STA, 13 December 2018 - The government raised on Thursday the daily allowance for self-employed artists on sick leave from 20 euro in 2018 to 21 euro, or 630 euro for 30 days, in 2019.
The government issued a decree setting the sick leave allowance for next year based on the law on the implementation of public interest in culture, the umbrella law for arts and culture.
The allowance is part of efforts by the Culture Ministry to improve freelancers' working conditions and financial standing, the Government Communication Office said in a press release after the government's weekly session.
NGOs representing freelance artists have been warning that more than half of self-employed artists do not earn the minimum wage, currently at 638 euro net.
Meanwhile, the poverty threshold in Slovenia was set at 636 euro a month in 2017, slightly up from the previous years.
Today's increase comes after the daily sick leave allowance stood at 20 euro in the 2014-2018 period, which translated into 600 euro for 30 days of sick leave.
The NGOs have been pointing out this is below the minimum wage, but under Slovenian law, sick leave compensation for the loss of income is set at 80% of the salary.
In determining the amount of the sick leave allowance, the government took into account the available budgetary funds and the poverty threshold.
