They Provide Jobs, Pay Salaries: What Is Available for Pensioners and Those Over 50 in Latvia

Comment from the State Employment Agency (NVA):

What Is Offered to Everyone

Indeed, the NVA offers a wide range of services and activities for different target groups registered in the Agency's client database.

Among the services:

• Support in job searching

• Career consultations

• Competitiveness enhancement activities (short-term courses)

• Training under informal education programs using vouchers — in-person or online on open online platforms

• Qualification enhancement and professional development programs

• Support in assessing professional competence – the opportunity to confirm professional competence acquired throughout life and, by passing a qualification exam, receive a state-recognized document on professional qualification

• Activities for starting one's own commercial activity or working as a self-employed person

• Subsidized employment - when employers hire workers from among NVA clients belonging to certain, less competitive categories, receiving financial support from NVA for partial payment of these workers' wages

• Paid temporary public works (in cooperation with municipalities)

and so on.

For the “Less In Demand”

People who, due to age, health conditions, or other objective reasons, find themselves in a disadvantageous position in the labor market and experience particular difficulties in finding work are the focus of special attention from the NVA. Within the framework of the ESF Plus project “Measures for Certain Groups of People” or Subsidized Employment (see above), activities for the active employment of people in specific groups (hereinafter referred to as the Activity) have been developed and implemented; the goal is to orient these individuals to the requirements of the labor market and help them find permanent employment.

Participants in the activities include clients with unemployed status who, with the support of the NVA or independently, have not been able to find work and who meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Persons with disabilities

• Persons over 55 years old who have more than two years until retirement age

• Persons who have been unemployed for at least 12 months

• Persons with refugee status or alternative status

• Persons who have no more than two years until retirement age

• Persons under 29 years old (inclusive) who have completed a special educational program

• Persons under 29 years old (inclusive) who have been released from places of detention or are clients of the probation service.

Each client participating in the Activity is provided with a qualified job supervisor by the employer, who helps the client acquire the basic skills and abilities necessary to perform the job.

NVA clients are also reimbursed for the costs of medical examinations required by regulations on mandatory health checks, provided they are conducted before the start of employment, but not exceeding 50 euros. The application for reimbursement must be submitted within 10 working days after the medical examination to the respective NVA branch.

Participants in this activity are employed for a period of 12 months.

How to Participate?

• If a person has not yet registered with the NVA, they need to register and familiarize themselves with the conditions for participating in the Activity.

• At the branch where the person registered, they should inform their curator (employment inspector) about their preferences — in which field they would like to work. The curator will assess your compliance with the criteria and, if the decision is positive, include them in the list of candidates and inform them about the need to undergo an interview with the employer.

• Before being included in the Activity, the person will be provided with information about the rights and obligations of the unemployed and the employer during the activity.

Conditions for Reimbursements

NVA clients participating in the “Subsidized Employment” support program may also be eligible for financial compensation to cover transportation costs and housing expenses during the first four months of work.

Conditions for receiving compensation:

• The workplace is located at least 15 km from the declared place of residence (excluding Riga), and the client has been registered at the declared place of residence for at least six months or has changed their declared place of residence during this time; however, both the new and previous places of residence are located within the administrative territory of the same municipality. The exception regarding Riga does not apply if the client's declared place of residence is outside Riga.

• The client has established normal working hours, and their salary is at least the minimum monthly wage established in the country, but does not exceed the amount of two minimum monthly wages established in the country.

• The application for financial support, along with the relevant confirmation, must be submitted within 10 working days from the date the NVA client signed the employment contract.

• Transportation cost reimbursement is provided in cases where the distance from the client's declared place of residence to the workplace does not exceed 110 km; if the distance is greater, an application for reimbursement of housing rental costs or accommodation in a hotel must be submitted.

• After a decision is made (usually within three working days after receiving the application), the NVA branch will contact the client to inform them of the decision regarding the assignment of financial compensation and further actions.

The amount of financial compensation intended to cover housing rental or transportation costs cannot exceed 200 euros and is calculated based on the number of working days in the relevant month, but not more than 10 euros per day. Financial compensation is paid by transferring it to the client's bank account.

For People with Disabilities

A set of special activities has also been developed to help people with disabilities enter the labor market and find suitable employment.

These include:

• Participation in all job search activities (career consultations, job vacancy searches, etc. - of course, taking into account the health condition of the job seeker)

• Creation of subsidized jobs, where employers receive financial support not only for wage payments but also for reimbursement of costs related to equipping the workplace to meet the needs of a person with a disability

• Assistance in vocational training and retraining

• Services of an occupational therapist, sign language interpreter (if necessary)

• Compensation for travel or accommodation if training or the workplace is far from home

• Participation in “open days” and other events aimed at introducing employers to job seekers with disabilities

• The employer provides a qualified mentor who helps acquire the basic skills and abilities necessary for the job.

For all questions related to obtaining the above-mentioned services, registered NVA clients receive consultations from their curator (employment inspector) by visiting their branch at the appointed time.