The government is planning to fully subsidise wages for bar and restaurant workers affected by the three-week compulsory closure order.
In addition, businesses will be compensated for up to 70 percent of their rental costs as well as other similar business-related expenses.
In addition to bars and restaurants, reimbursements for loss of earnings due to the closure order can also be claimed by gyms, public saunas, spas and indoor playgrounds, among others.
The compensation will be based on the company’s expenses in February 2021 as well as a statement of how much of the business has been affected by the closure. Coronavirus subsidies granted in the past will be taken into account and the maximum amount of aid should not exceed 1.8 million euros under EU state aid rules.
If the business has continued to provide takeaway food during the closure period, as is permitted under the government order, this will also be taken into account when calculating the amount of compensation.
Ministry: Total compensation bill about €70m
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment estimated that the total amount of compensation paid out to businesses forced to close during the three-week period will be approximately 70 million euros.
The ministry added that about two thirds of this figure will be used to support small and medium-sized businesses and one third to support bigger companies.
The closure compensation currently proposed by the government applies to companies with up to 49 employees, with further support for larger businesses in the pipeline.
"However, we wanted to get support for small businesses up and running as soon as possible, so support packages for small and large companies are being prepared separately. Support for the event industry is also currently being prepared separately," Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä (Cen) wrote in the ministry's press release.
The support package for bars and restaurants is due to be discussed in Parliament alongside the proposal for general support for companies, or the so-called cost support 3.
The law allowing for the compensation of bars and restaurants is projected to come into force on 12 April, with the application for reimbursements open to companies by early May. Support for the cost of the compensation will be sought from the State Treasury.
Bars, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs have been closed since Tuesday, 9 March in 15 regions which are considered to be in either the accelerating or community transmission phase of the epidemic. Take-away and delivery food may still be sold.
The closure order is due to run until 28 March.