The Ministry of Labor and Pension System, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, has presented support measures for employment in the tourism sector.
Permanent Seasonal Worker and Work After Summer are the names of the measures introduced by the relevant ministers Mirando Mrsić and Veljko Ostojić. Under the Permanent Seasonal Worker measure, the state will cover contributions for permanent seasonal workers for up to six months a year when they are not working, i.e., off-season. There are no restrictions regarding the workers, but employers must employ 20 percent permanently. If the worker does not return the following year, they are obliged to return the money to the state.
The Work After Summer measure applies to workers whom the employer hires permanently on an indefinite basis; the state will cover 50 percent of the gross salary if it concerns small and medium-sized enterprises, or 30 percent if it concerns large enterprises. The goal of these measures was explained by Minister Veljko Ostojić himself.
– “In this way, we want to enable companies in tourism to retain quality workers for the next season, rather than having to look for new seasonal workers every year. This raises the quality of service we offer, and also provides workers with the security that they will have a job next summer,” said Ostojić.
Funds for this project are secured in the budget, and there has not yet been any interest at the Croatian Employment Service. This year, a significant influx is not expected, although the support can be used from January 15 of this year.
– “These supports are directed specifically at tourism. Our goal was to provide flexibility to employers conditioned by the season and the unevenness of workload, while on the other hand, we had to protect workers and give them some security. Raising or retaining the quality of service is the main reason why employers want to keep quality workers, which has been enabled by these measures,” added Mrsić.
