The Minister of the Independents David Clarinval reviews the two formulas of the current right footbridge for 2021. Here is what changes.
The Minister for the Independents, David Clarinval (MR) gave further explanations on their content in a press release on Wednesday.
1. Gateway right for total interruption of activity
This bridging right will apply to self-employed who had to completely shut down their activity following the health measures taken by the government. This is for example the event sector, hairdressers, etc.
The compensation for this bridging fee – which will therefore replace the crisis bridging fee – will amount to 1.291 euros per month for an isolated independent and 1,614.10 euros for a self-employed person dependent on the family.
There is no pre-paid contribution condition for this replacement income. “The self-employed person who is forced to close following the health measures taken by the authorities automatically has access to this first pillar of the gateway right,” explains the minister’s spokesperson.
It should enter into force on February 1, 2021, but the bill provides that this deadline could be postponed if the crisis gateway right (doubling of the gateway fee) remained necessary by then.
> What changes: this gateway right is only intended for independents forced to close their doors following government decisions. It cannot be combined with a take-away or click & collect activity, the closure must be total. If it is not total or if your sector depends on one of the sectors forced to close, then you fall into the right footbridge of the 2nd pillar (read below). The amount of compensation is no longer doubled as for the crisis gateway right. Goodbye therefore the double gateway fee of 2,583.38 euros for a single person and 3,228.20 euros for those with family responsibilities.
2. Gateway right for loss of turnover
This other bridging right is intended for self-employed persons undergoing a loss of turnover of at least 40% and concerns all sectors, in particular the liberal professions which have not been able to gain access to previous bridging rights, but which have seen their turnover drop. It aims to replace the right to bridge recovery assistance.
In concrete terms, the applicant must be able to demonstrate a 40% reduction in turnover during the calendar month preceding that for which the financial service is requested compared to the same calendar month of the reference year 2019. In other words, if you apply for the gateway right for February 2021, you will have to provide proof of loss of turnover of at least 40% compared to January 2019 , is using supporting documents or a certificate from your accountant. It will also be necessary to have contributed for 4 quarters out of the last 16 to be able to access this gateway right.
For starters, it will be necessary to have contributed at least during two quarters and the calculation will be made on the basis of the estimated turnover.
The compensation for this gateway fee will also amount to 1.291 euros per month for a single self-employed person and 1,614.10 euros for an independent dependent of family.
The entry into force of the new mechanism is scheduled for January 1, 2021.
> What changes: it is necessary to prove a loss of 40% of turnover and no more of 10% as is the case for the right of bridge of assistance to the recovery. The mechanism will work per month and no longer per quarter. It is aimed at all freelancers, regardless of the sector.
What in case of quarantine?
The draft bill provides for a financial benefit for forced self-employed workers to interrupt completely their independent activity because they are quarantined or in isolation. This financial benefit will be proportional to the duration of the interruption. The workers concerned will have to submit a quarantine certificate to their social insurance fund.
A financial benefit is also provided for the self-employed worker, caregiver or assisting spouse who must interrupt his activity for a minimum of 7 days to ensure the care of a child under 18 years of age or a dependent disabled child, regardless of his age, if that child cannot attend nursery, school or a reception center for people with disabilities because of a measure taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
More anti-abuse controls
If the objective of Minister Clarinval is to allow, via this reform of the mechanisms, to “all the self-employed to benefit from the right footbridge, whatever the sector”, the granting conditions are however tightened in order to avoid abuse, in particular for the gateway right for loss of turnover.
In addition, a new control procedure will emerge. It will take place in three phases: a priori control of social insurance funds, a posteriori control of Inasti (National Institute of Social Insurance for Self-Employed Workers) and the development, still by Inasti, of indicators in order to detect certain fraudulent or abusive files.