The government approved the new employer assistance program

The government unanimously approved the new employer assistance program. The plan will be presented for approval in the first reading in the Knesset.
According to the new plan, a grant of NIS 5,000 will be given to the employee above the employment rate determined according to the level of damage to the business turnover. Thus, at the level of damage to the company's turnover of 25% –40%, a grant will be given to each employee starting from the employment rate of 80%. At the level of injury of 40% -60%, a grant will be given starting from the 70% employee. At the level of injury of 60% -80%, a grant will be given starting from the 55% employee in the company, and at the level of injury higher than 80%, a grant will be given starting at the 40% employee. Sources present at the hearings told Calcalist that Katz originally wanted to set the grant at NIS 4,000 and that the employment rates that qualify for the grant are 5% higher each, but the insistence of Governor Yaron and Economy Minister Peretz led to an increase in the grant and easing of conditions.
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy, which are in charge of distributing the grants, estimate that the budget cost of the program will be about NIS 1 billion, but note that if the realization is higher, the budget will increase accordingly. According to estimates by the Treasury, the total cost of the program will be a few billion, a significantly lower amount than previous programs, mainly because it relies on them when the final amount approved by the government depends on the actual implementation of the business and the macroeconomic and health picture. Since closing for another week will significantly increase eligibility rates and thus could entail additional costs of billions of shekels.
Assistance will be given to employers who have not taken employees on unpaid leave even though their sales turnover has decreased. To finance the plan, the government decided to cut the salaries of Knesset members, including the prime minister, by ten percent. The government also decided not to raise the salary that was supposed to go up early next year. The salaries of Knesset members and ministers are close to the average salary in the economy and last month it rose because many were fired or taken on unpaid leave and therefore the average salary rose. This is a cut that cost only a few tens of millions of shekels.