid in a phased manner over 6 months.

The employer that, during the first semester of 2021, benefits from the above mentioned financial support, that, in June 2021, remains in a business crisis situation, under the terms of article 3 of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, in its current wording, and that, in 2021, has not benefited from extraordinary support to maintain the employment contract, under the terms of article 2 of Decree-Law no. 6-E/2021, of 15 January, in its current wording or who has not benefited from the extraordinary support to maintain a work contract, under article 2 of Decree-Law no. 6-E/2021, of 15 January, as amended, or from the extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity provided for in article 4 of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of 30 July, as amended, is entitled to apply, between the months of July and September 2021, for additional support in the amount of one RMMG per worker covered by the previous support, paid in a lump sum.

IX - Application

The application is presented in the terms of Point I, and is accompanied by the following documents:

• Statement from the employer and certification from the company's certified accountant attesting to the business crisis situation, under the terms of article 3 of Decree Law 46-A/2020, of July 30, in its current wording;
• Declarations of absence of debt or authorization to consult online the contributory and tax situation before the social security and the AT;
• Term of acceptance, indicating the IBAN, according to the model made available by the IEFP, I. P.

The additional support foreseen in Point VIII is requested, under the terms foreseen in the notice of opening of applications, through an application to be submitted to the IEFP, I. P., accompanied by the following documents:

• Statement from the employer and certification from the company's certified accountant attesting to the business crisis situation at the time;
• Declarations of inexistence of debt, in case the previous ones have expired, and authorization has not been given to consult online the tax and social security situation;
• Addendum to the term of acceptance, according to the model made available by the IEFP, I. P.

 

X - Duties of the employer

The term of acceptance foreseen in Point IX defines the duties arising from the concession of the simplified support, in the terms established in paragraph 4 of article 14-A of Decree Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, in its current wording.

The duties referred to in the previous paragraph must be fulfilled by the employer during the entire period of the support, corresponding to 6 months, as well as during the following 90 days.

XI - Payment of support

The payment of the support foreseen in Point VIII is made in two equal instalments, under the following terms:

• The first installment is paid within 10 working days from the date of communication of the approval of the request, upon proof of the contribution and tax situation regularized before the social security and the AT;
• The second installment is paid within six months from the date of communication of approval of the application.

The payment of the second installment of the support foreseen in Point VIII is subject to the verification of the fulfillment of the duties established in no. 4 of article 14-A of Decree Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, in its current wording, and of the confirmation of the business crisis situation, in accordance with no. 5 of article 13.

The payment of the additional support foreseen in Point VIII is made in a lump sum, within 10 working days from the date of communication of approval of the respective request, upon verification of compliance with the duties established in number 4 of article 14-A of Decree Law 46-A/2020, of July 30, in its current wording.

Cumulation of support and non-compliance

XII - Support cumulation and sequentiality

The employer cannot benefit, simultaneously or sequentially, from the new incentive to standardization and from the simplified support foreseen in this Executive Order.

The employer cannot simultaneously benefit from the new incentive to normalization or from the simplified support foreseen in the present Executive Order and the following support:

• Extraordinary support for the maintenance of a work contract, provided for in Decree-Law No. 10-G/2020, of March 26, as amended, and Decree-Law No. 6-E/2021, of January 15, as amended;
• Extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a business crisis situation, provided for in Decree Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, as amended;
• Reduction or suspension measures foreseen in articles 298 et seq. of the Labor Code.

The employer that benefits from the support foreseen in this Executive Order cannot sequentially benefit from the extraordinary support for the progressive resumption of activity in companies in a situation of business crisis, foreseen in Decree Law no. 46-A/2020, of 30th July, in its current wording, without prejudice to the provisions of the following number.

After 3 full months have elapsed from the payment of the first instalment of the new standardisation incentive, the employer that benefits from the new normalization incentive has the right to withdraw from it and subsequently apply for the progressive recovery support set out in Decree Law 46-A/2020, of July 30, as amended, in accordance with number 8 of article 5 of Decree Law 23-A/2021, of March 23.

The employer that uses the new incentive to standardization or the simplified support provided for in this decree-law may, on termination of this support, use the reduction or suspension measures foreseen in articles 298 and following of the Labour Code, and the provisions of article 298-A of the Labour Code do not apply.

The new incentive to standardization and the simplified support foreseen in this administrative rule can be cumulative with the extraordinary incentive to the standardization of business activity, foreseen in Decree Law no. 27-B/2020, of June 19.

The new incentive to standardization and the simplified support foreseen in this Executive Order can be cumulative with other direct support to employment and can only be granted once for each employer.

XIII - Non-compliance and restitution of support

The non-fulfillment of the obligations arising from the concession of the new incentive to normalization and of the simplified support foreseen in this decree-law determines the termination of the same, and the restitution or payment to the IEFP, I.P., or to the ISS, I. P., respectively, of the amounts already received or exempted, under the terms of the following numbers, without prejudice to the exercise of the right to complain due to evidence of a possible crime.

Failure to comply with the duty to maintain the level of employment as set out in line c) of no. 5 of article 5 of Decree-Law no. 23-A/2021, of 24 March, or line c) of no. 4 of article 14-A of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of 30 July, as amended, shall result in the loss of the right to the new normalization incentive or the simplified support, respectively, and the proportional refund to the IEFP, I. P, of the amounts already received, in relation to the number of jobs eliminated, without prejudice to the possibility of restoring them in the month following that in which the fall in the level of employment occurs.

The following situations determine total restitution to the IEFP, I. P., of the amounts already received

• Failure to comply with the provisions of paragraph a) of no. 5 of article 5 of Decree Law no. 23-A/2021, of March 24, or paragraph a) of no. 4 of article 14-A of Decree Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, in its current wording, as applicable, regarding the contributory and tax situation;
• Failure to comply with the provisions of paragraph b) of no. 5 of article 5 of Decree-Law no. 23-A/2021, of March 24, or paragraph b) of no. 4 of article 14-A of Decree-Law no. 46-A/2020, of July 30, as amended, as applicable, in relation to the prohibition on terminating employment contracts under the collective dismissal, termination of employment and dismissal for unsuitability modalities, or to initiate the respective procedures;
• The declaration of the unlawfulness of dismissal for reasons attributable to the employee, carried out by an employer benefiting from the new incentive to standardization or the simplified support provided for in this ordinance, unless the employee is reinstated in the same establishment of the company, without prejudice to his or her category and seniority, under the terms established in article 389 of the Labour Code;
• The withdrawal, annulment or termination of the concession due to non-compliance with the social security support foreseen in article 6 and in no. 1 of article 11, which were the basis for the granting of the new normalization incentive or the simplified support, respectively;
• The non-verification of a business crisis situation, under the terms foreseen in articles 11 no. 1 and 12 no. 4 for the simplified support and its additional support, when applicable;
• The provision of false statements in the scope of the new standardization incentive or the simplified support foreseen in this Executive Order.

Failure to comply with the provisions of Point XII determines the immediate termination of the new incentive to standardization or of the simplified support and the restitution and payment to the IEFP, I. P., and to the ISS, I. P., respectively, of all the amounts already received and exempted within this scope.

For the purposes of the provisions of the previous paragraphs, if the restitution is not made voluntarily within the period set by the IEFP, I. P., default interest at the legal rate in force shall be due from the end of that period, and enforced collection shall be carried out under the terms of the legislation in force.