Spain to give subsidy for unemployed who have already exhausted their benefit
Spain's Labour Ministry along with unions and business associations have negotiated a special €430 euro monthly benefit for those out of work because of the pandemic, according to El País.
The deal is expected to help around 550,000 people who are currently out of work and who could benefit from the €430 monthly cheque.
The new plan also aims to improve the amount of unemployment support that is paid to part-time workers who were furloughed on the ERTE scheme. It is expected that around 150,000 people would benefit from this.
For these part-time workers now on the ERTE scheme, the benefit will be a one-off payment, but will be different for each worker, depending on how much they contributed and how many hours they worked when they were employed.
This new plan intends to deal with the inadequacies of the current unemployment benefits, which are limited, as well as the shortcomings in the ERTE scheme.
The decree that extended the ERTE scheme until September 30th, also included an additional clause that asked the Labour Ministry to meet with unions in order to come up with resolutions to help those who had exhausted their unemployed benefits during the state of alarm, from March 14th to June 21st.
The negotiators of the new plan told El País that they are just waiting on the final documents for the deal to be signed. This means that the unemployed might have to wait a bit longer to actually receive the benefit.
If all those who are eligible for the new benefit apply for it, it is expected to cost the government €710 million over this quarter.
A total of 3.4 million workers were on Spain's ERTE furlough scheme between April and July, at a cost of more than €9 billion. The extraordinary payment for the self-employed or (autónomos) has also helped more than 1.4 million people and has so far cost the government €1.2 billion a month.
Comments
See Also
The deal is expected to help around 550,000 people who are currently out of work and who could benefit from the €430 monthly cheque.
The new plan also aims to improve the amount of unemployment support that is paid to part-time workers who were furloughed on the ERTE scheme. It is expected that around 150,000 people would benefit from this.
For these part-time workers now on the ERTE scheme, the benefit will be a one-off payment, but will be different for each worker, depending on how much they contributed and how many hours they worked when they were employed.
This new plan intends to deal with the inadequacies of the current unemployment benefits, which are limited, as well as the shortcomings in the ERTE scheme.
The decree that extended the ERTE scheme until September 30th, also included an additional clause that asked the Labour Ministry to meet with unions in order to come up with resolutions to help those who had exhausted their unemployed benefits during the state of alarm, from March 14th to June 21st.
The negotiators of the new plan told El País that they are just waiting on the final documents for the deal to be signed. This means that the unemployed might have to wait a bit longer to actually receive the benefit.
If all those who are eligible for the new benefit apply for it, it is expected to cost the government €710 million over this quarter.
A total of 3.4 million workers were on Spain's ERTE furlough scheme between April and July, at a cost of more than €9 billion. The extraordinary payment for the self-employed or (autónomos) has also helped more than 1.4 million people and has so far cost the government €1.2 billion a month.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.