The system is being established by analogy with guarantee institutions operating in EU states and separately from the general insolvency procedure. The project was developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.
Objects and subjects of the law
According to the draft, an employer will be considered insolvent if an insolvency procedure has been opened against it, or if the body administering the Guarantee Fund has determined that the company has ceased operations and its assets are insufficient for the insolvency procedure.
The Fund will be managed by the National Social Insurance Fund and will be formed from employers’ guarantee contributions, as well as receipts from them on debts financed by the National Social Insurance Fund, fines, penalties, interest and other income.
The fund will be used to cover salary debts (including taxes) owed to an employee for three months, compensation for unused vacation, and unpaid severance pay upon termination of employment.
Contributions to the fund will be limited. The limit may be three average monthly salaries in the economy for the year preceding the year of the insolvency judgment or a fixed amount of 50,000 lei.
The guarantee contribution will amount to 0.1% of the labor remuneration fund and will be paid by employers on a monthly basis.
Parameters of payments
According to the draft, the monthly basis for calculating the contribution for each employee cannot be lower than the national minimum wage, in proportion to the time worked. For part-time or reduced hours workers, the contribution cannot be less than 25% of the contribution calculated on the basis of the national minimum wage.
And the total amount of wage claims paid to an employee in one calendar month cannot exceed the amount of the average monthly wage in the economy for the year preceding the year of the court decision on the employer’s insolvency.
The Fund will become a component of the budget, but will be administered separately from other components of the budget. Its deficit will be covered from the state budget, while the surplus will be deposited with the NBM or invested in state securities.
Regardless of whether the employer has contributed to the fund, payments to employees in case of the employer’s insolvency will be mandatory.
