Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2012 and reports a proposal described in that day’s ABC newspaper; the idea later became law as the limited liability entrepreneur in Law 14/2013 on support for entrepreneurs, with conditions and limits, so readers should check the current rules.
With jobs so scarce, many people at some point consider becoming their own boss. At the employment offices, these newly unemployed people are now, more than ever, being offered the chance to take their unemployment benefit as a lump sum. In other words, to receive a single payment on condition that they set up a company or register as self-employed.
One of the drawbacks of registering under the social security scheme for self-employed workers is that the person is liable for debts with all their present and future assets. However, according to the newspaper ABC today, the Employment Ministry is considering shielding the homes of the self-employed, so that if they cannot pay their debts, at least the entrepreneur’s main home cannot be seized.
Not many details are known about how this protection would work, although we assume there will be specific clauses: if we guarantee a bank loan by putting up our home as collateral, it would be hard to stop the bank from going ahead with the seizure.
Even so, it is good news that shows how much interest there is in supporting new entrepreneurs, especially considering that in Spain, in particular, starting a business seems to be the only short-term way out for the unemployed.
Featured image: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
