Gyeonggi Province Supports Social Enterprises with Advance Payment of Personnel Costs amid COVID-19 Spread

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Gyeonggi Province has devised substantive support measures, including advance payment of social enterprise support funds, to enable social enterprises facing difficulties due to COVID-19 to maintain employment.

The support measures include ▲allowing advance payment method for personnel cost support funds to social enterprises ▲exempting administrative sanctions when social enterprises implement employment maintenance measures such as temporary closure or receipt of employment support funds due to management deterioration caused by COVID-19 ▲exempting exclusion from re-examination of job creation projects when temporary wage arrears occur due to management deterioration caused by COVID-19.

Currently, the method of disbursing social enterprise support funds is based on participating companies applying for support after paying workers' personnel costs. However, the province plans to allow social enterprises to first bill the respective month's personnel costs and pay them to workers according to the judgment of each city and county.

Currently, when companies receiving support funds implement employment maintenance measures (such as temporary closure or receipt of employment support funds), a warning is issued, and upon accumulation of two warnings, contract termination and restriction on participation in job creation project re-examination are imposed. However, when it is confirmed that employment maintenance measures were taken due to COVID-19, the administrative sanction of warning will be exempted and participation in job creation project re-examination will be permitted.

A provincial official stated, "The province plans not to restrict participation in job creation project re-examination even in cases where temporary wage arrears occur due to management deterioration caused by COVID-19."