The reform to simplify and improve unemployment protection includes changes that will speed up access to benefits, make it possible to reconcile employment and benefits and extend the groups protected.
Unemployment benefit reform
On 21 May the Council of Ministers approved the royal decree law reforming unemployment benefits, following the agreement reached with the main trade union organisations. On 20 June, Congress gave its final approval to this reform, which also included changes to the unemployment benefit, better known as unemployment.
The new features incorporated through the reform, which fulfils the commitments made in Component 23 of the Recovery Plan, aim to simplify the functioning of the system and adapt its objectives to provide greater clarity, and legal certainty and facilitate management, especially for groups with a higher degree of vulnerability and worse conditions of employability.
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Unemployment benefit: key reform issues
What is the unemployment benefit and how does it differ from the unemployment benefit?
Unemployment benefit at the welfare level or unemployment allowance is the aid for those who have exhausted or are not entitled to unemployment -contributory benefit- because they have not contributed enough.
Its duration depends on the number of months of contributions and whether or not the person has family responsibilities, and its monthly amount is equal to 80% of the Public Indicator of Multiple Effect Income (IPREM), the index used as a reference in Spain to calculate the granting of benefits.
On the other hand, the contributory unemployment benefit, better known as unemployment, is the benefit for those who lose their job temporarily or permanently or whose ordinary working hours are temporarily reduced by between 10% and 70%.
To be eligible for unemployment benefits, in addition to meeting the necessary requirements, the worker must have previously paid unemployment contributions to the Social Security system. Its duration depends on the unemployment contributions of the last 6 years prior to becoming legally unemployed and the amount depends on the Social Security contribution bases of the last 6 months of contributions.
The Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE) is the body responsible for the management and control of both benefits.
More unemployment benefit recipients
The recently approved reform extends unemployment benefits to groups that previously lacked this coverage:
under 45s with no family responsibilities
seasonal agricultural workers
cross-border workers from Ceuta and Melilla
returned emigrant Spaniards not entitled to contributory benefits
over-16s who are victims of gender-based or sexual violence
Measures such as the protection of cross-border workers who commute daily to Ceuta and Melilla, the new subsidy for victims of gender or sexual violence or the equalisation of part-time workers with full-time workers are promoted from a gender perspective, as they mainly benefit women.
New amounts: increase of 90 euros
The new regulation raises the percentage of the IPREM that is used to calculate unemployment benefits, which will increase the amount by a total of 90 euros per month.
The amounts that can be received will therefore be established as follows, in three tranches:
First 6 months: 95% IPREM (570 euros, at the current IPREM).
6 following months: 90% IPREM (540 euros)
rest of the period: 80% IPREM (480 euros)
Compatibility of employment and unemployment benefits
The reform introduces the “Employment Support Supplement”, the instrument of compatibility of both the unemployment benefit and the ordinary benefit, with the incorporation into the labour market.
In other words, the reform will make it possible to combine a job or a grant with receiving both unemployment benefits and unemployment benefits. This situation may be extended for a maximum period of 6 months.
Accumulation of breastfeeding leave as an entitlement
The decree-law also provides for the possibility of accumulating paid breastfeeding leave hours into full working days as a right for all workers and without the need, therefore, for this option to be included in the collective agreement or in an agreement with the company.
More protection, less red tape: other measures introduced by the reform
The new law simplifies the regulation to guarantee more flexibility in accessing benefits and reduce administrative burdens, making it easier for citizens to apply for benefits:
the one-month waiting period for claiming benefits when unemployment runs out is eliminated to avoid gaps in coverage for the most vulnerable groups of workers
the current deduction in the amount of the subsidy for part-time work is eliminated, meaning that these workers will be guaranteed the same rights as full-time employees and will thus receive the full amount of the subsidy
the income insufficiency requirement is modified to make it easier to meet, as the income may be calculated individually or per family unit (also including unmarried couples). This requirement may be accredited using a “responsible declaration”, and this data may be verified subsequently.
the number of day labourers in Andalusia and Extremadura will be reduced to 10 peonadas (day labourers) to qualify for the subsidy.
renewals will be carried out every quarter to speed up and reduce the bureaucratic load
the group of long-term unemployed will be incorporated as a priority into programmes and actions of the Common Portfolio of Services of the National Employment System for their reincorporation into the labour market. In addition, the transition from receiving benefits to receiving the Minimum Living Income is regulated.
When does the reform come into force?
In general terms, the regulation will come into force in November 2024. The new system of compatibility between employment and unemployment benefits will apply from 1 April 2025.