1. Measures to suspend or to reduce working hours
Dismissal regarding the situation triggered by COVID-19 shall not apply anymore. Any company experiencing economic, technical, organizational or production problems of force majeure due to the COVID-19 health crisis shall not enforce neither collective dismissal nor objective dismissal. Otherwise, dismissal shall be considered as unfair dismissal or as null and void dismissal.
2. Employees’ unemployement benefit
Access to unemployment benefit by employees affected by suspension or reduction of working hours procedures (TERFs) is expedited as follows:
- Any employer who would implement a TERF procedure shall directly apply for the unemployment benefit which shall start by means of a collective application on behalf of all employees concerned.
- Any documentation which shall be provided by any natural or legal person interested in obtaining the unemployment benefit to the managing entity is clearly detailed so that the public employment service can provide the unemployment benefit as soon as possible.
- The start date of the unemployment benefit shall be as follows:
o Force Majeure events à The date on which the event would have arisen (e.g. cessation of activity ordered by the statement of the alert state).
o Otherwise (economic, technical, organizational or production problems)à The date on which the company communicates its decision to the appropriate authority, which shall not have retroactive effect.
3. Control mechanisms – Labour and Social Security Inspection
Labour and Social Security Inspection shall check the circumstances alleged by companies for TERFs to be implemented. Moreover, the employer may be sanctioned and shall return to the managing entity any amounts received by the employees as unemployment benefit in case of either false or incorrect information provided by the employer, without prejudice to the sanctions that may be due regarding the Spanish Law on Social Order Violations.
4. Interruption in computation of maximum duration of temporary contracts
The computation of duration of temporary contracts and their reference periods for the time they have been suspended due to a TERF procedure triggered by COVID-19’s effects shall be suspended.
5. Duration of TERF procedures triggered by the crisis of COVID-19
The duration shall not extend beyond the statement of the alert state. This shall be extended to those TERF procedures ruled by express judgement as well as to those appreciated by administrative silence (no express judgement for more than 5 days since the TERF application).
6. Paid leave for employees
Employees who provide services for companies
- *whose activity would NOT have been paralyzed by the statement of the alert state decreed on March 14, 2020; and
- *whose activity has not been declared as an ESSENTIAL service in the Royal Decree-Law published on March 29, 2020; and
- *which were not providing services through non-attendance mechanisms such as telework
shall be entitled to continue to receive their full wages from the employer within the period from March 30, 2020 to April 9, 2020 inclusive. Nevertheless, they shall recover all unworked hours in any event before December 31, 2020.
Updated on March 31, 2020.
