In the GINOP Plusz 2.1.4-25 call “Support for Bringing SME Innovations to Market,” however, the logic is different: wage costs must be planned and claimed using a unit cost (lump-sum) approach, which has several important practical implications.
The key rule: wages can only be planned and claimed as unit costs
The call clearly states that the personnel-related expenditure of staff involved in the professional implementation of the project can only be planned and claimed as lump-sum unit costs.
This means that the basis for claiming is not the employee’s actual salary (as set out in their employment contract), but the monthly gross wage unit cost defined in the call.
What does this mean in practice?
There are two key points to highlight:
- The unit costs apply to full-time employment (8 hours per day).
- The unit cost can only be claimed proportionally to the time worked on the project.
In other words, if someone works only part-time on the project, the unit cost must be pro-rated to reflect the time actually spent on project activities.
What unit costs can you use?
When planning wage costs, the budget must be built on a unit-cost basis, and the amounts differ by role and field of science (e.g., researcher/developer, technician, support staff; natural/engineering sciences, IT, medical sciences, etc.).
The following monthly gross wage unit costs can currently be applied under the call for employees involved in the professional implementation of the project and employed full time (8 hours per day):
Natural sciences / engineering sciences
- Researcher/Developer: HUF 1,191,700 per person/month
- Technician: HUF 828,700 per person/month
- Support staff: HUF 442,300 per person/month
Medical sciences
- Researcher/Developer: HUF 1,642,800 per person/month
- Technician: HUF 804,200 per person/month
- Support staff: HUF 442,300 per person/month
Agricultural sciences
- Researcher/Developer: HUF 856,300 per person/month
- Technician: HUF 536,100 per person/month
- Support staff: HUF 442,300 per person/month
Social sciences
- Researcher/Developer: HUF 937,700 per person/month
- Technician: HUF 841,300 per person/month
- Support staff: HUF 442,300 per person/month
Information technology
- Researcher/Developer: HUF 1,310,600 per person/month
- Technician: HUF 881,400 per person/month
- Support staff: HUF 442,300 per person/month
The Managing Authority reviews these unit costs at pre-defined times, using Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) statistics.
The unit cost is not an “upper cap”, it is the basis for claiming. This can lead to a situation that may seem surprising at first: even if someone’s actual salary is lower in practice, the eligible wage cost in the project is still calculated using the unit-cost approach, pro-rated to the time spent on the project.
For planning purposes, the most important steps are therefore (1) selecting the correct role–field of science category and (2) setting realistic project working time, because these determine what wage amount can be planned and claimed. If these two points are in place, the claiming logic becomes straightforward and easy to follow.
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