Pursuant to the Temporary Emergency Measure Bridging of Employment (NOW) , employers from certain branches, such as hotels, restaurants, cafes, transport, non-food retail, construction and storage are eligible for compensation in the wage bill of the month April 2020. In order to be able to apply for such compensation, the company must suffer from a loss of revenue of at least 25% due to the corona crisis.

The compensation referred to as the NOW-compensation concerns the wages of each of its employees as well as of its statutory directors that were employed with/in service of the company per 28 February 2020 and it varies between 80% (maximum) and 20% (minimum) of the (maximized) wages based on the loss of revenue. The exact percentage of the compensation depends on the expected loss of revenue. The compensation is equal to a percentage of the SVB-wage of each employee per 28 February 2020, up to a maximum of the so-called “SVB daily wages” (which is ANG 5,781 gross per month).

Another condition to be eligible for the NOW-compensation is that the employment agreements of the employees will not be terminated and that the payment of their wages will be continued. The emergency measure is a compensation arrangement and therefore does not substitute the rights and obligations of employees and employers based on the Civil Code of Curacao and other (specific) rules concerning the termination of employment agreements.

Applications for the NOW-compensation can be submitted until  22 April 2020. After 22 April 2020, applications will no longer be accepted. To apply for the compensation, we kindly refer you to the website of the Government of Curacao.

If you would like more information about this subject, or help with applying for the NOW- compensation, please contact Daniella Engelhardt or send an e-mail to coronahelpdesk@vaneps.com