TOFA – until Sunday 12 July to make a claim

Flexible workers, such as those on zero-hours contracts, who because of the corona crisis may have lost a large part of their income, but who cannot claim benefits, have until Sunday 12 July to make a claim under the government’s Temporary Bridging Scheme for Flexible Workers (TOFA) .

However, there are conditions attached. These so-called flex workers must have had an income of at least €400 a month in February, and have then lost at least half by April. Their April income must not have been higher than €550. Nor can they have received any unemployment benefit or other social security payments during this period.

In the first days of the scheme, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) received 11,500 requests from flex workers of whom a proportion received  €1,650. That is €550 for March, April and May.

However, to date almost half of the requests have been rejected for not meeting the conditions, mostly due not earning enough in February or too much in April.

For more information, see www.uwv.nl/tofa