The Cabinet has approved a Finance Ministry proposal to introduce a so-called employee bonus at its session on October 1.
The Finance Ministry hopes that people who earn between Sk4,345 to Sk8,690 per month (the current minimum wage), will benefit most from this measure. If the minimum wage increases from the beginning of next year to Sk8,690 (€288.50) as the ministry originally assumed, the employee bonus would have represented a maximum of Sk209 (€6.94) per month. Since the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has already submitted a draft to increase the minimum monthly wage to Sk8,900 (€295.40), the maximum employee bonus may be slighty lower.
The Finance Ministry expects the introduction of the new measure to raise employment, mainly among those who are long-term unemployed and those with low qualifications. Employees with low incomes would apply for the employee bonus in arrears, when they file their annual income tax returns. The state will pay the employee bonus in 2010 for the first time. The ministry states in its proposal that the employee bonus is a form of additional social support to citizens who are trying to improve their living conditions by their own efforts and have no possibility of finding a better-paid job. SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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