Employers encouraged to file furlough applications without delay

Addressing the press on Friday, a day after the application collection was launched, Labour Minister Luka Mesec and Employment Service director Greta Metka Barbo Škerbinc said the forms may be incomplete when filed, because applicants will be able to supplement them later on.

Two deadlines have been set: applications for those who had not been to work since before the relevant emergency legislation stepped into force on 11 August need to be submitted by 28 August, while forms for those who went on furlough after the legislation took effect can be lodged up to 15 days after the start of furlough.

The majority of those on furlough have been off work since 4 August, when the floods devastated parts of north and central Slovenia, which Mesec described today as "probably the largest natural disaster" in Slovenia's history.

The government wants to help people and companies to return to normal life as soon as possible, Mesec said, adding that intensive cooperation has been launched between the Labour Ministry and the Employment Service.

Employers can lodge furlough applications through a special portal, but those who lost their IT equipment are welcome to use computers at their nearest Employment Service offices, Barbo Škerbinc said.

She added that 85 applications for 448 persons had been filed so far. The Employment Service will decide on the applications within 15 days, she said.

Mesec added that the government had discussed yesterday the possibility that workers who have not been furloughed but helped in the clean-up efforts at their respective companies receive full salary, of which 80% would be covered by the state.