News

In our press release dated the 29^th of January, 2021 we gave you updates on the main developments concerning the extension of the temporary lay-off plans, which are known as ERTES (Temporary Employment Regulation Files), until the 31^st of May, 2021, which was approved by the Royal Decree law 2/2021 and published in the BOE (Official State Gazette) on the 27^th of January, 2021.

Hereinafter we have included the most important points of the agreement reached between the Government and Social Stakeholders, although the terms and conditions established in it are similar to those that were in force beforehand.

• Extension of the Temporary Employment Regulation Files pursuant to the following requirements:
  • Automatic extension of the FORCE MAJEURE ERTES approved pursuant to article 22 of the Royal Decree Law 8/2020 until the 31^st of May, 2021. There are no exemptions associated with these ERTES apart from those for companies that are included in the   CNAES (National Classification of Economic Activities) list and companies that are part of the value chain, as we will explain later on.
  • The ERTES that are granted on grounds of LIMITATION, which are in force and were requested pursuant to the provisions established in the Royal Decree-Law 30/2020, shall also be automatically prolonged until the 31^st of May, 2021. In this case the companies that are covered by these will benefit from exemptions associated with paying their employees’ social security contributions and the joint collection items and they will be decreased until the 31^st of May, 2021 as shown below:

• As for ERTES granted on the grounds of IMPEDIMENT, those that were authorised pursuant to the provisions established in the Royal Decree Ley 30/2020 shall be automatically extended until the 31^st of May, 2021 and those that were authorised in line with the provisions established in the Royal Decree Law 24/2020 shall also continue to be valid until the aforesaid date. In this case companies that are covered by this type of ERTE shall benefit from exemptions in their Social Security contributions while they are closed and until the 31^st of May 2021, pursuant to the following:

• Furthermore, THE PROCESS HAS BEEN SIMPLIFIED, which means that:
  • Companies that are covered by an ERTE on the grounds of an impediment or limitation, which has been authorised before or while this regulation is in force, do not have to request and process a new ERTE before the labour authorities to go from one to another to benefit from the exemptions arising from the changes made in the healthcare restrictions, which puts them in a situation where an impediment to their activity is due to limiting circumstances, or vice versa.
  • To gain access to the benefits, all they have to do is notify the labour authorities that have issued the decision on the ERTE, which they have been granted and the employees’ representative. A new collective request for benefits does not have to be made at the SEPE (Spanish State Public Employment Service) either.
• New REQUEST FOR ERTES ON THE GROUNDS OF AN IMPEDIMENT OR LIMITATION, in this case, this new agreement establishes that companies, which are affected by restrictions that impede or limit their business activities, can apply for an ERTE on the grounds of limitations on their business activities or on the grounds of an impediment under exactly the same procedural terms and requirements as those provided for in the third Social Agreement to Protect Jobs. Therefore depending on the type of ERTE that is being requested, they can benefit from the aforesaid exemptions.
• With regard to ERTES on the grounds of ECONOMIC, TECHNICAL, ORGANIZATIONAL OR PRODUCTION FACTORS (ETOP ERTES)
  • Companies can benefit from the simplified procedures for this type of ERTE created for reasons associated with Covid-19, which are provided for in article 23 of the Royal Decree-law 8/2020 and also from the fact that, unlike its ordinary regulation which does not provide for this, they can apply for an extension by submitting an agreement made on this matter with the trade union representative or delegates of personnel or members of company committees, to the labour authorities.
• Measures for companies that belong to sectors that have HIGH ERTE COVERAGE AND A LOW ACTIVITY RECOVERY RATE;
  • The specific exemption system that was approved by the RD Law 30/2020 shall continue to be valid until the 31^st of May, 2021, for companies that belong to sectors with a high ERTE coverage and a low activity recovery rate, which are included in the CNAE Annex. A change has been made to this, namely that 3 CNAE have been removed from the list, the CNAE 1393 (carpet and rug manufacturing), the CNAE 2431 (cold drawing process), and the CNAE 3220 (making musical instruments) to accommodate 3 new activities, the CNAE 5330 (camp sites and caravan parks), the CNAE 7734 (rental of water sport equipment), and the CNAE 9604 (fitness activities), the exemptions that have been applied up to now are still in force, which are as follows:

• EXTENSION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MEASURES
  • Objective dismissal due to reasons related to COVID-19 is still prohibited.
  • The commitment to preserve jobs for 6 months is upheld, pursuant to the terms established in the Royal Decree-law 30/2020, which means that, having complied with the 6 month job preservation period arising from the regulations in force prior to this provision, which is associated with the benefits referred to in this Royal Decree-law (another 6 month period), the corresponding companies shall agree to keep the jobs for another 6 months.   
  • Moreover, overtime is still prohibited, as is outsourcing (hiring new employees whether it is directly or indirectly through temporary employment agencies, apart from the exceptions).
  • It is prohibited to share out dividends to companies that are beneficiaries of the exemptions.
  • Extra benefits for permanent seasonal workers or casual workers.
  • The exemption on the grace period, starting from zero, the increase from 50% to 70% percent to calculate the regulatory base figure for those who have used up 180 days of benefits, the benefits for the permanent seasonal workers (including the extra benefits) and the improvement in the protection for people covered by an ERTE, who have part-time contracts, shall continue to be applicable.
• The PLAN MECUIDA, approved through article 6 of the Royal Decree 8/2020 has also been extended until the 31^st of May, 2021. We would like to remind you that this also governs the rights of employed individuals who prove that they have caregiving duties with regard to the spouse or the partner, or second-degree relatives, so that they can adapt their working day and/or reduce their working hours, in exceptional circumstances related to the measures taken to avoid the community transmission of COVID-19.
• EXTENSION OF THE MINIMUM CONTRIBUTION BASES:
  • The minimum contribution bases shall be prolonged pursuant to the Fifth Additional Provision of the Royal Decree Law 2/2021 throughout 2021, the amounts of these shall be the same as those that were in force on the 31^st of December, 2019.
• As for the MEASURES TO SUPPORT SELF-EMPLOYED WORKERS, 3 different benefits can be requested; there are certain requirements and different conditions that have to be fulfilled in order to be able to access them. The different types of benefits that are available are as follows:
  • Extra benefit for cessation of business activities for self-employed workers who are affected by temporarily not being able to work due to the measures taken by the different competent authorities in their attempts to stop the spread of COVID-19.
  • Extra benefits for self-employed workers who are not entitled to request ordinary benefits for the cessation of business activities.
  • Ordinary benefits for the cessation of business activities that is compatible with self-employed work.