In principle, employers’ supplements to temporarily
unemployed workers are exempt from social security contributions as
a supplement to a statutory social security benefit, namely
unemployment benefits.
However, in its ‘Instructions’ on the coronavirus
crisis, the National Social Security Office (NSSO) states that in
order to be exempt from social security contributions, the amount
of the supplement paid by the employer may not result in the
employee receiving a higher ‘net’ than if the employee
was actually working.
In this respect, the NSSO has just clarified that for the
calculation of the supplement, ‘net’ is to be
understood as the ‘taxable gross’, i.e. the gross
amount less the 13.07% personal social security contributions (if
applicable), but before deduction of the withholding tax.
