Temporary layoff or reduced hours (ERTE) and your pay

Key rules

• Benefit rate: During an ERTE you receive unemployment benefit at 70% of your regulatory base, with no minimum contribution period.
• Hours cut: An ERTE can reduce your working day by between 10% and 70%.
• Top-up: Your employer does not have to top up your pay unless your collective agreement says so or it chooses to.
• Dismissal: If your employer received contribution exemptions, it must keep your job for six months after the ERTE ends.

What an ERTE means for you

In an ERTE your job is not ended. Your employer either suspends your contract or cuts your working hours for a time. You get unemployment benefit to make up part of the lost pay, and the law gives you some protection against dismissal afterwards.

Why an employer can use one

There are three routes:

• Economic, technical, organisational or production reasons. This is the most common type.
• Force majeure (fuerza mayor). This means an event outside the employer's control, such as a fire or flood. The labour authority must confirm it.
• The RED Mechanism. The Council of Ministers activates this for a whole sector or for a wider economic downturn.

How much you are paid

SEPE pays you unemployment benefit (prestación por desempleo) while you are in the ERTE. The rate is 70% of your regulatory base, and you do not need a minimum contribution period. The usual maximum and minimum amounts apply. They are linked to IPREM and to your number of dependent children.

If your hours are reduced rather than suspended, the benefit covers only the hours you lose. Your employer pays you for the hours you still work.

Your employer does not have to top up the difference. It may do so voluntarily, or because your collective agreement says so. Check your agreement.

Benefit used in an ERTE is generally not deducted from later unemployment entitlement when the ERTE is due to force majeure. For other ERTEs the rule has changed over time, so ask SEPE how it applies to you.

Reduced hours

An ERTE can reduce your working day by between 10% and 70%. This can be measured per day, week, month or year. While your hours are reduced, you cannot be required to work extra hours, except in cases of force majeure.

Holidays, seniority and contributions

• Your holiday entitlement generally keeps building up during a suspension, and your seniority keeps counting. Disputes over suspended periods do happen, so ask your employer to confirm in writing.
• Your employer keeps paying social security contributions unless it has an exemption. Exemptions have applied to force majeure ERTEs and the RED Mechanism.
• Your own contributions are still due, based on your wages.

Job protection

Your employer cannot dismiss you because of the ERTE's causes while its job-maintenance commitment applies. That commitment runs for six months after the ERTE ends when the employer received contribution exemptions. If it breaks the commitment, it must repay the exempted contributions.

Your employer can still dismiss you on other grounds, such as disciplinary ones. A dismissal that breaks the rules can be declared unfair or void. Take advice quickly from a labour lawyer or union if this happens to you.

The timeline, warnings and questions below cover the steps and common worries.

Timeline and deadlines

• Start receiving unemployment benefit from SEPE, without needing a minimum contribution period: from the start of the suspension or reduction

• Keep your reduced working day within the allowed range during a reduction: for as long as the reduction lasts, between 10% and 70% of your working day

• Your employer's job-maintenance commitment begins if it received contribution exemptions: when the ERTE ends

What to watch out for

• Dismissal after an ERTE: If your employer received contribution exemptions, it must keep your employment for six months after the ERTE ends. A dismissal that breaks the rules may be declared unfair or void. If you are dismissed in that period, ask a union or labour lawyer to check whether the dismissal breaks the commitment.

• Dismissal on ERTE grounds: ERTE causes cannot justify a dismissal while the employment commitment applies. Other grounds, such as a disciplinary dismissal, remain possible. Ask your employer for the dismissal reason in writing and get it reviewed before you sign anything.

Frequently asked questions

Can my employer dismiss me while I am in an ERTE?

Your employer can dismiss you during an ERTE only on other grounds, such as a disciplinary dismissal.

How long must my employer keep my job after the ERTE ends?

If your employer received contribution exemptions, it must keep your employment for six months after the ERTE ends. If it breaks that commitment, it must repay the exempted contributions. The details depend on which type of ERTE and exemption applied.

Do I still build up holidays and seniority during an ERTE?

Yes, your annual leave generally keeps building up during a suspension, and your seniority generally keeps counting for contract time. Some agreements and cases treat suspended periods differently, so check your collective agreement.

Can my employer ask me to work extra hours during a reduced-hours ERTE?

No, during the reduction your employer cannot require you to work extra hours, except in cases of force majeure. Force majeure means an event outside the employer's control, such as a fire or flood.

Does my employer have to top up my pay during an ERTE?

No, a top-up is voluntary unless your collective agreement requires it. Your employer may choose to add to your unemployment benefit, so check your agreement or ask your employer.