This Friday, very relevant developments in unemployment compensation begin to be applied. On November 1, many of the reform measures approved by the government in May came into force, after an agreement with the CCOO and UGT unions, from which the businessmen withdrew. Among the changes are an increase in the aid amounts, up to 570 euros in the first six months of collection, the removal of the waiting month and the inclusion of a greater number of groups who can receive the aid , among others.
The list of new features is long and covers multiple aspects. From the amount of aid, access to beneficiaries, the possibility of making its perception compatible with employment, or even various modifications in the treatment and the transition to obtaining other aid, such as the minimum subsistence income ( IMV). ).
Below we round up some of the main changes.
Increases the amount to 570 euros
Unemployment benefits recognized on November 1 increase in amount. The new quantities are:
- 570 euros per month (95% of IPREM) for the first six months.
- 540 euros per month (90% of IPREM) for the following six months, from the seventh to the twelfth collection.
- 480 euros per month (80% of the IPREM) from the 13th month of collection until its termination.
It must be emphasized that these amounts will be paid to the new grants recognized as of November 1, without applying an increase to the amounts of aid already recognized.
There is also an exception: unemployment benefit for those over 52, which remains at 80% of the IPREM, which today amounts to 480 euros per month. This maintains its expanded contribution (125% of the minimum base), as demanded by Podemos, which rejected the reform during the first vote for this reason.
End of partial grant: full payment will be made
Another important new feature, which particularly affects women, is the elimination of partial assistance after a part-time contract. In other words, the reduced payment of the subsidy, which “was imposed in the 2012 labor reform”, recalls CCOO, ends with an amount proportional to the working hours of the last contract.
The new subsidies will receive “the entirety” of the aid “regardless of their type of contract”, underlines the union.
Access for young people, without family responsibilities
Subsidy coverage is extended to several younger groups. On the one hand, people who have exhausted contributory unemployment benefit when they were under 45 and who have no family responsibilities, who were previously excluded from this right, will be able to receive it. Of course, the exhausted unemployment benefits in these cases must have had a “duration equal to or greater than 360 days.”
In addition, access to the subsidy is extended to those who do not have the minimum contributions required to receive contributory unemployment benefit. Previously, if you had contributed between three and six months, your payment was conditional on having family responsibilities.
From now on, people without family responsibilities will also be able to access the allowance after three months of contributions, a situation which benefits “the youngest and most precarious applicants in general”, underlines CCOO in its guide on the evolution of benefits. the reform. .
Access for all potential farmers
Access to unemployment benefits, including those over 52, is available to all temporary agricultural workers statewide. Previously it was limited to people residing in the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Andalusia.
Cross-border workers from Ceuta and Melilla
The reform also recognizes the right to protection against unemployment for so-called cross-border workers in Ceuta and Melilla. In this case, it is a question of access to unemployment benefits and not subsidies.
“Workers residing in the Kingdom of Morocco who carried out their last employment relationship in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, covered by the work authorization for cross-border workers, will be able to access protection against unemployment at a contributory level without needing to justify. residence in Spain,” specifies the decree.
No income requirement
The conditions for access to the subsidy are broadened with regard to “lack of income”. It will be considered individually, as until now, when the applicant’s income does not exceed “75% of the inter-professional minimum salary, excluding the proportional share of two extraordinary payments”.
But in addition, a possibility of access for lack of income is incorporated, taking into account the situation of the family home: when the sum of the income of “the entire family unit, including the applicant or beneficiary, divided by the number of members” which compose it, does not exceed 75% of the interprofessional minimum salary, excluding the proportional share of two extraordinary payments.
The month of waiting is eliminated
The mandatory month of waiting to be able to receive the subsidy is eliminated, which plunged applicants into a social protection hole. “The right to unemployment benefits begins the day after the event causing the disaster, provided that it is requested within fifteen working days following the date of the event,” the legislation now specifies. The causal fact refers to the exhaustion of contributory unemployment benefit and “to that of the last legal unemployment situation if one accesses it by proving insufficient contributions”.
This point presents another important novelty: “If unemployment benefit is requested after a period of six months from the date of the causal event, the application will be refused”, with a few exceptions, for example if the person is on sick leave due to temporary illness. disability or in your leave for the birth of a child at the end of this period.
Make the grant and a job compatible
The new grants now recognized will also have a new employment compatibility regime, which will allow them to accept full-time or part-time employment and receive part of the aid over the following months. Up to 180 days, or six months. The subsidy will then be called “employment support supplement” (CAE).
The amount of this supplement will decrease and will depend on the duration for which the beneficiary receives the aid and the type of contract, providing an incentive to work more hours.
For example: If the person was in the first quarter of receiving aid, and accepts full-time employment, they will receive the salary and a CAE of 480 euros per month (80% of the IPREM). If you obtain a part-time job, 75% or more of the day, you will benefit from a CAE of 70% from IPREM. And if employment is less than 50% of the working day, the CAE will reach 60% of the IPREM.
You must file your income tax return
Another of the changes that has attracted the most attention in recent days is the new obligation to file a tax return. Recipients of unemployment benefit will be required to “present annually the declaration corresponding to personal income tax” to the Treasury.
The Ministry of Labor insists that it is a “documentary” obligation, that is, to present the declaration, but this does not mean that it will always pay the beneficiaries of the subsidy, because in many cases they will be below the thresholds for this one. . But the procedure is important: failure to submit the declaration results in the termination of the subsidy.
Gateways to the minimum subsistence income (IMV)
From this month of November, the Active Integration Income (RAI) and the Extraordinary Unemployment Allowance (SED) are repealed, even if “people who on November 1, 2024 have requested, are beneficiaries of or have suspended the one of the existing benefits, including the SED and the RAI”. , will continue to be governed by the regulations prior to the RD law, until its extinction,” recalls CCOO. From now on, the calculation of the minimum living income (IMV) of subsidies that were until now regulated by the RAI or the SED will be applied.
From November 22, the so-called “gateway” will be applied to the IMV, which will make it easier for people who exhaust unemployment benefits and meet the conditions to receive the state minimum income in a more agile way. To achieve this, there will be greater collaboration between the SEPE and Social Security.
