Over the last fifteen years, the financial sector has been the one that has most resorted to the early retirement formula as a means of adjusting its workforce as part of its restructuring and digital transformation processes, including layoffs collectives. approved even if their accounts had a positive balance. But this formula is no longer as profitable either for the entities or for the workers themselves. One of the reasons is the obligation to pay a contribution to the Treasury for each person over 50 affected by labor regulations, a sanction which, according to a study published by Adecco, represents “an average cost of between 90,000 and 100,000 euros. euros per employee.” “.
“The banking sector had to contribute million euros to the Treasury associated with this rule “Telephone clause”, warns the giant of the human resources sector in its latest report on “HR Trends in the Banking and Insurance Sector”. The aforementioned clause only applies in the case where the company has registered benefits during the regulation. The idea was that the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) would be compensated for the expenses related to the benefits . and the unemployment benefits that the worker received from the time of dismissal until retirement.
In fact, it takes its name from a process that Telefónica applied in 2011 for 6,380 workers. Until 2022, the company would have paid 305 million euros, which represents an average of 47,800 euros per person concerned, according to data published by the State Public Employment Service. Half of what Adecco estimates for the banking sector. Although the public body only breaks down the cost of the tech company, there are 92 other companies from which an additional 678 million has been claimed. for them Telefónica will returnwho accepted a new collective dismissal at the beginning of this year despite recording profits, although compensation has not yet been calculated.
Among them, 10 are banks, among which CaixaBank, Santander, Ibercaja, Cajas Rurales Unidas and Bantierra (Caja Rural de Aragón) stand out. Also some entities already extinctlike Bankia (integrated into CaixaBank). The SEPE only details Telefónica’s contributions for its 2011 ERE, so it is impossible to know how much was paid or claimed from each of these financial entities. Adecco’s estimate is therefore particularly revealing of the cost for the bank of these procedures.
The company, however, remembers the role played by external reclassification programs, which since 2012 have been mandatory for any collective dismissal process affecting more than 50 workers. A mechanism that can save “hundreds of thousands of euros” for companies, even if it is not applied equally depending on the age of each worker. He admits in fact that, in the case of pre-retirees, the programs “are not oriented towards job search, but rather towards preparation for a new stage of life”, both from a personal and emotional point of view and from a financial point of view“
It must be taken into account that, although the Telefónica clause was in force since 2011, it only began to be invoked in 2013, when the government developed the mechanism for calculating and claiming contributions. For this reason, the majority of layoffs of people over 50 are not included in this framework. of the major restructuring of the financial sector begun in 2009. The majority of these layoffs were made due to this transformation, despite the fact that the entities were recording profits.
The charm of early retirement
Added to this is the fact that the concept of early retirement has always had a reputational advantage for the financial sector, especially if it is carried out within the framework of “incentive leave” programs (resignations without the right to unemployment or unemployment benefits). help) to avoid having to submit a labor regulation file, when the financial crisis broke out and they were forced to do so, partly because of restructuring, The focus has always been on the over 50s.
Unlike other sectors, the processes have been agreed with the unions (despite the fact that the 2012 labor reform removed administrative protection when negotiating collective dismissals). Furthermore, support for these layoffs was open and it was the workers themselves who chose to join or not. This alleviated the bad press of these budget cuts and, indeed, the term “voluntary redundancy” continued to be used even when the early retiree had been made redundant. But these solutions are no longer profitable.
“The model is exhausted and financial institutions have been forced, for various reasons, to manage collective layoffs and dismiss employees who do not retire early from their organizations“, says Adecco, which emphasizes that the conditions of pre-retirement agreements, voluntary or in the context of layoffs, are also worse: income programs have gone from guaranteeing 95% of salary to 80%.
This is partly because, as part of the financial restructuring, the entities were supported by huge sums of public money to make the adjustment less traumatic (and guarantee “social peace” with the unions, particularly in the case of collective unions). layoffs). Now that the tap is turned off, although companies must make adjustments to adapt to the digital transformation of the sector and that matters. with the unexpected help of the SEPE itself.
In the case of unemployment benefits for people over 52, The SEPE contributes up to 125% of the minimum basewhich allows certain companies to accept even more advantageous dismissal conditions for older workers in exchange for their return to work before retirement. And reduce the special agreements they conclude with the people concerned to fund their future pension. Regardless, collective bargaining continues to consider early retirement bonuses for some 640,000 active workers.
The decline of early retirement
A “silver bridge” towards early retirement from which the entities benefited greatly during the banking restructuring which led to the reconversion of the old savings banks between 2008 and 2011, but which began to be truncated from 2012 when the PP government approved the extension of the early retirement age from 63 to 65 years, in the same way as for ordinary retirement.
It also tightened subsidies for the elderly: it increased the access period from 52 to 55 years and reduced the contribution from 125% to 100%, although this was still an advantage of which no Guardians do not benefit from other services. The PSOE reversed this change in 2019, raising the minimum age again and recovering the 125% overpayment. This had a relative impact on the early retirement age, which, according to Adecco, “has become more flexible”.
But even though the number of people benefiting from this subsidy is higher than ever, those who are actually pre-retired are fewer than before. Early retirements, particularly forced retirements (those which occur after dismissal), rThey clearly reflect a change in the labor market exit model.
The number of people who combine long-term unemployment with forced receipt of pensions through so-called involuntary early retirement has fallen by 75% over the past decade. In these cases, the average profile of pre-retirees is part of a collective dismissal. Experts consulted said the social safety net prevented mass destruction during the pandemic, like other crises, leading to a decline in the number of “potential” cases. leave the job market earlier, with nuances.
The 2021 pension reform tightened the reduction coefficients for public pensions in voluntary cases, while maintaining or mitigating the impact in involuntary or forced cases. But businesses, particularly financial ones, They abandon this path. And when they do, they offer “worse conditions,” Adecco explains.
This does not mean that entities are giving up on making adjustments. They cannot afford it in an environment of tough competition with new digital entities. But they choose another path. According to Adecco, collective layoffs are increasing which include workers of “non-pre-retirement” age and who now find themselves on the streets with much less advantageous conditions than in the past.
His consolation is that, unlike what happens with forced early retirementsoutplacement programs are much more effective among workers under 50. According to Adecco data, in the banking and insurance sector, of those who start a relocation program and remain active in it, 62% are relocated within 6 months, while 35% do so between the 7th and the 12 month.In other words, 97% found a satisfactory solution within 12 months of their dismissal.” says the company.
