As of February 25, 2014, companies and self-employed individuals (regardless of size or workforce) that hire workers with a contract of indefinite duration shall only pay 100 Euros per month for common contingencies to Spanish Social Security for the first 24 months (all other contingencies remain the same). Businesses with fewer than 10 employees may qualify for an additional third year with a reduction equivalent to 50% of the employer’s contribution for common contingencies.
To qualify for these reductions, companies must meet the following requirements:
- Currently, comply with their tax and Spanish Social Security obligations both at the date of registering workers and during the application of the reduction in their contribution. If during the period of application of the reduction, there is a shortfall in revenue obligations in the statutory period, either totally or partially, automatic loss of reduction will occur from the month in which the breach occurs.
- Not have terminated contracts for objective reasons or disciplinary dismissals, either of which has been judicially declared unfair in the six months before executing contracts that lead to the reduction. Nor must these companies have terminated employment contracts by collective dismissal in the six months before initiating contracts that lead to the reduction.
This requirement does not consider the termination of contracts that occurred before February 25, 2014.
- Willingness to enter into contracts of indefinite duration involves an increase in both the level of permanent employment and the level of total employment in the company. To calculate this increase, the reference shall be the average daily worker formerly employed at the company within 30 days of the beginning of the contract.
- Maintain, for 36 months from the date on which the contract of indefinite duration takes effect with the application of the reduction, both the level of employment of indefinite duration as well as at least the level of total employment reached with this recruitment.
Maintenance of the level of employment of indefinite duration and total employment level will undergo review every 12 months. For this, the average of workers of indefinite duration and average total workers per month will assist in the calculation to examine compliance with this requirement.
To examine the level of employment and its maintenance in the business, terminations of employment contracts for objective reasons or disciplinary dismissals that are not declared unfair will not be considered.
- Not have been excluded from access to the benefits derived from the implementation of employment programs by committing a serious infringement of Article 22.2 or a very serious infringement of Articles 16 and 23 of the consolidated text of the Law on Offences and Sanctions in Social Order, which the Royal Legislative Decree 5 /2000 of August 4 approved under the provisions of Article 46 of the same Regulation.
For more information on contracts of indefinite duration in Spain,
