Publication of the extension of the ERTE until February 28, 2022.

Royal Decree-Law 18/2021, of September 28, on urgent measures for the protection of employment, economic recovery and improvement of the labor market.

This extension is subordinated, in the case of files in force on September 30, 2021, to the presentation of a request to that effect before the labor authority. This request must be accompanied by a list of the hours or days of work suspended or reduced during the months of July, August and September 2021 for each of the workers, and by the report of the legal representation of the workers in the case of cases due to economic, technical, organizational and productive causes.

Likewise, the access to the extraordinary measures regarding contributions and the recognition of unemployment benefits will require the presentation, by the companies whose extension is authorized, of a list of the workers who were included as of September 30, 2021 in the scope of application of the temporary labor force adjustment plan and who will remain included in such plan during the extension.

In addition, the possibility of presenting new temporary labor force adjustment plans due to impediments or limitations to the normalized activity is included, for which extraordinary measures regarding contributions and unemployment protection are also foreseen. Likewise, the complementary measures associated with these proceedings continue to be applicable to them.

The new regulation, in force until February 28, 2022, establishes, on the one hand, the extension of the ERTEs in their current modalities until October 31, 2021 and, on the other hand, the new ERTE modalities as from November 1, for which an extension must be requested to the competent labor authority between October 1 and 15. Therefore, the new ERTEs will be extended from November 1 to February 28, 2022.

ERTE for training

This Royal Decree-Law promotes training as a fundamental step to recapitalize workers and improve their employability. The companies that have training actions will have access to greater exemptions in Social Security contributions. Thus, article three of the provision establishes that the companies whose temporary labor force adjustment plan is extended under the terms set forth in article 1, and those which are in any of the restrictive situations set forth in article 2, will have to develop training actions for each of the persons affected by the ERTE between November 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022, which will be aimed at meeting the real training needs of the companies and the workers, as well as those which allow the latter to be requalified, even if they are not directly related to the activity carried out in the company.

Through these actions, priority will be given to the development of training actions aimed at meeting the real training needs of companies and workers, including those related to the acquisition of digital skills, as well as those that allow the requalification of workers, even if they are not directly related to the activity carried out in the company.

The minimum number of hours of training to be carried out by each worker for which the companies have applied exemptions, during the period regulated in this Royal Decree-Law, from 10 employees or more, is as follows:

From 10 to 49 employees: 30 hours.
From 50 or more: 40 hours.
These training actions must be developed during the application of the reduction of working hours or suspension of the contract, in the scope of a temporary employment regulation file, or in working time. In any case, the legally established breaks and the right to conciliate work, personal and family life must be respected.

Training in new ERTEs is encouraged, subsidizing the bulk of the cost of training and applying exemptions to companies that train their workers in ERTEs.

Companies that train people affected by this type of ERTE will be entitled to an increase in the credit for financing training activities, depending on their size:

From 1 to 9 working people: 425 euros per person.
From 10 to 49 employees: 400 euros per person
From 50 or more employees: 320 euros per person.
This credit increase will be financed through an extraordinary contribution to the budget of the State Public Employment Service.

Exemptions from Social Security Contributions

The benefits, in the form of exemption from Social Security contributions and training aid, are greater depending on the size of the company and the training actions.

The exoneration scheme between November and February will distinguish between companies with less than 10 employees and those with a workforce equal to or greater than 10 employees. Thus, for the former, the exonerations in Social Security contributions will reach 80% if they carry out training actions and 50% for the rest; if the company has 10 or more workers, it will have an exoneration of 80% if it carries out training actions, and 40% in the rest of the cases.

In addition, the ERTE of impediment, linked to the limitations of activity, are maintained. Companies in this situation will be exempted from 100% of the company contribution accrued from November 2021, during the closure period, and until February 28.

Protection of employees

Articles 6 and 7 of the regulation deal with the protection of workers, and with the extraordinary unemployment protection measures for people with discontinuous fixed-term contracts or who perform fixed and periodic jobs that are repeated on certain dates, establishing that:

Workers under ERTE will continue to enjoy the exemption of the waiting period for access to unemployment benefits. Also, the so-called “zero counter” will be extended in an extraordinary manner until January 1, 2023.

The regulatory bases for workers, on which benefits are calculated, are increased from 50% to 70% for beneficiaries who have used 180 days.

Benefits are maintained for persons affected by ERTE with a part-time contract and the extraordinary benefit for discontinuous permanent employees.

Accompanying measures

The guarantees of previous agreements are maintained, such as limits on the distribution of dividends and access to aid for companies domiciled in tax havens.

The companies under these ERTEs will have to respect restrictions on access to overtime and outsourcing of activity.

The prohibition of dismissal is extended during the period of validity of the regulation and the maximum duration of temporary contracts for persons under ERTEs is also interrupted.

The commitment to maintain employment will have a new additional period of 6 months.

The regulation also contemplates the extension of the MECUIDA plan and of the extraordinary benefit for professionals in the arts until February 28, 2022.

Processing

Companies must apply to the labor authority for the extension of all the files to extend the ERTE benefits until February 28, 2022. In order to process this request, they must submit the list of hours or days of work suspended or reduced since July 2021. In the particular case of ERTE for economic, technical, organizational or production reasons, the so-called ERTE ETOP, the report of the legal representation of the workers must be submitted.

The simplification of procedures to go from an ERTE of impediment to one of limitation and vice versa is maintained. It will be enough a communication in this sense to the labor authority and to the workers’ representatives.

The Royal Decree-Law also contemplates the Extension of the aids to self-employed workers and has approved a specific benefit for self-employed workers affected by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma. Those self-employed workers who are forced to suspend or cease their activity as a direct consequence of this event will be able to receive the benefit for cessation of activity without the first five months of receipt being counted.