Is it possible to collect unemployment and work part time? This is a question that goes through the minds of many Spaniards when they are unemployed and receive an offer to carry out a part-time paid activity. For this reason, and taking into account the number of doubts it generates, we want to offer you an answer here.
What does Social Security say about collecting unemployment and working at the same time?
It must start from the basis that Social Security is a protection body. In fact, its purpose, in terms of unemployment benefits, is to protect those people who, wanting and being able to work, are dismissed by the will of the employer or who, failing that, see their working hours significantly reduced. To do this, it offers them an economic benefit that is commonly called unemployment .
That said, the payment of unemployment is compatible with the possibility of working part-time, although with certain nuances. The most important of all is that it must be your contributory modality , that is, the unemployment benefit to which you are entitled to have contributed at least 360 days during the last 6 years .
Options of the worker regarding the collection of unemployment and part-time work
The State Public Employment Service (SEPE) is the body that regulates everything related to unemployment benefits and unemployment benefits. When the time comes when a worker, receiving the relevant benefit, receives an offer of part-time employment , he offers two options. Of course, in both cases, you have the obligation to inform your nearest employment office that you are going to start working.
Suspension of unemployment benefit payment
The worker has the right to request the SEPE the interruption of unemployment benefit during the months that his temporary part-time contract will last for the purpose of resuming collection once it expires. Here there are also two assumptions to consider:
- The part-time contract has a duration of less than one year : the subject who requested the interruption will collect the full amount of the benefit again during the remaining months at the time of stopping it.
- The part-time contract has a duration of more than one year : in these cases, the so-called option right is produced, by which the worker can choose to collect the interrupted benefit again or, failing that, ask to recalculate his provision taking into account the new quotes made during the term of said contract.
Compatibility of unemployment benefit with part-time work
An essential requirement to make unemployment compatible with part-time work is that the working day reflected in the contract does not exceed 50% of the maximum time reflected in the corresponding sector agreement. Once certified, the worker will have the right to continue receiving their reduced unemployment benefit in the proportional part established in order to supplement the salary received for the performance of their professional activity.
At the end of the contract, the interested party, in case they have not exhausted the unemployment benefit, must go to the nearest SEPE office and request its full reactivation , so they will begin to collect the full amount they received before starting. to work.
It is necessary to put numbers to check if this option is really profitable. This is mainly due to the fact that, once started, the stopwatch does not stop. By this we mean that, despite having partially received unemployment benefit for a certain number of months, that time will be computed in total terms as if it had been received in full.
What happens in the case of the self-employed?
Self-employment , as always, is subject to separate regulations for self-employment. Obviously, this also affects the case of wanting to make the collection of unemployment benefits compatible and starting a business of their own. Let’s see how.
First of all, it must be said that collecting unemployment as a self-employed person is possible in Spain. That is to say, any worker who, after having been fired or having seen how his contract ended, starting to receive unemployment benefit, will be able to make it compatible with the performance obtained if he starts a business and discharges as a self-employed person.
Before October 2015, this option was reserved for entrepreneurs under the age of 30, but today, anyone can take advantage of it . Of course, the maximum period of time during which unemployment can be made compatible with self-employment is 9 months . This means that, after that period has elapsed from the start of the activity, the worker will stop receiving the benefit regardless of whether or not they have monthly receivables.
On the other hand, in the event that the business was not as the entrepreneur expected, he will have the right to resume the collection of the unemployment benefit suspended for the start of self-employment until 5 years after registering as a self-employed worker in social security.
Other options available to self-employed workers
The truth is that, today, betting on continuing to collect unemployment during the first 9 months of autonomous activity is not the most frequent option. In this sense, self-employed workers usually bet on the capitalization of their unemployment benefit, that is, on the full collection and in a single monthly payment of all the money they would be entitled to receive.
Without a doubt, this is another way of making unemployment compatible with self-employment, which is why we want to make a brief reference to it. Specifically, such capitalization can be requested in the following cases:
- Capitalization of 100% of the unemployment benefit for the opening of a business : before, only women under the age of 35 and men under the age of 30 could apply for it (the rest could only ask for 60% of the total), but Today, anyone has the right to it without age restrictions. Of course, the expenses that are financed by receiving the corresponding amount must be justified documentaryly in a SEPE office.
- Capitalization of 100% of the unemployment benefit for the constitution of a company : this option, before October 2015, was not possible either. Now it is allowed as long as the applicant is going to exercise effective control of the company he wants to create.
For their part, although it is very rare, the self-employed who have the right to receive the benefit for cessation of activity will be able to make it compatible with that accumulated by their previous work as an employee. This is true for both your capitalization and your prorated perception.
In short, it is possible to combine the payment of unemployment with part-time work. In fact, Social Security, through SEPE, provides facilities for this . You can even request it if you want to start a business. A very interesting measure that must be taken into account by all workers who are unemployed and receive a job offer that is not full-time.