Coffee shop owners complain state support is humiliating

The coronavirus pandemic makes life difficult for everyone. Restaurants, hotels and other service facilities are in a particularly bad position, as they have almost no revenue during the epidemic. There is no common regulation within the European Union, so it is up to the Member States to decide how to support companies in sectors close to bankruptcy.

Hungary is not at the forefront when it comes to aiding. Tourism has completely stopped; you can only visit restaurants and cafes to take away. Decreased or completely eliminated turnover means less revenue. However, the expenses are not decreasing. The most significant of these expenditures are the wages of employees and rents.

A coffee shop in Budapest has announced on Facebook that state support had arrived. This support is not much, and the cafe owner wanted to let the public know that he feels like the Hungarian government has let them down.

Telex.hu contacted the manager of the Jedermann café, Gábor Boskovics. The cafe applied for government wage subsidies immediately after the November announcement of the grants.

The amount of the wage subsidy covers 50 per cent of the gross wage up to a maximum of 150 per cent of the salary.

Boskovics said nothing happened for a long time after the request. They first received a response in January when data corrections were needed.

At the end of January, it turned out that the payment of national wage subsidies was delayed in many cases.

In fact, no one had received any amount back then. As a result of dissatisfaction, the government said they would speed up the process. At the beginning of February, 98 per cent of the applicants were paid, according to the prime minister’s announcements.

Jedermann café house was also notified that they were eligible for the support. The amount arrived a couple of days ago. They received a total of HUF 2.1 million for a four-month period. 1.6 million of the 2.1 million aid will be deducted, as the employer is obliged to pay certain contributions on behalf of the employee.

Of the HUF 2.1 million support, HUF 40000 per person went to the employees.

The support was given for four months, which includes 12 employees. Thus, one person received only HUF 10000 (€ 28) per month. The company has not fired anyone since the start of the epidemic, but they are loss-making, their estimated loss being HUF 5 million. This is covered by incomes from the past and loans, while their only hopes are to be able to reopen around May at the latest.

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Source: telex.hu