The Minister of Social Affairs and Employment has amended the “group schemen” in the NOW regulation. Under the group scheme, the turnover loss for the NOW application had to be calculated on the basis of the turnover of the group as a whole. As a result of the amendment, operating companies that have more than twenty percent loss of turnover due to the corona crisis, but belong to a group that does not meet that condition as a whole, can still apply for the NOW. The decrease in turnover may therefore be calculated per entity.
This is subject to additional conditions. For example, agreements must be made with trade unions and/or employee representation regarding the retention of work within the company, there are additional requirements that are tested by an accountant and the payment of bonuses and dividends must be waived in 2020.
If the support measures are extended after 1 June 2020, the latter requirement is expected to apply to all applications.
