The First Aid Plus programme to help maintain jobs and support the self-employed is to be expanded and its volume increased, Labour Minister Milan Krajniak (We Are Family) announced on Monday. Payments to applicants are to be extended until June 30, 2021 and also more applicants will become eligible. The aid per employee or per self-employed will be capped at €870 monthly, with the lowest limit also increased to €330, said Krajniak. The step is projected to cost an additional €40 million monthly. The Labour Ministry plans to submit the changes to the Government this Wednesday (February 3) and pointed out that the proposal must also be greenlighted by the European Commission.
Finance Minister Eduard Heger (OLaNO) pointed out that the additional burden of €40 million monthly that the programme poses is not "small potatoes" for the Slovak budget, yet the gravity of the situation demands it. He finds it crucial, however, to maintain employment also with an eye towards enabling a prompt restart of the economy, once the pandemic is over.
