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Be Self-employed in Spain And Collect Unemployment Payments
Starting your activity as a self-employed and continue to collect unemployment payments is an excellent way to ensure the liquidity of your business.
The Spanish Law drew up this rule for the first time in article 3 of Royal Decree-Law 4/2013, February 22, but it was limited to those under 30 years of age. Also, you couldn’t have workers in your charge.
As a result of promoting self-employment in Spain, this measure was made more flexible and expanded. In this article, we will detail what it consists of and the requirements to be self-employed and continue to collect unemployment.
Since the modification of the Statute of Self-Employed Work (art. 33 of Law 31/2015, of September 9 ), there is no longer an age limit to qualify for this measure.
Any person collecting unemployment and intends to start an activity on their own (it is not necessary to be their first registration) causing registration in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers may make the unemployment compatible with their activity as a self-employed worker.
The only limitation is the duration. The maximum is 270 days ( 9 months ) or for the shorter time pending receipt, provided that it is requested from the managing entity (SEPE) within 15 days from the start date of the activity on their account. After this period of 15 days, the worker will not be able to benefit from this compatibility.
Anyone who is collecting unemployment and wants to start an activity as a self-employed person may combine the collection of the benefit with their self-employment for 9 months.
Table of Contents
Requirements to be self-employed in Spain and collect unemployment payments
Here are the main characteristics of this measure:
1. There is no age limit.
2. It is not necessary to be your first registration in the RETA.
3. It will be possible to combine unemployment (receiving 100% of the unemployment benefit) and self-employment (if you have the right, you can enjoy the flat rate) for 9 months.
4. You can have workers in charge.
5. You only have 15 days from the start of the activity to request the measure.
6. The embodiment of gainful employment full or part-time will the order compatibility.7. During the compatibility period, you will not have to fulfil the obligations as a job seeker.
Who will not be able to be self-employed in Spain and collect unemployment payments
In the same article 33, number 2, there are people excluded from this measure:
1. Those whose last employment was self-employed.
2. Those persons who have used this right or obtained the single payment of unemployment benefit immediately preceding 24 months.
3. The persons who constitute themselves as self-employed workers and sign a contract to carry out their professional activity with the employer for whom they had provided their services as an employee immediately before starting the legal unemployment situation or a company of the same group business of that.
That is, if you have worked for a company with an employment contract, they fire you, and you become self-employed. Therefore, you will not be able to take advantage of this measure if you enter into a contract with them to carry out your professional activity.
4. Those who register as self-employed in a Social Security Scheme to join a commercial company as a partner.
… And if your freelance activity goes badly and you want to collect unemployment again.
Here are several scenarios that you should know.
Scenario 1 . You decide to cancel your self-employment before 9 months.
You will be able to continue collecting unemployment for as long as you have accumulated.
Scenario 2 . You decide to unsubscribe as a self-employed worker between months 9 and 60.
Your benefit is suspended, and you will be able to collect the unemployment that you had accumulated again if you complete the withdrawal from the RETA before 5 years (60 months) have elapsed.
Scenario 3 . You decide to cancel your self-employment after 5 years (60 months).
The unemployment that you had accumulated will have been extinguished.
… And if you also have the right to unemployment.
Suppose, after the cessation of self-employment, the worker had the right to protection for cessation of activity (if he had contributed for that contingency and met all the requirements). Then, he may choose between receiving this or reopening the right to suspended unemployment protection.
When the worker opts for the suspended benefit, the contributions that led to the unemployment of the self-employed may not compute for the recognition of a subsequent right. That is, they will be lost.
Practical example
Establishing a complete example will make you better understand it:
Let’s suppose you have been granted 20 months of unemployment. In month 2, you decide to register as a self-employed worker and request compatibility.
You will have received the first 2 months of unemployment and the 9 that the measure we are commenting on allows. So that month 12, you will no longer receive unemployment.
Since you had 20 granted and have only collected 11, you have 9 left to resume. Next, you decide that after having been self-employed for 12 months, during which you have contributed to the cessation of activity, you will leave the activity and request protection for cessation of activity (unemployment of the self-employed).
In this case, you could choose between self-employed unemployment (4 months) or resume the previous unemployment granted (9 months).
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