UPDATED: Spain approves new €600 per month unemployment benefit for artists
The Spanish cabinet approved this Tuesday a new unemployment benefit of up to €600 per month for artists and those who work in cultural sectors.
The new benefit has been created for artists and those who work in cultural fields such as actors, as well as workers in technical and auxiliary activities and will be available from July 1st 2023.
Professionals in these fields who lose their work will now be able to apply for an unemployment benefit of up to €600 per month, if they prove they have contributed to the social security system for at least 60 days in the last 18 months or have worked at least six months in the last six years in the cultural sector.
People in these sectors will be able to collect the benefit for four months and it will also be compatible with receiving royalties from intellectual property and image rights.
Those who have paid the social security contributions exceeding the threshold of €61 will be eligible to receive the full €600, while those who have paid less will receive €480.
READ ALSO: Will you pay more under Spain's new social security rates for self-employed?
Artists and cultural workers who apply for this unemployment, will not be able to receive other unemployment benefits at the same time.
These measures have the potential to reach 70,000 workers classified as artists who have signed up to become self-employed.
The decree was a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture under Miquel Iceta, the Ministry of Social Security under José Luis Escrivá and the Ministry of Labour under Yolanda Díaz.
Vice President Díaz said that the government is going to "expand the rights" and "improve the social protection for all groups".
"There are very few countries that have protection like this," she added, saying that they are “committed to the entire country, but especially to those who need it most". She agreed that artists and those who work in cultural jobs were “vulnerable and need a lot of protection".
The new decree also includes a reduced threshold for low-income artists, a group that will include all those who are self-employed or autónomos and earn €3,000 per year or less.
At the start of this year, a new contribution base of €526.14 is set for this group, which represents a monthly fee of €161.
In addition, to try and help the system adapt to the irregularity of many of the activities in the cultural sector, these payments may be quarterly, instead of monthly.
As well as the benefit, the decree will allow artists and those who work in the cultural sector to receive a pension. Up until now, they could only do this if they undertook activities that generated intellectual property rights.
The beneficiaries of this non-contributory pension will also be able to earn income from artistic activities, provided that they do not exceed the threshold of the minimum wage.
Pensions for these artists will come into force from April 1st 2023.
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The new benefit has been created for artists and those who work in cultural fields such as actors, as well as workers in technical and auxiliary activities and will be available from July 1st 2023.
Professionals in these fields who lose their work will now be able to apply for an unemployment benefit of up to €600 per month, if they prove they have contributed to the social security system for at least 60 days in the last 18 months or have worked at least six months in the last six years in the cultural sector.
People in these sectors will be able to collect the benefit for four months and it will also be compatible with receiving royalties from intellectual property and image rights.
Those who have paid the social security contributions exceeding the threshold of €61 will be eligible to receive the full €600, while those who have paid less will receive €480.
READ ALSO: Will you pay more under Spain's new social security rates for self-employed?
Artists and cultural workers who apply for this unemployment, will not be able to receive other unemployment benefits at the same time.
These measures have the potential to reach 70,000 workers classified as artists who have signed up to become self-employed.
The decree was a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture under Miquel Iceta, the Ministry of Social Security under José Luis Escrivá and the Ministry of Labour under Yolanda Díaz.
Vice President Díaz said that the government is going to "expand the rights" and "improve the social protection for all groups".
"There are very few countries that have protection like this," she added, saying that they are “committed to the entire country, but especially to those who need it most". She agreed that artists and those who work in cultural jobs were “vulnerable and need a lot of protection".
The new decree also includes a reduced threshold for low-income artists, a group that will include all those who are self-employed or autónomos and earn €3,000 per year or less.
At the start of this year, a new contribution base of €526.14 is set for this group, which represents a monthly fee of €161.
In addition, to try and help the system adapt to the irregularity of many of the activities in the cultural sector, these payments may be quarterly, instead of monthly.
As well as the benefit, the decree will allow artists and those who work in the cultural sector to receive a pension. Up until now, they could only do this if they undertook activities that generated intellectual property rights.
The beneficiaries of this non-contributory pension will also be able to earn income from artistic activities, provided that they do not exceed the threshold of the minimum wage.
Pensions for these artists will come into force from April 1st 2023.
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