Editor’s note: This article was first published in July 2010, reporting a bill the Senate had passed that still needed the Congress of Deputies. It is not current law: its conditions (€425 a month for up to 6 months) describe that 2010 proposal only. Spain later created a separate cessation-of-activity benefit (Law 32/2010).
It’s official. The full Senate has approved the bill that will allow self-employed workers (autónomos) to receive unemployment benefit like any other worker. Naturally, there are some conditions:
- Those who stopped trading on or after 1 January 2009 and receive no other kind of financial aid will be eligible for this benefit.
- The benefit will go to workers whose average household income does not exceed 75% of the national minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional).
- Beneficiaries must have paid contributions under the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers (RETA, Spain’s social security scheme for the self-employed) for at least 3 of the last 5 years.
- The non-contributory benefit will be 425 euros a month and can be received for a maximum of 6 months.
The government has 3 months to revoke this benefit, which must still be voted on by the Congress of Deputies.
Questions are being raised as to whether, because of this benefit, some self-employed workers will choose to claim it instead of keeping their business going and paying contributions.
Further reading
- How to run a small business in times of crisis
- Which legal form should I choose for my business?
- How to be a successful businessperson
- Why new businesses fail
- The entrepreneur’s mindset
Featured image: Miguel Ángel García., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
