The government of the Maldives has published the policy on providing income support allowance for individuals whose employment has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The objective of the policy is to provide a compensation package to cover some of the essential expenses of individuals whose employment has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The policy states an income support allowance of USD 323 will be provided for individuals who fit into the eligibility criteria stated under the policy.
The criteria include individuals who have been either dismissed or suspended from their jobs without pay, as well as employees who have been sent on no-pay leaves and employees whose monthly wages have been reduced below USD 323. The allowance given for individuals whose wages have been cut will be the difference between USD 323 and their current monthly wages.
The eligibility criteria also include being a Maldivian citizen living in the Maldives who had been employed by March 1, 2020. They must also be between 18 years and 65 years of age.
Furthermore, the conditions for receiving the allowance includes agreeing to participate in a skills development programme allocated by the government and to accept employment arranged through the Job Centre of the government.
The policy also includes the eligibility criteria and conditions for releasing income support allowance for freelance workers. As such, independent contractors, performing artists and other freelance workers are also eligible for income support allowance, if their sources of income have been blocked since March 1, 2020.
The policy states the allowance will be given for a period three months starting from April 1. The allowance for each month has to be given before the 15th day of the next month. The allowance will be discontinued for individuals who are re-employed during this period, starting from the day of re-employment.
Individuals who wish to apply for the allowance must submit their application online through the Job Centre portal of the Ministry of Economic Development.
The economic ministry had earlier revealed 2,291 individuals had registered at the Job Centre due to effects on employment caused by the COVID-19 crisis. The ministry said more registrations are expected after the policy on income support allowance is published.