Greece Extends Covid-19 Relief Measures for December

Sign saying that a store in Greece is closed.

Financial relief measures will continue to support Greek businesses and employees from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, following the announcement that the country’s second lockdown measures would be extended until January 7.

To support entrepreneurship and employment, the Greek government has announced the following actions that will be overseen by the ministries of finance and labor:

1. Employees with suspended contracts are eligible for a 534-euro special-purpose subsidy and full coverage of insurance contributions. The measure concerns employees of businesses included on the updated list with the activity code numbers (KAD) published by Greek authorities in April.

2. Businesses that are closed in December by decision of Greek authorities will be able to suspend debt payments to the tax authority for a later date.

3. Employees whose contracts have been suspended can postpone their debt payments to the tax authority that were due in December.

4. The suspension of bank loan payments has been extended until the end of the year based on the updated KAD list.

5.  Unemployment benefits expiring in September, October, November and December have been extended for two months.

6. Teleworking will continue to be mandatory for a least 50 percent of public and private sector employees provided that their tasks can be performed remotely.

7. A 40 percent rent reduction is valid for companies hit by Covid-19 and included in the KAD list for December. The measure also applies to employees with suspended contracts and to students.

8. The fifth round of the Refundable Advance Payment scheme is scheduled for January 2021. Payments will be made based on the amount of turnover lost during September-December 2020. Fifty percent of the financial aid is non-refundable, provided that companies retain the same number employees until the end of June 2021. In addition, businesses that opened in September and October will be entitled to participate in the scheme.

9. The payment of road tax for 2021 will be extended until February 26.