COVID-19 aid measures

Employees of a company, non-profit association, foundation or a self-employed person which has suffered significantly from the restrictions, and for whom their employer cannot guarantee work in the agreed amount or whose salary has been reduced.

The employee had to be registered for employment no later than 1.01.2021 and the employment relationship must be ongoing. An employee who has been on sick leave or unpaid leave for the entire calendar month for which the subsidy is claimed shall not receive the subsidy.

The Unemployment Insurance Fund pays the employee a compensation of 60% of the employee's average monthly wage in a month, but not more than 1,000 euros (gross). Before applying for the subsidy, the employer is obliged to pay the employee a wage of at least 200 euros (gross) per month for which they are asking the subsidy for.

The compensation paid by the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the wage paid by the employer guarantee the full-time employee at least the minimum wage, i.e. 584 euros.

Self-employed persons whose business income in 2020 was at least 50% lower than in 2019 can also apply for the subsidy.

In the case of the self-employed person, the amount of the subsidy is 584 euros.

An employer can apply for a wage subsidy for their employees if: in the calendar month for which the wage subsidy is being applied for their turnover or income has decreased by at least 50% compared to the average monthly turnover or income for the period from December 2019 to February 2020 or to the average monthly turnover or income for the period from July 2020 to December 2020.

An employer is not allowed to make employees redundant if they have received the wage subsidy during the calendar month for which the subsidy is applied for, nor during the two following calendar months. A self-employed person is similarly not allowed to suspend or terminate their business.

Small and medium business operators (including micro-business operators) and large business operators:

• primary agricultural producers;
• processors and/or distributors of agricultural products;
• business operators in the fishing and aquaculture sectors;

• business operators in the food industry;
• business operators in rural economy (incl. accommodation, catering etc.);
• savings and loan associations that are in the Union of Estonian Savings and Loan Associations;
• foundations;
• non-profit associations.

The maximum surety amount for a business operator is 5 million euros. But not more than:

• 90% in proportion of the basic amount of the loan that the surety is for; or
• 35% of the fixed basic amount of the loan that the surety is for.

The amount of the surety decreases in proportion to the decrease in the basic amount of the loan.

The loan will not be granted to a business operator in the following economic sectors / fields of activities:

• tobacco and distilled alcoholic beverages (excluding spirits produced for industrial purposes) and the production and trade of products related to them;
• production and trade of arms and ammunition;

• casinos and equivalent establishments;
• research and development or technical applications in certain fields (see more at https://rex.rk.ee/proxy/40b6de77/https/www.mes.ee/covid-19-laen
• to finance research and development or technical applications in the life sciences sector relating to human cloning for research or medical purposes or to genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The loan applicant is registered on the basis of the legislation of the Republic of Estonia.

As of 31.12.2019, the loan applicant was not a business in difficulty (within the meaning of the General Block Exemption Regulation); a business operator who is not in difficulty and/or a business operator who was not in difficulty on 31st December 2019 but which became in difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak or after the outbreak.

None of the owners of the loan applicant are business operators registered in a low tax rate territory within the meaning of the Income Tax Act.

There are no other circumstances that limit or exclude the recipient of the loan from the surety.

Micro-business operators: 5000 - 25 000.

Small and medium business operators: 5000 - 200 000. 

Together with a credit institution or a financial institution, the maximum loan amount issued by Rural Development Foundation is 2,000,000 euros.

The loan will not be granted to a business operator in the following economic sectors / fields of activities:

• tobacco and distilled alcoholic beverages (excluding spirits produced for industrial purposes) and the production and trade of products related to them;
• production and trade of arms and ammunition;

• casinos and equivalent establishments;
• research and development or technical applications in certain fields (see more at https://rex.rk.ee/proxy/40b6de77/https/www.mes.ee/covid-19-laen
• to finance research and development or technical applications in the life sciences sector relating to human cloning for research or medical purposes or to genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

• The loan applicant is registered on the basis of the legislation of the Republic of Estonia.
• As of 31.12.2019, the loan applicant was not a business in difficulty.
• It is not possible for the applicant to involve additional financial funds from other sources or it would be unreasonably expensive.

• As of 12.03.2020, the applicant has no state tax debts or they have been paid or staggered by the date of submission of the application and the applicant has fulfilled the obligation to submit tax returns and annual reports by the time of submission of the application.
• The members and owners of the loan applicant's management body (or bodies) are reliable and competent.
• None of the owners of the loan applicant are business operators registered in a low tax rate territory within the meaning of the Income Tax Act.
• There are no other circumstances that limit or exclude the loan applicant from getting the loan.

• A financial lease cannot be granted to a business operator who is considered to be in difficulty according to the meaning stated in Point 20 of the Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty.  
• If a financial lease involves the granting of de minimis aid, then granting the financial lease and the amount of the lease depend on the de minimis aid thresholds and rules (including cumulation rules). 

• The supervisory board of the foundation may establish restrictions on granting a financial lease based on territory, field of activity or some other factor.

• Accommodation business operators, spas and water parks
• Catering business operators
• Travel business operators
• Organizers of conferences and fairs

Accommodation business operators, spas and water parks, catering business operators, travel business operators, organizers of conferences and fairs, business operators offering ground transport, retail business operators: the amount of support for a legal person is up to 600,000 euros depending on the amount of loss in the turnover and on the labour costs they paid for February 2021, support for a self-employed person is 1168 euros. 

More information on https://www.eas.ee/covid-19-toetused/

• Extraordinary support to foundations, state agencies, legal persons governed by public law that have state participation and are operating in the sector of culture or sports.
  cinemas, film producers and film distributors. 
   
• Extraordinary support to private or local government managed cultural operators and support service providers.
• Support for cultural operators to cover the costs of unavoidable restructuring and development activities related to the crisis.
• Extraordinary support to cinemas, film producers and film distributors. 

Depends on the applicant's field of activity. Read more: https://www.kul.ee/kriisiabi2021

Depends on the applicant's field of activity. Read more: https://www.kul.ee/kriisiabi2021

• Operators of private hobby education, private recreational activities, private schools, private kindergartens and nurseries.

The amount of support is up to 40 euros per student. The application is based on the number of students/children/young people participating in the activity as of 1st March 2021.

The applicant must submit an overview of fixed costs that cannot be covered due to the crisis and present both the benefits claimed from the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the fixed cost benefits claimed from other measures.