A recent international survey conducted on employee job support and wage subsidies available in response to COVID-19 provides some interesting perspective on how Canada ranks on a global scale.

As a member of Ius Laboris – a global alliance of legal service providers in all aspects of workplace law – Mathews Dinsdale recently participated in an international survey on employee job support and wage subsidies being made available in different countries in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The survey, conducted by Ius Laboris, gathered data from Canada, the United States, Europe and elsewhere around the globe pertaining to the percentage amount of employee wage subsidies being provided in each jurisdiction as well as the duration of each of the wage programs and other considerations.

Based on data captured between March 27, 2020 and April 28, 2020, the survey revealed a number of interesting facts:

• Canada’s 75% emergency wage subsidy (CEWS) was comparable to most reporting countries, falling between 70%-80% of an employee’s gross monthly pay.
• Sweden reported the lowest wage subsidy, at 53%, while Cyprus, Greece and New Zealand reported 100% wage subsidy.
• While the June 2020 projected end date for Canada’s wage subsidy program falls as the shorter end of average, a few countries anticipate providing wage subsidies until the end of the year and beyond, including Sweden (53%), Norway (80%), Luxembourg (80%), Malta (75%) and Germany (60%)
• Wage subsidy programs of reporting countries are almost entirely grant-based, with the United States loan program being the only exception, and nearly all can be implemented without requiring employee agreement.
• Despite over half of the countries prohibiting the use of layoffs, there is no clear divide between programs which ban layoffs versus those that do not.

Access the full results of the job retention programs survey here.

We will continue to update our clients with information as it becomes available. If you have any questions about this topic, other COVID-19 related questions, or would like assistance with developing and/or reviewing pandemic plans, please do not hesitate to contact a Mathews Dinsdale lawyer, or refer to the Firm’s COVID-19 website resources.