The amendments for Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 75 of 25 January 2011, “Regulations Regarding the Procedures for Organising and Financing of Active Employment Measures and Preventative Measures for Unemployment Reduction and Principles for Selection of Implementing Bodies of Measures” came into effect on March 8, 2013, determining the procedure of implementation of the preventive unemployment reduction measure “Promotion of regional mobility of persons employed by merchants” (hereafter - Measure).
The aim of the Measure is to promote the regional mobility of persons (hereafter - Employee) employed by merchants (hereafter - Employer), by providing financial support to cover the transportation and apartment rent costs during the first four months of the employment legal relationship.
Measure is implemented in work places within the administrative territory of the Republic of Latvia, with the exception of Riga, where the education and professional experience of the particular person is demanded. The exclusion of Riga does not apply, if the declared place of residence is not in Riga.
Within the framework of the Measure financial support may be granted to an Employee who complies with all of the following conditions:
- before entering into employment legal relationship with the particular employer, the person has been a registered unemployed person for at least two months, except for case when the acquisition of unemployed person status pertains to terminating employment legal relationship due to urgent economic, managerial, technological or similar undertakings that have affected or could have significantly affected the employment situation in the respective region;
- employment legal relationship is established with an employer who, at least a week before entering into employment legal relationship with the Employee, had registered a vacancy for the same profession or occupation the Employee is holding;
- the work place is located no closer than 15 km from the Employee’s declared place of residence and the transportation or rent costs are not covered by the employer within the employment legal relationship;
- Employee has lived in the declared place of residence at least six months or has changed the declared place of residence within six months time, and both the new and previous place of residence are located within the same municipality, except in cases when the employee’s declared place of residence is the first residence they have declared in Latvia;
- employment legal relationship has been established for an undefined period of time, Employee is working standard working hours, and the wage constitutes at least the amount of the national minimum monthly wage, but does not exceed the amount of two national minimum monthly wages;
- employment legal relationship has been established no earlier than ten working days before applying for the financial support.
State Employment Agency provides financial aid to Employee up to 400 € to:
- compensate the transportation costs to regularly commute from the declared place of residence to work place and back;
- compensate the costs for the rent of an apartment and transportation costs for one trip per month from the declared place of residence to work place and back.