Large companies largely opting for Covid-19 crisis bonus

Pharmaceutical companies Krka and Novartis have not suspended their operations during the epidemic so they plan no pay or staff cuts and will not ask for state aid for idle workers.

All Krka employees who have been working during the crisis and will work until the end of April will receive a 10% performance bonus on top of their monthly pay, or at least EUR 326 gross for a full working month.

Krka supervisors will meanwhile donate 30% of their fees to those in need in their local community.

Tool maker Unior will pay all of its employees a crisis bonus as set down by the Covid-19 emergency law, while its management will not receive performance bonuses for the 2019 business year.

Similarly, home appliance maker Gorenje, which owned by China's Hisense, will pay out a crisis bonus under the emergency legislation.

The bonus will be calculated on the basis of hourly rates for work in April and May, or EUR 200 for a full working month.

Pay at Gorenje has not been cut, not even for managers, which the company however mentioned as an option for the future.

At the NLB bank, members of the management and supervisory boards will have their pay cut by 15% until the end of the year and will not get performance bonuses. Other high-profile professionals at the bank will see their pay cut by 10% during the epidemic.

Part of the money saved there will be redistributed among the NLB employees who have for various reasons been sent home during the crisis. These idle workers will receive a wage compensation in the amount of 85% of their average pay from the last three months.

Although banks and insurance companies are not obliged to pay out a crisis bonus under the emergency legislation, NLB employees working during the crisis will receive one.

Retailer Mercator workers have already received a 30% crisis bonus for March. The crisis bonus under the emergency law will however be paid with the April salary, meaning in May, for both March and April.

Despite a 50% drop in its sales, energy company and fuel trader Petrol has paid out its own crisis bonus to the workers most at risk during the epidemic.

The Petrol management meanwhile cut its salary by 20%, heads of departments saw their salaries reduced by 10% and other employees by around 5%. The measure will stay in place until the end of May, but could be extended.

National telco Telekom Slovenije has not cut pay, saying its employees were extremely busy providing uninterrupted services during the epidemic.

Some 70-80% of its employees have been working from home, and those under the most stress received a special bonus for difficult working conditions.

Port operator Luka Koper will pay a crisis bonus for March and April in May, with a decision to cut executive pay expected in the coming days.

HSE, the group bringing together several electricity producers, will pay out the crisis bonus in line with the emergency legislation.

Its management has not cut its pay, saying it is already some 15% lower than it could be under the law on management pay in state-owned companies.