Workers in ERTE since March will earn less, the 50% of their base, as of October

The reduction is applied from the sixth month of the benefit and will be reflected in the September payroll.

Workers who have been on ERTE due to force majeure since March will receive 50% of their contribution base each month from October, not the 70% they have been receiving until now. The reduction will affect thousands of recipients, with employees in sectors such as tourism, hospitality and services among the most affected, as they have not recovered their pre-virus activity or returned to their workforce.

The change in payment was provided for by law after six months from the start of payment. The regulations applied for the reduction are those contained in the General Law on Social Security, which reflects the changes made by Mariano Rajoy's government in 2012, in the midst of the crisis caused by the Great Recession. Until then, after six months, the 60% base on unemployment benefits was paid, not the 50% that has been in force since then.

“The daily amount of the total contributory unemployment benefit depends on the regulatory base. This is calculated taking into account the base for occupational contingencies of the last 180 days of contributions. The daily amount of the benefit during the first 180 days will be 70% of the regulatory base; from day 181 (more than six months) until the end of the benefit it will be 50%,” it is stated on the SEPE website.

This means that the contribution base of 100 euros will be 50 euros, not 70 as until now. The change will take place in the September payroll, to be paid in October. “The payment of the benefit will be made in monthly instalments of 30 days or for the shorter period that, where applicable, corresponds, between the 10th and 15th of the month immediately following the month of accrual,” explains the SEPE.

Tomorrow, September 4, the Government, the unions and the employers' association are summoned to Palma to discuss an extension of the ERTE due to coronavirus, which until now will be in force until September, and some kind of agreement could be reached so that payments are maintained at the 70% base. Currently there are about 700,000 workers in ERTE situation, according to figures offered by the Executive.