Almost 6000 employers have to repay full wage support: good for €160 million | To undertake

The UWV benefits agency paid the money as an advance and wanted a final statement from employers before 10 January to see how much financial aid they are actually entitled to. It now appears that 5840 companies have not done this, which means that they have to repay a total of about 160 million euros.

After the introduction of the first lockdown due to the coronavirus, the government set up the first counter for the temporary Emergency Measure Bridging Employment (NOW). Employers were reimbursed wage costs between March and the end of May if they lost a lot of income due to the pandemic. As the loss of income increased, they received more aid, which was paid out as an advance. But for the determination of the definitive aid, employers had to provide the exact figures on the loss of turnover, often with an auditor’s report.

Deadline

For companies that have not done this before the latest deadline, the UWV sets the amount to which they are entitled at zero euros. These employers can still appeal against this decision. To prevent these companies from being in acute financial distress, they have the option of making a payment arrangement that, according to the UWV, is generous. Employers who have to repay part of their NOW advance also have that option.

“It is expected that part of this group of 5840 employers has deliberately not submitted an application and is not considering this either,” writes Minister Karien van Gennip (Social Affairs) to the House of Representatives. Those companies have known for some time that they ultimately did not meet the conditions for wage support, and therefore have to repay the amount in any case.

More than 132,000 employers who received NOW in the spring of 2020 have already applied for a full or partial determination.

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