The Government will approve this Thursday in an extraordinary Council of Ministers to be held from 4:30 p.m. the extension of the temporary employment regulation files (ERTE) until September 30, after reaching on Wednesday afternoon a 'last minute' agreement with social agents.
The new extension of the ERTE basically maintains the same protection scheme for companies and workers in force until May 31, although with changes in the percentages of Social Security contribution bonuses. Now, these exemptions will range from 60% to 100%, with the highest being concentrated on the reincorporation of workers to the activity.
The ERTE scheme that will be in force until September 30 will maintain the three current ERTE modalities: those intended for the 'ultra-protected' sectors and companies linked to their value chain; the ERTE of impediment of activity, and the ERTE of limitation, the last two designed for temporary administrative restrictions adopted as a measure to stop Covid infections (reduction of capacity or prohibition of opening, for example).
In the ERTE of ultra-protected sectors and their value chain of companies with less than 50 workers, the Social Security exemptions will be 95% if the workers remain in the ERTE during the entire period of validity of the agreement (June, July, August and September). In the case of companies with more than 50 workers, the exemption percentage will be 85%.
For workers who remain in the ERTE, that is, whose employment relationship remains suspended, the exemptions, in the case of companies in ultra-protected sectors with less than 50 workers, will be 85% in June, July and August and 70% in September. If they have more than 50 workers on staff, they will be 75% in June, July and August and 60% in September.
The list of ultra-protected activities includes three new sectors (manufacture of other clothing and accessories; wholesale of coffee, tea, cocoa and spices, and photography activities), and five are removed: graphic arts and services related to them; manufacture of optical instruments and photographic equipment; retail trade of computers, peripheral equipment and computer programs in specialized establishments; space transport, and rental of means of navigation.
The Ministry has explained that those companies whose CNAE between the end of April 2020 and the end of May have recovered activity by less than 75% and have a percentage of affiliates covered by the ERTE equal to or greater than 15% have been included in this list.
ERTE of limitation and impediment
In the case of ERTE of limitation of activity, the business exemptions to Social Security will be 85% in June and July and 75% in August and September if the company has less than 50 workers. If it has more, it will be 75% in June and July and 65% in August and September.
For the ERTE of impediment, the exemptions will be 100% in companies with less than 50 workers and 90% if they have 50 or more workers on staff.
Currently there are around 558,000 workers in ERTE situation. Of this amount, about 137,000 are in ERTE due to limitation and about 16,300 in ERTE due to impediment. The rest, just over 233,000, are framed in one of the ultra-protected sectors or linked to them.
Safeguard clause of employment
Likewise, the extension will maintain the commitment to maintain employment in its current wording, as well as the prohibition to companies that make ERTE to dismiss, interrupt temporary contracts, distribute dividends and perform overtime and outsource activity.
Workers affected by ERTE will continue to have access to the benefit without a waiting period, the period consumed until January 2022 will not be counted for them and the benefit will be equivalent to 70% of the regulatory base, as until now.
The rule provides, for the group of fixed-term workers and those people who perform fixed and periodic work that is repeated on certain dates, the obligation for companies to proceed with their effective incorporation during the theoretical periods of call of workers.
In the event that they cannot carry out their activity in those periods, their affectation by the ERTE in force on the date of entry into force of the new extension or authorized subsequently is provided.
For their part, arts professionals in public shows who had the right to extraordinary access to economic unemployment benefits may continue to receive them until September 30, 2021. This benefit will be incompatible with the performance of activities on their own or on behalf of others, or with the receipt of any other benefit, minimum income, inclusion income, social salary or similar aid granted by any Public Administration.
