New support program bypasses students 

New support program bypasses students

For another nine months, the Dutch government will continue to support the economy. But students with temporary jobs are not included in the new support program that the government recently announced. 

Until halfway through 2021, ailing companies will be able to receive financial support for their wage costs. As of October, the support will be 80 percent of all salaries, 70 percent as of January and 60 percent as of April. This amounts to 5.4 billion euros. 

That’s good news for students with permanent jobs. But many students are flex workers. For that group, the package is of little use. The regulation for flex workers was closed on 27 July and will not be continued.

Little attention 

The national student organizations ISO and LSVb are disappointed that there is so little attention for students in the new package. Young people are being hit hard by the economic crisis, so in their opinion they deserve more help. 

Apparently, the government does not consider students to be a high-risk group. They can borrow from DUO on good terms, was previously the argument. Once they are highly educated, their chances of finding a job are high. This is different, for example, for ‘vulnerable school leavers’, a group that the government does explicitly mention. 

In the new ‘support and recovery package’ there is money for retraining. Self-employed entrepreneurs, for example, can appeal to this if their business does not survive. The government also wants to tackle youth unemployment.