Ensuring employment and providing social benefits to population: What measures Government takes during state of emergency

During the state of emergency, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the main instrument for ensuring employment will be the new Employment Roadmap, for the implementation of which 1 trillion tenge is provided. The program will cover more than 7 thousand projects. Of these, more than 300 are productive, promising projects that will make it possible to create new permanent jobs.

At the meeting of the State Commission on Ensuring the State of Emergency under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister Askar Mamin noted that today the priority task of the Government is to ensure the employment of citizens. Financing the new Employment Roadmap will create over 240 thousand new jobs, which include not only temporary employment for the duration of the projects, but also the creation of permanent jobs.

SMEs in the areas of trade, tourism and public catering were in the high-risk zone. Over 1.6 million workers are employed in these sectors.

What does new Employment Roadmap include?

According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the Employment Roadmap was developed with the aim of quickly resolving employment issues and defines a set of measures for creating additional jobs, preventing the growth of the number of unemployed citizens through the implementation of infrastructure projects for the development of social, engineering -transport infrastructure and housing and communal services, improvement of settlements.

The roadmap provides for the implementation of infrastructure projects for the following types of works and facilities:

  1. capital and current repairs, reconstruction of socio-cultural objects – of education, healthcare, social welfare, culture, sports, leisure and recreation, rendering services to the population (capital repairs with seismic amplification are allowed for earthquake-prone regions);
  2. capital, medium and current repairs, reconstruction of housing and communal services (water supply, sewage, gas, heat, electricity);
  3. capital, medium and current repairs, reconstruction, construction of engineering and transport infrastructure (urban roads, intra-village and intra-village roads, access roads, sidewalks, dams, dams and bridges, canals, water facilities and structures);
  4. improvement of settlements (improvement of courtyards, lighting and gardening of streets, parks, squares, demolition of ownerless objects, small architectural forms, fences, children's playgrounds and sports grounds).

Based on the decision of the Interdepartmental Commission on Employment under the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, other types of work and facilities, including construction, are allowed.

The main goals of the adopted Roadmap are:

  • ensuring employment and preventing the growth of unemployment;
  • creation of additional jobs and income generation;
  • creation of conditions for the development of infrastructure of settlements.

Who can participate in the program?

Employment centers carry out the selection of specialists with the necessary qualifications and send to the employer contractors implementing infrastructure projects unemployed people living in this area (city), including persons with temporary registration, and, if necessary, provide retraining of personnel to carry out the relevant work at the request of employers. At the same time, priority in employment is given to young people under 29 years old.

One trillion tenge has been allocated for the implementation of the Roadmap; akimats distribute funds between the directions of the Roadmap independently.

When will Employment Roadmap start working?

Implementation of infrastructure projects under the Employment Roadmap"began in April 2020. Infrastructure projects for overhaul and maintenance, reconstruction will be implemented until late autumn, and projects involving the construction of new facilities will be implemented before the end of the year.

This year, when implementing projects, it is planned to create 240 thousand jobs. According to the conditions, at least 50% of the workers will be hired through the Employment Centers, with priority on unemployed youth.

Young people will take part in the overhaul and maintenance, reconstruction and construction of socio-cultural, engineering and transport facilities of housing and communal services and the improvement of settlements.

Lifting for unemployed youth

The president of the country also drew attention to the situation that is happening around large cities – Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent. Young people who worked part-time in these cities today cannot enter these cities. They remain in the vicinity, in the suburbs without income.

As the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized, people should have a source of income so that they do not sit at closed barriers without a livelihood. The payment of one-time financial assistance for living (lifting) in the amount of 85 thousand tenge to the unemployed, who are employed on the Roadmap projects through employment centers, will be provided. Not in place of, but in addition to regular wages.

In addition, mobile recruitment centers will be created on the basis of the employment center, for employment on projects implemented under the Employment Roadmsp (consultation, medical testing, organization of transportation of workers).

It is worth noting that according to the Employment Roadmap the salary cannot be lower than 85 thousand tenge.

Appointment and receipt of social payments in the amount of 42,500 tenge

During the quarantine period in Almaty alone, the number of employees in enterprises decreased by 266 thousand people in total. A similar situation is observed for individual entrepreneurs, 80% of which have suspended their activities. Thus, according to preliminary calculations, the current situation negatively affected the financial condition of about 500 thousand citizens.

Therefore, for the period of the state of emergency, the President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to start making monthly payments to persons who lost income due to the state of emergency, in the amount of 1 minimum wage (42,500 tenge). In total, at least 1.5 million of our fellow citizens can count on this assistance.

The State Commission has expanded the circle of recipients of social benefits, including self-employed, who have lost their jobs, as well as some groups of socially vulnerable segments of the population. About 3 million Kazakhstanis will receive support in the amount of 42,500 tenge.

Initially, the social payment, the amount of which per person is 42.5 thousand tenge per month (minimum wage), was supposed for certain categories of citizens. The list was later expanded. Today, social benefits in case of loss of income due to the state of emergency are considered for the following categories:

  1. employees of small and medium-sized enterprises on vacation without pay;
  2. employees of large enterprises operating in settlements where quarantine is imposed, who are on vacation without pay;
  3. individual entrepreneurs who do not use wage labor (editor's note: in the old edition was: individual entrepreneurs);
  4. persons engaged in private practice (notary public, private enforcement agent, lawyer, professional mediator, etc.);
  5. to individuals who are payers of single aggregate payment in accordance with Article 774 of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On taxes and other obligatory payments to the budget";
  6. individuals who receive income under civil law contracts, the subject of which is the performance of work (provision of services), for which mandatory pension contributions have been paid by tax agents;
  7. employees of non-commercial legal entities on vacation without pay, except for state ones.

In other words, payments can be received by employees of small and medium-sized businesses who were sent on leave without pay in quarantine cities, this also includes large businesses, as well as individuals, self-employed. These are private practitioners: private lawyers, notaries, bailiffs, mediators – there are more than 2 thousand of them in the country. These are people who worked under civil law contracts, there are also about 180 thousand of them.

Earlier, an application for social payments could be submitted by employers for their employees, individual entrepreneurs, state of emergency and payers of the aggregate payment – for themselves. At the same time, employers had to provide documents confirming the loss of income by their employees in connection with the restriction of activities during the state of emergency, a list of employees and an extract from the order on the provision of leave without saving wages to employees.

Now the requirements for the provision of documents confirming the fact of loss of income due to an emergency have been canceled.

To assign social benefits:

  • Employers apply only with a list of employees;
  • Individual entrepreneurs and payers of the single aggregate payment submit only an application, indicating personal data.

Also, the employee can submit an application himself, without waiting for his employer to do so.

Today, no documents are required. Only the appeal is considered. This appeal indicates the whole reason, personal data – name, IIN and card account. The employer encloses a list of his employees.

In terms of employees, now such workers also include employees of non-profit organizations, public associations, if they were sent on vacation without pay. This does not apply to employees of state bodies and the quasi-public sector.

Self-employed individuals. There are officially working before the state of emergency and unofficially working. Those who worked officially are individual entrepreneurs, citizens who were engaged in work under civil law contracts. They have the right, if over the past 12 months they have made social or pension contributions at least 1 time before the state of emergency. This category also includes citizens who paid a single aggregate payment.

As for informally working, these are those people who were engaged in some small work, microbusiness, and were not registered at the same time. They do not have individual labor contracts, they did not pay taxes, social and pension contributions. To receive a payment, it is enough to formalize your status in order to receive 42.5 thousand each month. To formalize is to pay the CAP at least once.

Persons who receive benefits, pensions from the state, social benefits cannot apply. However, in addition, such citizens could earn extra money and pay. If pensioners, persons with disabilities, before March 16, were engaged in any kind of paid work, made the aggregate payment at least once, then they can expect to receive 42,500.

Women on maternity leave. Up to one year, the state pays childcare benefits, working women receive from the social insurance fund. However, for mothers who are on maternity leave, but the child is one year old and there are no payments from the state, no allowance is provided. Today it is more difficult to find a job for them. Therefore, a mother who is on maternity leave and has a child older than 1 year old can apply for 42,500, having previously paid a single aggregate payment.

At the same time, it is not necessary to prove to someone that your income is lost due to the state of emergency; no one will double-check it.

Applications or appeals are submitted electronically through the Egov portal and the special website.

E-government

Through the service you will need to fill in your data. Now you do not need to attach any files to this appeal. This appeal will be the whole point. And it will be necessary to sign an electronic digital signature. Or, via SMS receiving a password.

Special website 42500.ENBEK.KZ

Today Egov is very busy, so the Ministry of Labor and BTS have developed a special website. All citizens will also be able to apply on it, indicate their details – name, IIN and bank account. Through SMS, having received the password, secure it with your signature.

Telegram bot

There are people who do not have a computer to access the site or on Egov. It will be offered to use the Telegram bot via a mobile phone. This will be the application that should be downloaded to collect your data. In addition, in order to distribute the load and for the convenience of citizens, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan has developed a separate bot for each region.

Single aggregate payment

Many people do not have such social deductions and never have done. These are those people who work informally, who did not have employment contracts, did not pay taxes and no deductions – they will also be able to get 42,500 tenge. To do this, it will be enough to formalize your status.

To do this, it is enough to make an aggregate payment – this is 2,651 tenge for urban residents and 1,325 tenge for rural residents. Once you pay, you will receive the right to receive monthly 42,500 on the next day. This applies to everyone who worked informally.

There are two ways to pay single aggregate payment for urban and rural residents.

The first one – in the mobile offers of banks – Halyk, Fortebank, Sberbank, Jysan bank, Bank Center Credit, Caspi bank and in Kazpost branches there are mobile applications where you can pay.

The second is via SMS. To do this, just send an SMS to 5505 from your phone and indicate GORODESP IIN for urban residents and SELOESP IIN for rural residents.

There are citizens who have never had a bank account, so the application does not go further. A platform is being developed without filling out a bank account, but fixing a statement. A bank account can be sent later within a month from the date of application.

It is not necessary to open a special account to receive 42,500. Any card bank account is suitable. No debts will be withdrawn from social payments in the amount of 42,500 tenge: neither for utility services, nor for loans, nor for taxes. This money is inviolable. No bank has the right to hold any debts, even if they are.

It is worth noting that all portals are working today. On the morning of April 6, 2020, 1 million 284 thousand applications have already been received.

Grocery sets

Meanwhile, free grocery sets for large families and the unemployed are provided on a regular basis. This measure will cover more than 800 thousand people.

Grocery Sets are provided to:

  • all children of families who receive targeted social assistance, i.e. low-income families, including large families;
  • all persons with disabilities of all three categories, regardless of age, are also children with disabilities. 995,000 people are registered in the country.
  • parents who care for children with disabilities.
  • officially registered unemployed persons – in total about 1.5 million of such citizens

In practice, this measure will be implemented by local akims.

In addition, the potential of the Enbek state program will be fully utilized. This year, measures of employment are planned to cover more than 600 thousand people. For the implementation of the program from the republican and local budgets, 123 billion tenge is provided for the current year.

Simplified conditions and procedures for the provision of microloans and grants for socially vulnerable segments of the population. In order to protect labor rights and preserve the level of employment of workers, daily monitoring of enterprises planning to lay off workers, including measures for their employment, will be strengthened.

Work will continue on concluding memorandums with enterprises and sectors of the economy on the preservation of jobs, roadmaps for employee flows.

All enterprises located in the risk zone will be primarily provided with preventive control in order to prevent wage arrears.

Also in the country during the state of emergency measures were taken to support SMEs, including tax preferences for deferred payments on loans.

For SMEs in the most affected sectors of the economy, the accrual and payment of taxes and other payments from the wage fund is canceled for 6 months (from April 1 to Oct. 1, 2020). These sectors include: catering, selected trade sectors, transportation services, consulting services, IT sector, hotel business, tourism, etc.

 

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