Labor Measures 2021

As usual, the Budget Law includes a series of labor-related measures, such as, among others, the contribution bases and rates for 2021, modifications to the maximum contributions in pension plans, the dual university training contract, the legal interest of money and the interest for late payment or the IPREM for 2021.

On December 31, Law 11/2020, of December 30, on the General State Budget for the year 2021 was published, which comes into force on January 1, 2021, and which contains a series of legislative novelties in labor and Social Security matters, among which the following may be highlighted:

• As usual, the Budget Law establishes the contribution bases and rates for Social Security, Unemployment and Severance Protection, Wage Guarantee Fund and Vocational Training, maintaining the maximum contribution base ceiling for 2021 at 4,070.10 euros per month. As regards the contribution rates of the General Social Security Scheme, there are no changes with respect to those applicable in 2020.
• In turn, the legal interest rate has been set at 3 percent, and the interest for late payment at 3.75 percent. The public multiple effects income indicator (IPREM) will have the following amounts during 2021: daily amount of 18.83 euros, monthly of 564.90 euros and annual of 6778.80 euros.
• Companies and self-employed workers up to date in their obligations with the Social Security and who have no other deferral in force, may request the moratorium in the payment of Social Security contributions and for joint collection concepts whose accrual takes place between the months of December 2020 and February 2021, in the case of companies, and between the months of January to March 2021 in the case of self-employed workers. An interest rate of 0.5% will be applied.
• The revised text of the Pension Plans and Funds Regulation Law is amended, so that the total maximum annual corporate contributions to pension plans may not exceed 2,000 euros. This limit will be increased by 8,000 euros, provided that such increase comes from company contributions. The own contributions made by the individual employer to employment pension plans of which, in turn, he/she is the promoter and participant, will be considered as company contributions, for the purpose of calculating this limit.
• Article 11 of the Workers’ Statute Law is rewritten, introducing a new paragraph 3 which contemplates the dual university training contract. This contract will be formalized within the framework of the educational cooperation agreements signed by the universities with the collaborating entities and its purpose will be the professional qualification of the university students through a regime of alternation of paid work activity in a company with training activity received within the framework of their university training, in order to favor a greater relationship between this and the training and learning of the worker.
• The regulation provides for the regulatory development of the training system and the characteristics of the training and of the aspects related to the financing of the training activity and to the remuneration of the hired worker, which will be fixed in proportion to the effective working time, in accordance with the provisions of the collective labor agreement, without in any case being less than the minimum interprofessional salary. The protective action of the Social Security of the worker hired for the dual university training will include all the protectable contingencies and benefits, including unemployment and the coverage of the Wage Guarantee Fund.
• Amendments to the Workers’ Statute are introduced in relation to the FOGASA, giving a new wording to Article 33, assuming this body the indemnities recognized by judgment, order, judicial conciliation act or administrative resolution due to dismissal or termination of employment contracts in accordance with Articles 50, 51, 52, 40.1 and 41. 3 of this law, and of termination of contracts in accordance with articles 181 and 182 of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2020, of May 5, which approves the revised text of the Insolvency Law, as well as the indemnities for termination of temporary or fixed-term contracts in the legally applicable cases, in all cases with the maximum limit of one yearly payment, and of 9 monthly payments in the case of article 41.3 ET, without the daily salary exceeding twice the minimum wage, including the proportional part of the extraordinary payments.
• The contribution in cases of compatibility of retirement and work for others is modified, with employers and workers being subject to a special solidarity contribution of 9% of the contribution base for common contingencies, not computable for the purposes of benefits, which will be distributed between them, with the employer paying 7% and the worker 2%.
• As a measure to support the extension of the period of activity of workers with permanent discontinuous contracts in the tourism, commerce and hotel and catering sectors linked to the tourist activity, with effect from January 1, those companies engaged in activities included in the tourism sectors, which generate productive activity in the months of February, March and November of each year and which generate productive activity in the months of February, March and November of each year, and which have a fixed-term contract with the employer, will be entitled to the benefit of the employer, which will be paid by the employer, March and November of each year and that initiate and/or maintain in high during these months the occupation of the workers with discontinuous fixed contracts, will be able to apply a rebate in these months of 50 percent of the company contributions to the Social Security for common contingencies, as well as for the concepts of joint collection of Unemployment, FOGASA and Professional Training of these workers.
• In addition, with indefinite validity, there is a 50% discount on the employer’s contribution for common contingencies in those cases in which, due to risk during pregnancy or breastfeeding, the worker is assigned to a different job or function compatible with her condition, and in those cases in which, due to occupational disease, under the terms provided by law, there is a change of position in the same company or the performance, in a different company, of a job compatible with the worker’s condition.
• The companies that pay contributions for the professional training contingency will have a training credit, depending on the number of workers, and those companies that during 2021 open new work centers and newly created companies, when they incorporate new workers to their staff, will be able to benefit from it. Companies which during 2021 grant individual training leave to their employees will have a bonus credit for additional training.
• The suspension of the application of the system of reduction of contributions for professional contingencies to companies in which there has been a considerable reduction in the number of accidents at work is foreseen.