Recent changes to the law on quarantine stoppages

This 2020 post describes the rules in force at that time. Updated 2026-10-22: the sentences on informing the State Labour Inspectorate and on remote work are corrected under the current Labour Code. The 2020 subsidy scheme described here (70 or 90 per cent) no longer applies. Now Article 41(3) of the Employment Law provides a subsidy only when the Government declares an emergency and a quarantine: 100 per cent of the calculated pay, but no more than 1.5 times the minimum monthly wage.

On 8 April, a law amending Article 47 of the Labour Code entered into force (adopted on 31 March), which changed the regulation of quarantine stoppages. Compared to the previous regulation, the following innovations have been introduced:

• Obligation to inform the State Labour Inspectorate of declared stoppages (only if declared because of activity restrictions set during an emergency and/or quarantine). Now the employer informs the State Labour Inspectorate of declaring and cancelling the stoppage through the Sodra information system, no later than before the employee’s working day (shift) before the stoppage is declared or cancelled. When the stoppage is extended or the data change, they are updated no later than one working day before (DK Article 47(3)(1)).
• Additional requirements for the declaration of a stoppage . Before a stoppage is declared, it is required to exhaust teleworking opportunities (if any) and to offer other work (again, if available and accepted by the employee). A quarantine stoppage may only be declared if, due to the particularities of the organisation of work, it is not possible to carry out the agreed work remotely or if the worker does not agree to do the work offered to him. It should be noted that, once an emergency and/or quarantine is declared, the employer must offer remote work, by a reasoned written proposal, to an employee whose health endangers the health safety of other employees. If the employee refuses or does not answer, the employer suspends the employee from work without pay (DK Article 49(3¹)). In view of these new requirements, it is advisable to disclose the fulfilment of these requirements in the preamble of the outage notice document, i.e. a brief description of the reasons for the unavailability of teleworking (if it is not obvious, such as in the case of salespeople), and that the company does not have any other work to offer to the employees or the employees have refused to do such work.

Today, the Parliament also adopted a law amending Articles 51, 13, 24, 35, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 44, 49 and 50 of the Employment Act No. xii-2470. It will enter into force once it is signed by the President and made public, probably on 9-10 April. This law amends the conditions for the subsidy for the payment of downtime:

• The amount of the wage subsidy shall be calculated as a percentage of the person’s accrued wage, which may not be higher than the wage fixed in the employment contract prior to the date of the declaration of the Lithuanian quarantine . In this context, wages are understood as all the pre-tax (on paper) income of the worker in connection with the employment relationship, including payment for downtime. This wording will create problems for companies which only set a basic salary in employment contracts and pay the additional part of the salary (variable part, bonuses, performance bonuses, etc.) according to the company’s remuneration system. For example, suppose an employment contract provides for a monthly salary of EUR 800 and the variable part paid according to performance ranges from EUR 400 to EUR 600, to calculate the subsidy. In that case, the maximum salary will still be determined only by the contractual salary, which in turn will limit the ability of such companies to pay higher wages for downtime. In the case of the example above, the amount of the subsidised part of the undertaking’s share will not exceed EUR 800.
• The company may choose, at its discretion, to calculate the subsidy on a per-employee basis, one of two methods: 70 per cent of the calculated funds up to a maximum of 1,5 MMA or 90 per cent of the calculated funds up to a maximum of 1 MMA. The method to be used for a particular worker (’70’ or ’90’) shall be indicated in the appropriate box on the subsidy claim form.

Employers to whom the subsidy has been paid must maintain at least 50 per cent of the jobs for at least 3 months from the end of the wage subsidy.

Now, during a stoppage due to an emergency or quarantine, the employer pays at least the minimum monthly wage when a full working-time norm is agreed (DK Article 47(3)(3)).

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