HOW TO SURVIVE DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS?

Entrepreneurs can receive a labour market subsidy through to the end of the year

The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) has been able to pay entrepreneurs a labour market subsidy since mid-March, if the business has suffered due to the coronavirus epidemic. The right to receive this subsidy continues through to 31 December 2020.

An entrepreneur is entitled to receive the labour market subsidy from Kela up to 31 December 2020, if their full-time employment in their business has ended, or if their income from self-employment, because of the epidemic, has decreased. The subsidy is available regardless of company type, and the business activities do not need to be discontinued. The backdated application period for the labour market subsidy is three months.

New applicants must first register with the TE services

If an entrepreneur has not earlier applied for temporary labour market subsidy and now wishes to do so, this entrepreneur must first register as an unemployed job seeker with the TE services. Following this, the entrepreneur can fill in an unemployment benefit application using Kela’s online service. The application requests an estimate of the average income from business activities for the period for which the subsidy is being applied.

If the entrepreneur has earnings, these will be coordinated with the labour market subsidy. Starting from 1 June, an entrepreneur could earn 500 euros on top of the subsidy, without reducing unemployment benefit. The exempt amount of the unemployment benefit has been raised temporarily, and will return to 300 euros in the beginning of November.

An entrepreneur as a personal customer of Kela

In addition to Kela’s temporary unemployment benefit already mentioned, as a personal customer, more benefits are available, such as housing or basic income support or the infectious disease allowance.

Further information

Ministry of Employment and the Economy:

• Questions and answers about the rights of entrepreneurs to receive unemployment benefit

  https://tem.fi/kysymyksia-ja-vastauksia-yrittajien-oikeudesta-tyottomyysturvaan

   

  TE services:

• news about the labour market subsidy for entrepreneurs

  https://www.te-palvelut.fi/te/fi/nain_asioit_kanssamme/te_palvelut/ajankohtaista/2020-04-08-01/index.html

• TE services for entrepreneurs and employers during the coronavirus situation

  https://www.te-palvelut.fi/te/fi/erikoissivut/ukk_tyoantajille_ja_yrittajille/index.html

   

  Kela (Social Insurance Institution of Finland):

• temporary unemployment benefit for entrepreneurs

  https://www.kela.fi/tyottomyysturva-yrittaja

• information about the number of applications for benefits submitted to Kela

  https://kelaresearchandanalytics.github.io/koronamittarit/etuushakemukset.html

• entrepreneur as a personal customer of Kela

  https://www.kela.fi/yrittajat?inheritRedirect=true

• information about the infectious disease allowance

         https://www.kela.fi/tartuntatauti

Applications for coronavirus support granted by Business Finland and ELY Centres were no longer processed after 8 June 2020.

The precise time for closing the application queues was at 4:15 p.m. on 8 June 2020. All applications that were received before closing the application queues on 8 June 2020 are processed according to coronavirus support rules. After the queue was shut down, there was a return to the regular application procedure for development grants.

If your company has been granted support due to the coronavirus, please remember to submit the final report and retain all documentation pertaining to the project (for a period of ten years following the payment of the final instalment). 30% of the grant will be paid once the final report has been approved. A prerequisite for the payment of the grant is that the company has completed the final report and that the project has been implemented as planned, while adhering to the funding decision and funding conditions.

Here you can find more information about the procedure following the decision to provide support.

Business Finland: instructions for recipients of support

https://www.businessfinland.fi/suomalaisille-asiakkaille/palvelut/rahoitus/hairiotilannerahoitus/ohjeet-rahoituksen-saajalle/#raportointi

ELY Centre: instructions for recipients of support here

The ELY Centre coronavirus funding telephone service (+ 358 295 024 800) Tuesdays to Thursdays 9:00–12.00 up until 30 September.

ELY-KESKUKSEN PALVELUJA HAETTAVISSA POIKKEUSHINTAAN 23.9.2020 ASTI

Osana koronakriisin hoitoa ELY-keskusten yrityksille tarjoamien Analyysi- ja Konsultointi -palvelujen hinnat maksavat yrityksille 30 euroa (+alv)/ konsultointipäivä.

Em. poikkeushinta on ollut voimassa maaliskuusta alkaen. Hinnat palautetaan 24.9.2020 muutosta edeltäneelle tasolle, jolloin Analyysi-palvelun päivähinta yritykselle on 220 euroa (+alv), ja Konsultointi-palvelun 300 euroa (+alv). Viimeistään 23.9.2020 jätettyihin Analyysi- ja Konsultointi-palvelujen hakemuksiin sovelletaan kuitenkin vielä nykyistä, alempaa hintatasoa. Uusi hinta koskee siten 24.9.2020 ja sen jälkeen vireille tulleita hakemuksia.

Valtion tuki ELY-keskusten Yritysten kehittämispalveluihin on edelleen merkittävä, sillä valtion rahoitusosuus Analyysi-palvelusta on 80 prosenttia ja Konsultointi-palvelusta 75 prosenttia.

Lisätietoja:

https://www.ely-keskus.fi/web/yritystenkehittamispalvelut/etusivu

https://tem.fi/-/yritysten-kehittamispalvelujen-hinnat-palaavat-ennalleen

Business Finlandin tilapäinen TKI-laina häiriötilanteisiin

Tilapäinen tutkimus-, kehitys- ja innovaatiolaina on tarkoitettu Suomessa toimiville vähintään kuusi henkilöä työllistäville pk- ja midcap-yrityksille sekä merkittävää liiketoimintaa tekeville säätiöille ja yhdistyksille. Rahoitusta voivat hakea kansainvälisillä tai kotimarkkinoilla toimivat yritykset sekä säätiöt ja yhdistykset, jotka etsivät kehittämisen avulla uusia keinoja liiketoimintansa häiriötilanteen ratkaisemiseen. Panostamalla kehittämiseen yritykset haluavat parantaa liiketoimintaedellytyksiään ja uudistaa toimintaansa ollakseen kilpailukykyisiä koronakriisin jälkeen.

Liiketoiminnan häiriötilanteeseen myönnettävä laina voi olla vähintään 100 000 euroa ja enintään 500 000 euroa. Laina-aika on pääsääntöisesti 7 - 10 vuotta. Business Finlandin myöntämän lainan osuus on 50-70 % projektin hyväksytyistä kustannuksista.  Hakijan on pystyttävä osoittamaan Business Finlandille, että sillä on riittävä kokonaisrahoitus projektin ajalle ja rahoituksen saajan on myös pystyttävä ensin maksamaan projektista syntyvät kustannukset itse. 

Tilapäistä lainarahoitusta voi hakea lokakuun 2020 loppuun mennessä. Projektien toteutus voi jatkua myös hakuajan päättymisen jälkeen. Rahoituspäätökset tehdään vuoden 2020 loppuun mennessä. 

Lue lisää:          https://www.businessfinland.fi/suomalaisille-asiakkaille/palvelut/rahoitus/tki-laina-hairiotilanteisiin/

https://www.businessfinland.fi/suomalaisille-asiakkaille/koronavirus/

Finnveran tuki rahoitusjärjestelyissä

Finnvera suhtautuu joustavasti kaikkiin koronaviruksen aiheuttamiin rahoituksen järjestelytarpeisiin. Koronaviruksen aiheuttamassa poikkeuksellisessa tilanteessa Finnvera turvaa pk-yritysten lisääntyneitä käyttöpääomatarpeita ensisijaisesti alkutakauksella, pk-takauksella ja Finnvera-takauksella.

Häiriötilanteessa Finnveran takausosuudet ovat normaalitilannetta korkeampia. Takaus on ensisijaisesti 80 prosenttia, mutta jopa 90 prosentin takaus voidaan myöntää pankin myöntämien velkakirjaluottojen takaamiseen, jos pk-yrityksen rahoituksen järjestyminen sitä ehdottomasti edellyttää. 

 Lue lisää:         https://www.finnvera.fi/kasvu/ajankohtaista-yrityksille

Some of the restaurant support is paid as a so-called mass payment and some support should be requested no later than 31 October 2020!

The catering business was severely restricted by legislation to prevent the spread of corona virus from 4 April – 31 May 2020.  The Parliament of Finland demanded restrictions when approving compensation for reasonable costs and measures to mitigate the effects. The model consists of two complementary parts, both of which can be received.

Remuneration for business restriction

Support can be granted to companies whose average sales during the period 4 April – 31 May 2020 of the restriction obligation have been lower depending on the type of company either for

• January–February 2020 or

• compared to the average sales in April-May 2019.

The review is done for the period that has been greater for the applicant. The remuneration is not granted to staff restaurants, as their business has not been restricted.

The reimbursement amount is 15% of sales-based comparative figures up to a maximum of EUR 1 million and 5% of exceeding amounts.  The maximum amount of remuneration is EUR 500,000. Remuneration is paid in total for 58 days under the restriction obligation. Information that the company has provided to the tax authorities in its value added tax notifications is used as background information.

The remuneration is usually paid without an application, as a so-called mass payment.  Information that the company has provided to the tax authorities in its value added tax notifications is used as background information.

Check if your company is subject to automatic mass payment at  https://mara.ahtp.fi/  

Support for re-employment

The support for re-employment supports the preparedness of companies and the ability to employ workers when the business starts after the restriction period, so that companies reach a level corresponding to that prevailing before the coronavirus epidemic. It is possible to receive support for a maximum of the number of employees who were full-time employees in the company in February 2020.

Support can be paid for work obtained in the form of hired labour through staffing companies or work done by a subcontractor, EUR 1,000 for each worker covered by the support. Support is then paid for a hired worker for whom invoicing is at least EUR 4,500 or the company billing for the temporary worker has paid a salary of at least 2,500 euros during the three months after the restriction obligation ended.

The support is granted and paid on application by the company even before the company has actually paid the salary to the employee or the bill to the staffing company.

The payment is based on the number of employees notified by the company.  A condition is that when applying for support, the company undertakes to pay salaries at the amount required to receive the support and to employ the notified number of hired workers. The use of the support is investigated by the KEHA-centre afterwards through monitoring measures.

The application must be submitted by 31 October 2020.

Online service

Further information available from:

https://www.keha-keskus.fi/poikkeusrahoitus/mara/

https://tem.fi/kysymyksia-ja-vastauksia-tuesta-ja-hyvityksesta-ravintoloille

TAX ADMINISTRATION SERVICES

The coronavirus may cause entrepreneurs, enterprises and accountants difficulties in handling their tax matters. The Tax Administration has compiled instructions for enterprises and entrepreneurs who have experienced difficulties in submitting and paying for their taxes in time because of the coronavirus situation. Find the instructions here: Coronavirus situation: Tax administration supports businesses

MEAE Group

Coronavirus bulletins:  https://t https://tem.fi/koronavirus

HELP IN COPING MENTALLY

For instance, the Crisis Helpline in Finnish is open 24/7, tel. +358 09 2525 0111.

Khttps://mieli.fi/fi/tukea-ja-apua/kriisipuhelin-keskusteluapua-numerossa-09-2525-0111

The support package approved by the Rovaniemi City Board on 30 March 2020 includes, for instance, bringing forward of procurements and focusing on local enterprises, extensions for the payment of rents and flexibility with bill payment conditions.

Approved support measures for enterprises:

Procurements

• The units of the City of Rovaniemi will bring forward all procurements planned for this year that it regards as being necessary.
• Efforts will be made to make procurements from local enterprises, with consideration for the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts and competition legislation. More flexible procedures for procurements that fall below the national threshold value.
• Efforts will be made to make procurements from local actors, with consideration for the security of supply and operating reliability.
• Wherever possible, efforts will be made to split larger procurements into parts.
• The flow of information about tender bids will be made more effective.
• Wherever possible, efforts will be made to moderate the terms and conditions of current contracts.

Support measures for the tenants of premises owned by the city

• If necessary, extended payment times for the payment of rents for company premises and land leases can be granted for a period of three months, or reductions in rents can be granted for small businesses that are forced to downsize operations, interrupt operations, or completely shut down their premises due to the coronavirus situation. The duration of this rental relief depends on the duration of the coronavirus crisis and will be applied separately by company. In the aforementioned scenario, it is possible to request assistance with the accumulation of rent paid in arrears, if the business is otherwise healthy.

Business services

• The Business Service Voucher taken into use in May can also be front-loaded. The service provider can already bill for half of the value of the voucher and corresponding VAT during the commencement stage of the service.
• Business service actors will make communications about their services more effective and shall develop their services.
• The new coronavirus support instruments of the ELY Centre, Business Finland and Finnvera are emphasised in business advice services.
• The focusing of measures for supporting the situation of sole entrepreneurs will be assured in cooperation with the state authorities.

• Business service actors shall investigate the financing possibilities of the Rovaniemi Villages’ Development Foundation support measures for this time of crisis.
  
  

General

• The subsidiaries of the city shall compile their own subsidiary-specific plans for their measures to support business as quickly as possible, while adhering to the current policies approved by the city.
• The financing needs of city subsidiaries are safeguarded due to the problems caused by the coronavirus epidemic.
• Payments of purchase invoices to enterprises by the city can be brought forward.
• The billing of sales invoices can be postponed and payment terms can be extended. Extensions of payment times can also be granted for already billed and unpaid receivables, for a maximum of 90 days.
• City marketing is being developed and implemented based on the revised brand. When possible, joint resident and company campaigns will be designed and implemented.

Requests

• The city requests for local enterprises wherever possible to also implement the aforementioned measures set by the city in their own operations.
• The city hereby appeals to all townspeople to make purchases from local enterprises.