FG’s MSMEs Payroll Support Scheme: Resolving The Resultant Employers And Employees Disagreement

By Davidleid I. Eluchie, Esq. (Daleid Ifeanyi)

The Federal government of Nigeria as part of her Covid – 19
survival/relief schemes, came up with a program it tagged “MSMEs
Payroll Support” sometime in the month of September 2020; with the
view to sustain at least 500,000 jobs in 50,000 MSMEs in critically
affected sectors of the Nigerian economy, which includes: Schools,
Hospitals. Creative Industries, Road Transport, Tourism, etc.

In furtherance of the above agenda, the government set up a
‘Survival Fund’, and called on micro small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) that are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
to access the survival fund portal (which was made available to the
general public) and apply for the program in order to benefit from
the disbursement of the N75 billion MSMEs survival fund.

The Payroll Support Program was designed to cover the payment of
three months salaries of employers and a maximum of ten(10)
employees of each qualified, applied and verified Firms’ by the
federal government, and the money(salaries) is to be paid into
their individual bank accounts.

Furthermore, it was arranged that each employer of a firm that
applied for the scheme will be paid N50,000 per month for the three
months duration, while all the employees whose details were
submitted at the point of application will receive N30,000 each per
month for the three months period. At the point of application,
firms were required to provide a minimum of three employees details
and a maximum number of ten employees details, in addition to the
employer/business owner’s detail.

Pursuant to the above arrangements, the Federal government
started the disbursement of the MSMEs survival fund payroll support
money since October/November, 2020. This thoughtful and responsible
gesture by the federal government brought joy and put smiles on the
faces of both employers and their employees alike. The program has
gone a long way in compensating the losses and curing the hardship
they experienced during the year 2020 Covid -19 lockdown.

However, the atmosphere in some firms has been very hostile
(there is a resultant disagreement between employers and employees)
after receiving the first survival fund payment. The reason being
that, the employers of these firms are demanding from their
employees the money paid to them by the federal government under
the survival fund scheme, and threatening to disengage them should
they fail to comply. While some employees have released the monies
to their firms/employers for fear of being sacked, others have
refused to do so; in the firm believe that the money is
theirs’.

It is to the knowledge of the writer that this disagreement
between employers and employees over the ownership and usage of the
money received by employees in their individual bank accounts from
the survival fund payroll support program has taken various
dimensions. Some employers and employees have taken to social media
to accuse and counter accuse themselves for being greedy,
fraudulent, wicked, etc.

The high points of this disagreement in my view, is the fact
that some employers had at one time or the other engaged their
employees in physical combat, while some had gone extra mile by
terminating the employments of their employees for refusing to
release the said money to the employers or their firms. Some
employees in the other hand, had left their employments as a result
of pressure from their employers upon their refusal to release the
money received from Survival Fund in their individual bank accounts
to their firms. All these in the view of the writer, negates the
federal government purpose of establishing the survival
fund/payroll support program.

In observance/settlement of the employers and employees
disagreement, the writer opined and states as follows:

1. The Federal government Payroll Support program was initiated
   for the benefits of both employers and employees alike. The aim was
   to help MSMEs to pay salaries and sustain their employees for the
   past three month Covid – 19 lockdown in the year, 2020.
2. It was never the intendment of the federal government to take
   over the whole salary burdens/liabilities of MSMEs that applied to
   benefit from the program for the three months period, but only to
   support them.
3. The money paid to employees by the federal government under the
   survival fund payroll support in their individual bank accounts
   does not belong to their firms/employers, but to the particular
   employee who received it. And it is immaterial whether the
   employee’s monthly salary in the firm is up to N30,000 or not.
4. It is fraud, shrewd disobedience to the federal government and
   an attempt to mess up the sensibility of the federal government in
   establishing the Survival fund/Payroll Support program for any
   employer to demand from his/her employee(s) the money or part of
   the money such employee received from the federal government
   survival fund – payroll support. It is also immaterial whether the
   employee’s monthly salary in the firm is up to N30,000 or not
   (N30,000 is the national minimum wage – 2019 National Minimum Wage
   Act).
5. It is not the intendment of the federal government that
   employees should release the money paid into their individual bank
   accounts under the survival fund payroll support program to their
   employers/firms, as it is aware that employees suffered almost to a
   breaking point during the 2020 Covid -19 lockdown.
6. The federal government survival fund payroll support to MSMEs
   does not exonerate firms from not paying their employees during the
   period in view. Therefore, the firms that claims they have more
   than ten(10) employees are expected to pay the salaries of the
   remaining workers, aside those they submitted their details during
   payroll support program application, and not hoping to achieve all
   that with the support given by the federal government through the
   survival fund scheme.

The writer, having considered the disagreement between employers
and employees over the ownership and usage of Survival Fund payroll
support money (salaries) paid into the employees individual bank
accounts, deemed it fit to express his view with this article, and
also call on the Federal government to issue a statement in this
regard.

Davidleid I. Eluchie, Esq., is a lawyer and
investment advisor.

He can be reached via -Email: daleid2020@gmail.com^[1]

By Davidleid I. Eluchie, Esq. (Daleid Ifeanyi)

The Federal government of Nigeria as part of her Covid – 19
survival/relief schemes, came up with a program it tagged “MSMEs
Payroll Support” sometime in the month of September 2020; with the
view to sustain at least 500,000 jobs in 50,000 MSMEs in critically
affected sectors of the Nigerian economy, which includes: Schools,
Hospitals. Creative Industries, Road Transport, Tourism, etc.

In furtherance of the above agenda, the government set up a
‘Survival Fund’, and called on micro small and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) that are registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
to access the survival fund portal (which was made available to the
general public) and apply for the program in order to benefit from
the disbursement of the N75 billion MSMEs survival fund.

The Payroll Support Program was designed to cover the payment of
three months salaries of employers and a maximum of ten(10)
employees of each qualified, applied and verified Firms’ by the
federal government, and the money(salaries) is to be paid into
their individual bank accounts.

Furthermore, it was arranged that each employer of a firm that
applied for the scheme will be paid N50,000 per month for the three
months duration, while all the employees whose details were
submitted at the point of application will receive N30,000 each per
month for the three months period. At the point of application,
firms were required to provide a minimum of three employees details
and a maximum number of ten employees details, in addition to the
employer/business owner’s detail.

Pursuant to the above arrangements, the Federal government
started the disbursement of the MSMEs survival fund payroll support
money since October/November, 2020. This thoughtful and responsible
gesture by the federal government brought joy and put smiles on the
faces of both employers and their employees alike. The program has
gone a long way in compensating the losses and curing the hardship
they experienced during the year 2020 Covid -19 lockdown.

However, the atmosphere in some firms has been very hostile
(there is a resultant disagreement between employers and employees)
after receiving the first survival fund payment. The reason being
that, the employers of these firms are demanding from their
employees the money paid to them by the federal government under
the survival fund scheme, and threatening to disengage them should
they fail to comply. While some employees have released the monies
to their firms/employers for fear of being sacked, others have
refused to do so; in the firm believe that the money is
theirs’.

It is to the knowledge of the writer that this disagreement
between employers and employees over the ownership and usage of the
money received by employees in their individual bank accounts from
the survival fund payroll support program has taken various
dimensions. Some employers and employees have taken to social media
to accuse and counter accuse themselves for being greedy,
fraudulent, wicked, etc.

The high points of this disagreement in my view, is the fact
that some employers had at one time or the other engaged their
employees in physical combat, while some had gone extra mile by
terminating the employments of their employees for refusing to
release the said money to the employers or their firms. Some
employees in the other hand, had left their employments as a result
of pressure from their employers upon their refusal to release the
money received from Survival Fund in their individual bank accounts
to their firms. All these in the view of the writer, negates the
federal government purpose of establishing the survival
fund/payroll support program.

In observance/settlement of the employers and employees
disagreement, the writer opined and states as follows:

1. The Federal government Payroll Support program was initiated
   for the benefits of both employers and employees alike. The aim was
   to help MSMEs to pay salaries and sustain their employees for the
   past three month Covid – 19 lockdown in the year, 2020.
2. It was never the intendment of the federal government to take
   over the whole salary burdens/liabilities of MSMEs that applied to
   benefit from the program for the three months period, but only to
   support them.
3. The money paid to employees by the federal government under the
   survival fund payroll support in their individual bank accounts
   does not belong to their firms/employers, but to the particular
   employee who received it. And it is immaterial whether the
   employee’s monthly salary in the firm is up to N30,000 or not.
4. It is fraud, shrewd disobedience to the federal government and
   an attempt to mess up the sensibility of the federal government in
   establishing the Survival fund/Payroll Support program for any
   employer to demand from his/her employee(s) the money or part of
   the money such employee received from the federal government
   survival fund – payroll support. It is also immaterial whether the
   employee’s monthly salary in the firm is up to N30,000 or not
   (N30,000 is the national minimum wage – 2019 National Minimum Wage
   Act).
5. It is not the intendment of the federal government that
   employees should release the money paid into their individual bank
   accounts under the survival fund payroll support program to their
   employers/firms, as it is aware that employees suffered almost to a
   breaking point during the 2020 Covid -19 lockdown.
6. The federal government survival fund payroll support to MSMEs
   does not exonerate firms from not paying their employees during the
   period in view. Therefore, the firms that claims they have more
   than ten(10) employees are expected to pay the salaries of the
   remaining workers, aside those they submitted their details during
   payroll support program application, and not hoping to achieve all
   that with the support given by the federal government through the
   survival fund scheme.

The writer, having considered the disagreement between employers
and employees over the ownership and usage of Survival Fund payroll
support money (salaries) paid into the employees individual bank
accounts, deemed it fit to express his view with this article, and
also call on the Federal government to issue a statement in this
regard.

Davidleid I. Eluchie, Esq., is a lawyer and
investment advisor.

He can be reached via -Email: daleid2020@gmail.com^[1]