European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF)

Does you company or sector have to make large numbers of people redundant? You may be eligible for aid from the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF). You help the dismissed employees find a new job or set up their own business. This includes self-employed and temporary workers. You can for instance offer training, career coaching or assist with setting up their own business.

The EGF can co-finance measures for your employees such as:

• Help with looking for a job
• Career advice
• Education, training and re-training
• Mentoring and coaching
• Entrepreneurship and business creation
• Provide training allowances, relocation allowances, subsistence allowances or similar support
• Your project to help your employees find new work takes no longer than 24 months, from the date you applied for EGF aid. You can get funded for up to 60% of the costs of your project.

The EGF does not provide support to help companies stay in business, modernise or restructure. It also does not co-finance pensions or unemployment benefits.

When do you qualify?

Criteria and measures are set out in the EGF regulation. The main aspects are:

• Employers are eligible when they have to make employees redundant due to digitisation, automation, globalisation, economic or financial crises, the transition to a low-carbon economy, or similar changes.
• Your company has to make at least 200 people redundant within a 4-month period. Or, there must be 200 redundancies in your sector over a 9-month period in 1 or 2 adjoining provinces.
• Each case runs for 2 years.

How to apply?

Is your company based in the Netherlands? You can apply for the European Globalisation Fund subsidy (in Dutch) to the Dutch Ministry for Social Affairs and Employment's Implementation of Policy (Uitvoering van Beleid). Is your company based in another EU Member State? Check the European Commission's website to find your national EGF contact point.