Originally Posted by
Aimless
Sweden doesn't have a lockdown, but employers can cut hours for any or all of their employees, in a stepwise manner.
At the highest level—80% reduction in hours—employees take a 12% on their regular salary, the govt pays 60% of the total cost of employment (salary, payroll taxes and fees, etc), and the employer pays 8%, which somehow works out to a 72% lower total cost of employment. The govt. pays the employer, who pays their employees. Employees have to be available for those 20% of the time that they're supposed to work, but the remaining 80% of the time they can do whatever they like—including working somewhere else. The govt. support applies to salaries up to around $4500/mo. Employers can participate in this scheme for 6 months with possibility of extension for a further 3 months, after which they must wait 24 months before they can use it again. Employees who were hired less than three months before an employer's application for support is approved are not eligible, but employees on zero-hour contracts, people with time-limited employments etc are eligible.
Unfortunately, many employers don't have the margins to make use of this scheme, so around 60,000 people in Sweden have been been given notice of redundancy (they're still eligible for support during the notice period though). The govt. support doesn't apply to sole proprietors, but they have other forms of support instead; those who are employed by their own company are eligible, however. Companies are not permitted to pay out dividends this year if they accept govt. support. Companies with substantial and lasting difficulties with paying off debts are not eligible. The portion of your salary that is used to calculate future disability pay/paid sick-leave is protected. Absence due to illness or parental leave (or leave to care for a sick child) affects the calculation, but the govt. already pays for most of that anyway.
These rules are just our regular rules for technical unemployment, slightly modified due to the crisis. They are separate from the stimulus/business protection measures that were authorized at the beginning of the crisis.