Date Published: 13/05/2020
ARCHIVED - Around 100,000 workers affected by ERTE extension to June 30th in Murcia region
ARCHIVED ARTICLE An estimated 15,000 workers issued with ERTEs returned to work on Monday but there are tens of thousands more still sitting at home waiting to see if they will have a job at the end of the Covid crisis
Although smaller retailers and bars have been permitted to re-open from May 11th, the residual economic problems left by the Covid virus will cause hardship for business owners for many months to come, the principal problem for most being the cost of balancing the level of income they can realistically expect to achieve against the cost of employing staff.
For many, it will be impossible to re-employ at the same level as before the Covid lockdown and over three million workers across Spain were made temporarily redundant during the crisis using the ERTE temporary redundancies mechanism facilitated by the Spanish government to enable businesses to temporarily lay off staff without being forced to make redundancy payments.
These payments can be crippling to a small business, and the ERTE gives some breathing space for business owners, but they must re-employ once the state of emergency is over.
An agreement signed by the central government, employers and unions has extended the ERTE agreement until June 30th, and the CCOO union has estimated that this will affect around 100,000 workers in the Region of Murcia as well as three nationally.
On Monday around 15,000 employees who were issued with ERTEs returned to work across the region, but it is believed that up to a third of those issued with temporary notices across Spain will not be re-employed as businesses shake down and adjust to the trading conditions of the “new normal”.
During April unemployment grew at a record level and is expected to continue doing so in the immediate future.
The new agreement foresees "stretching" the conditions established for ERTEs due to the force majeure derived from the crisis generated by COVID-19 beyond the effective date of the state of emergency itself, in order to facilitate phased employment.
Extra resources have been drafted in to try and cope with the huge volume of petitions for ERTEs from businesses, and according to a report published by the regional government at the end of last week, the Employment Department has already processed 90% of the ERTE petitions presented in the Region of Murcia, with a total of 74,719 workers currently affected.
Business owners are strongly advised to talk to their asesor if they require help during the next few months as legislation is constantly adjusting to the effects of the pandemic and there are many schemes available through localised business associations and town halls in each of the 45 municipalities of the region, as well as from the regional government, to help local businesses get back on their feet and survive the crisis.
YESTERDAY THERE WERE STILL 62,000 ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 ACROSS SPAIN: TAKE SENSIBLE MEASURES TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND PREVENT THE FURTHER SPREAD OF THE CORONAVIRUS.
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