Employment Becomes More Accessible: What Subsidies Employers Receive for Hiring People with Disabilities

Moldovan authorities compensate employers for up to 80% of the salary of an employee with a disability. For people with disabilities, this is a real opportunity to enter the open labor market, and for employers, it is a chance to reduce costs and gain a loyal employee. We break down the details of the program.

As reported by Raisa Dogaru, Director of the National Employment Agency (ANOFM), the state is ready to allocate monthly subsidies amounting to 80% of the base salary according to the employment contract. An important condition: the payment amount cannot exceed 50% of the average monthly salary in the economy for the previous year. The subsidy is paid for 6 months for each person hired.

Who has priority in employment?

The program is aimed at supporting those who traditionally find it harder to get a job. The list of vulnerable categories for which the employer receives compensation includes:

• People with disabilities;
• Long-term unemployed citizens;
• Young people aged 16 to 18 left without parental care;
• Individuals aged 50 and older;
• Persons released from places of imprisonment;
• Victims of human trafficking or domestic violence (after completing rehabilitation);
• Persons who have completed rehabilitation for drug or psychotropic substance addiction.

What rules must the employer follow?

To receive support, a company must meet a number of conditions that guarantee the employee's stability:

• The employee must be officially registered as unemployed and referred through a territorial subdivision of ANOFM.
• The employment contract is concluded for an indefinite period or for a fixed term of at least 12 months.
• The employer must be legally registered, not be in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy, and have no arrears to the state budget or employees.
• Important: Subsidies do not apply to central and local public administration authorities (state institutions). If the employment contract is terminated early, the subsidy payment stops the next day.

Scale of the Program

This year, the state has allocated over 196 million lei for employment promotion measures (which is six times last year's budget). The goal is ambitious: to help employ about 100,000 people over the next four years.