In connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the option to register in the public sector partner register has been extended based on an approved amendment to the law. These changes apply to entities involved in the “First Aid” or “First Aid+” projects.
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We informed you in a previous article about the requirement for employers to fulfill their obligation to register in the public sector partner register in accordance with current legislation.
In response to the continuing deterioration of the epidemiological situation regarding COVID-19 in the Slovak Republic and the associated adverse economic situation of many entities (businesses and citizens) requiring financial assistance, the Slovak Government has approved a draft law amending and supplementing certain laws in connection with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. This draft law was subsequently approved on January 14, 2021, by the National Council of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter also referred to as the “Act”).
Among other legal regulations, the Act amended Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts (hereinafter also referred to as the “Employment Services Act”) by adding a new provision, which reads as follows:
"§ 72aq
(1) During a state of emergency, state of emergency or state of exception declared in connection with the COVID-19 disease, a citizen may apply for inclusion in the register of job seekers also on the basis of an application submitted in paper form delivered by post.
(2) For employers who receive a subsidy under projects pursuant to Section 54(1)(e) and who must be registered in the register of public sector partners, the obligation to register in the register of public sector partners shall be deemed to have been fulfilled until December 31, 2021. The provision of the first sentence shall also apply to the entire month of January 2021.
The purpose of this amendment to the Employment Services Act is, in view of the introduction of measures relating to the closure or restriction of the activities of certain facilities, as well as the restriction of the mobility of citizens, for the purposes of implementing projects to support the maintenance of employment under Section 54(1)(e) of the Employment Services Act (First Aid+), to extend the exemption from the obligation to register in the register of public sector partners pursuant to Act No. 315/2016 Coll. on the register of public sector partners and amending certain acts (hereinafter also referred to as the “Act on the register of public sector partners”), until the end of 2021 at the latest (for more details, see the Explanatory Memorandum to the Act).
It follows from the above that for employers who have been (and will be) paid a financial contribution under the Employment Services Act within the framework of the “First Aid” or “First Aid+” projects and meet the financial limits (or other conditions) for the obligation to register in the register of public sector partners within the meaning of the Act on the Register of Public Sector Partners, the exemption from the obligation to register in the register of public sector partners has been extended until 31 December 2021.
This means that employers who have participated and will participate in the above-mentioned projects and have applied for or are applying for a financial contribution (or have already received it) do not have to be registered in the register of public sector partners or are considered automatically registered until 31 December 2021.
