The government has proposed to extend until 1 July 2021 both the period in which the increased daily unemployment benefit rate applies and the temporary lay-off period.

Daily unemployment benefits

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has extended the period in which the increased daily unemployment benefit rate applies. On 1 November 2020 this temporary scheme was terminated because the government assessed that the risk of COVID-19 infection had been reduced and that job opportunities were significantly improving. However, the situation has changed and, consequently, the government has proposed to extend the period in which the increased daily unemployment benefit rate applies again.

The proposal applies to:

  • persons who after 31 October 2020 have used up their right to daily unemployment benefits and who are unemployed or temporarily laid off when the proposal is implemented; and
  • temporarily laid-off and unemployed persons who use up their right to daily unemployment benefits before 1 July 2021.

The government has proposed that persons who have used up their right to daily unemployment benefits after 31 October 2020 should be given the opportunity to apply for daily unemployment benefits again; however, this will be impossible until the regulations have been adopted.

Temporary lay-off period

Following an assessment of the current COVID-19 situation, the government has proposed to extend the temporary lay-off period to 1 July 2021. The temporary lay-off period had previously been extended from 26 to 52 weeks. If the proposal is adopted, employers will be able to temporarily lay off employees until 1 July 2021, even if the employees will be laid off for more than 52 weeks.

The government's assessment is that employers still have a temporary reduction in the need for staffing, but that there will be good opportunities to bring laid-off workers back to work in the future.

The government stated that the extended measures aim to give employees and employers more predictability during a difficult time.