Employers have until Sunday to request a final calculation of the wage support to which they were entitled between March and the end of May 2020 due to the corona crisis. This fall, some 9500 employers had missed an earlier deadline. The UWV benefits agency gave them another chance until 9 January.

After the introduction of the first lockdown due to the coronavirus, the government set up the first counter for the temporary Emergency Measure Bridging Employment (NOW). Employers were reimbursed for wage costs if they lost a lot of income due to the pandemic, but this was an advance based on the estimated loss of turnover. Now they have to request a final calculation of the aid they were entitled to for the period from March to May 2020.

The UWV, which regulates the payment of the aid, wants entrepreneurs to indicate, among other things, what the exact loss of turnover was with their application. The agency also wants to have an accountant's statement from some entrepreneurs. If employers do not request the final calculation at all, the aid for the period concerned will be reset to zero. The advance must then be repaid in full.

In the period from March to May last year, a total of 139.500 employers received support for wage costs through the NOW. They received a total of more than 7,9 billion euros in advances. The UWV could not yet say how many applications had already been received from the 9500 employers who had missed the first deadline, on October 31. How many of them still applied will probably be announced in the course of next week.

The UWV will remain available this weekend for entrepreneurs with questions. In the run-up to the deadline, according to a spokesperson, it was busier than usual with calls about the NOW calculation. Another factor was the fact that the implementing agency had sent reminder letters and telephoned employers itself.

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