In our view, the key message of the Emergency Package 2.0 presented by the Cabinet the day before Ascension Day is not which measures are to be continued, under what conditions, and for how long.
Entrepreneurs: be part of the transition
Of course, this is what receives the most attention in the press and in politics. However, Minister Wiebes of Economic Affairs emphasised during his part of the press conference that, following the expiry of the Emergency Package 2.0 on 1 October 2020 (the date originally specified for this was 1 September 2020), must have adapted to the new economic reality.
Both the Emergency Packages 1.0 and 2.0 are designed to limit the economic damage to such an extent that it becomes possible to make this transition. After that, businesses must be able to stand (and walk) on their own two feet again. The resilience of the economy should help the Netherlands bounce back quickly.
The Emergency Package 2.0 is due to expire around three weeks before Prinsjesdag 2020. As part of the economic plans to be announced on Prinsjesdag, the Government is considering which follow-up measures, if any, would be appropriate and feasible.
Made redundant
During the parliamentary debate, a great deal of attention was paid to reducing the “redundancy penalty” in the second tranche of the NOW scheme. However, no one dares to deny that, depending, of course, on how the coronavirus crisis unfolds, some business owners may, over time, have no choice but to make some of their staff redundant. This could well be an inherent part of the transition.
Those employees will then have to find work elsewhere in the economy. The Government is mindful of this too. A new element in the second tranche of the NOW scheme is that employers will be under a best-efforts obligation to encourage their employees to undertake further training or retraining.
Partly for these employees, but also for flex workers and the self-employed, the Crisis package NL. This package supports people who are at risk of losing their jobs as a result of the crisis, or who have already lost them, and who need to make the transition to other promising employment opportunities.
Reading coffee grounds
Of course, nobody knows exactly what the economic situation will look like on 1 October (and beyond). But it doesn’t have to be a complete guessing game either. Based on detailed financial records, a company’s earning capacity and cost structure can be analysed. The next step is to examine how this will develop under various scenarios.
VWG has the expertise and tools to help business owners analyse the best way to navigate the transition – which may well be necessary – to emerge on the other side of the coronavirus crisis.