Understanding Active Employment Policies in Spain

Posted on Mar 22, 2025 in Tourism

Active Employment Policies in Spain

  • Integrated Service Plans for Employment: These plans involve non-profit agreements between public and private entities and the INEM (National Institute of Employment) to analyze the labor market and match unemployed individuals’ profiles with market needs.
  • Various Legal Instruments to Activate Employment:
  • Employment Contracts Promoting Youth Work:
  • Work-in-Practice Contracts: For individuals with vocational or university education.
  • Training Contracts:
    • For senior technicians, possible hiring four years after completing their studies.
    • For individuals aged 16 to 21 without completed primary basic studies. Approximately 15% of the workday should be dedicated to theoretical training; if primary studies are not completed, this time is used to achieve that goal.
    • This contract targets specific, often discriminated groups: individuals with disabilities, foreigners with less than two years of residency, and those unemployed for over three years.
    • Cannot exceed two years.
    • Earns the minimum wage (SMI) proportional to hours worked.
    • Cannot be renewed after completion.
    • No unemployment benefits are provided, as unemployment contingency is covered.
  • Part-Time and Permanent-Intermittent Contracts:
    • Part-Time: Ordinary working time is less than 40 hours a week, though fixed and limited by collective bargaining.
    • Permanent-Intermittent: These are temporary contracts (e.g., harvest work). Failure to call the worker is considered dismissal.
  • Relief Contract: Covers the working hours of a retiring employee.
  • Contracts for Specific Work and Services: (Indefinite contract) The specific work or service must be clearly defined. Upon contract termination, the worker is entitled to eight days of compensation per year of service.
  • Contracts for Market Circumstances or Excessive Work Orders: (e.g., Christmas). Cannot legally exceed six months; otherwise, it’s considered indefinite. Compensation upon completion is eight days per year of service.
  • Maternity/Substitution Contract: Replaces one person with another (e.g., vacation, leave, maternity, etc.).
    • Proper: The specific cause and full details (name and surname) of the replaced person must be stated. Can be done privately or through management. REPLACEMENT
    • Improper: Fills a vacancy, such as a new position, death, or pending competitive examination. Performed and eventually become government-owned. (The position is held until someone rightfully takes it or until competitions are held). Undefined = acting. ACTING
  • Contracts for the Promotion of Permanent Contracts: Encourages businesses to hire permanently or convert temporary contracts to indefinite ones. They target individuals with difficulty accessing permanent employment. With this contract, objective dismissal is possible, and if deemed unfair, compensation is 33 days per year of service (maximum 24 months), compared to the standard 45 days per year (maximum 42 months).
  • Temporary Employment Agencies: Legally assign workers to other companies without direct employment by the latter.
  • Promotion of Collective Bargaining: Emphasizes the presence of the law and the possibility of self-regulation by parties in the employment relationship (company and workers). (Example: In case of dismissal, the company always has the option of it being inappropriate, except when it comes to representing the workers, or when expressly stated in the collective agreement). Collective agreements always aim to improve the workers’ situation, never worsen it.
  • Possibilities for Changing Working Conditions: The law allows for changes in working conditions for technical, economic, organizational, or production reasons.
  • Possibilities for Flexible (Cheaper) Rules on Contract Termination: (Example: Today, dismissal is ‘free,’ meaning not prohibited. The law states that for some contract types, even if a dismissal is unfair, the compensation is lower).