Non-refundable support for employing highly qualified experts in the Hungarian research, development and innovation (RDI) sector during the state of emergency is available again from 4 January 2021 until 8 February 2021. The objective of the sector-specific wage support is to foster long-term employment, maintain wage levels and create new jobs. In this article we summarise the most important rules and regulations on the basic eligibility conditions for the wage support as well as the duration and level of the support.
Which employers are entitled to claim wage support to retain jobs?
As a general rule, a Hungarian employer is entitled to claim wage support to retain jobs if
- it (also) conducts research and development activities – provided the claimed wage support is related to such activities – and
- under the scope of the research and development activity it employs a research and development employee pursuant to Section 3 (15) of Act LXXVI of 2014 (Innovation Act) (and said employee was already employed by the employer at the latest on 29 December 2020 and is not serving his or her notice period at the time of claiming the wage support) and
- the employer would terminate the employee’s employment if it did not receive the wage support (in relation to this the employer must state that at least one of the economic conditions below exists in direct and close correlation with the state of emergency: loss of markets, disruption/termination of supply chain, drop in orders, work-related health risks – COVID, legal regulations as a result of the healthcare state of emergency).
Which employers are entitled to claim wage support to create jobs?
As a general rule, a Hungarian employer is entitled to claim wage support to create jobs if
- it (also) conducts research and development activities – provided the claimed wage support is related to such activities, and
- under the scope of its research and development activity it intends to employ a research and development employee with the proviso that employing them would increase the number of employees compared to the headcount valid on 29 December 2020 calculated based on Announcement 3/2010 (IV.2.) of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (wage support can be granted if the headcount on the day the wage support is claimed is the same or higher than the one on 29 December 2020).
Duration of wage support
The duration of the wage support may not exceed three months.
Level of wage support
The monthly amount of the wage support must not exceed HUF 318,920 (roughly EUR 888) per employee.
The monthly wage support amounts to
- HUF 318,920 if the employee’s gross wage is HUF 670,000 (roughly EUR 1,865) or more (as of 29 December 2020 for wage support to retain jobs), or
- HUF 318,920 reduced by the ratio of the employee’s gross wage to HUF 670,000 if the employee’s gross wage is less than HUF 670,000 (as of 29 December 2020 for wage support to retain jobs).
Please note that before submitting your wage support claim you must examine whether you comply with the basic entitlement conditions as well as with any other entitlement conditions set for the employer submitting the claim for wage support. Furthermore, it must be reviewed whether the employer can meet all commitments (in particular, but not limited to, the obligation to continue employment after the support period and maintain wage levels).
If your company would like to use this opportunity and claim sector-specific wage support, the legal experts of WTS Klient Hungary are here to help you review whether your company meets all the support criteria. Feel free to contact us.
