The new labor reform makes the dismissal of discontinuous permanent workers more expensive

The fine print of the draft of the labor reform that the Council of Ministers approved yesterday, and to which you have had access the Economist, contains surprises for companies. This is especially the case with Article 16 dedicated to the discontinuous indefinite contract, whose new provisions will substantially increase the compensation to which these workers will have the right, in the event that the company is forced to do without them.

That section, in point number 6, establishes that employees who are assigned to this category, “have the right to have their seniority it is calculated taking into account the entire duration of your employment relationship, and not the time of services actually rendered “.

This is a major change considering that it is about employees whose functions are seasonal, related to sectors such as tourism and hospitality, and are carried out for short periods each year.

Therefore, it will not be the actual activity period that will be taken into account when the time comes to estimate the relevant compensation. Contrary to according to the draft the companies They will have to consider a much longer period of time despite the fact that, for most of it, the discontinuous permanent worker has not provided any services.

This variation will make dismissal more expensive for some employees who are already entitled to compensation equivalent to that of any permanent worker, which ranges from 20 days per year worked, in the case of appropriate dismissal, and 33 days if it is waived in a manner unfair. In front of the discontinuous fixedTemporary workers, even when they present a very similar status in terms of their activity, are compensated with 12 days for each year worked.

The small print of the draft also denies the idea that the 2012 labor reform would be respected in an aspect as important as the compensation. There were still other changes on the last negotiation document sent by the Government to employers and unions at Christmas. Specifically, Vice President Yolanda Díaz announced something unknown: companies will be able to continue making work and service contracts (a modality that disappears with the reform) during the first three months after the entry into force of the Royal Decree-Law as a result of negotiation between businessmen, unions and government.

But nevertheless, These contracts will have a maximum duration of six months. In other words, if a worker signs a contract for work and service today, December 29, he may be in that position until June 29; If, on the other hand, you sign it on March 28 (last day allowed), you will be able to work until September 28. Regarding the contracts currently in force, the reform allows them to exhaust their maximum duration, specifically 3 years in total plus a fourth year if it is accepted in the sector agreement.

With causality

Negotiator sources explain to eE that the six months are extendable to 12 by sectoral collective bargaining. Now, they clarify that these last-minute work and service contracts must have a cause that justifies the temporary nature, like the rest of the temporary ones, so it makes the same thing to sign a work and service contract than one of the temporary ones. of causality for production reasons, either unforeseeable or foreseeable.

The Council of Ministers also approved the news contained in the last Christmas negotiation document. As eE reported yesterday, Temporary contracts of less than 30 days will have an extra cost for the employer in the Social Security contribution, which means tripling the fee. The Ministry of Social Security explained yesterday that temporary contracts of less than 30 days will have an additional Social Security contribution of 26 euros when they are canceled. Which means an increasing penalty (the more short contracts, the greater the disincentive: with a short 10-day contract the penalty would be 26 euros; if the same working time were covered with two five-day contracts, of 52 euros? ?).

The increase in the exoneration from 20% to 40% of workers affected by a RED Mechanism in the sectoral modality.