- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
article_detail
Date Published: 30/03/2020
ARCHIVED - ERTE temporary employment regulation schemes must end when the State of Emergency ends
ERTEs will come to an end immediately the coronavirus emergency is declared over
Criticism over a perceived failure to cater for the millions of self-employed in Spain
The extraordinary measures introduced by the Spanish government to combat the spread of the coronavirus over the next two weeks, consisting of a shutdown of all economic activity except that related to essential services and those people who are able to work from home, has raised plenty of doubts and uncertainty, not least in respect of the ERTE temporary employment regulation schemes which have been implemented by hundreds of thousands of businesses across the country.
(In the Region of Murcia alone the total had reached 11,500 by Monday lunchtime, representing four times as many in just two weeks as during the previous ten years).
The ERTEs allow businesses to lay off staff, or to reduce their working hours, for the duration of the state of emergency which was declared a fortnight ago and which will last at least until Sunday 12th April (Easter Sunday), and it has been made clear that they will continue to be valid during the economic shutdown of the next fortnight. Workers already made inactive by an ERTE will continue to be paid under the same conditions (employers pay social security and the government pays 70 per cent of the wages related to the hours not being worked), and the conditions for those on sick leave or maternity/paternity leave are unaffected.
For those working part-time during an ERTE the forced paid holidays are to be viewed as applicable to their reduced timetable, with the corresponding hours or days to be worked back during the rest of the year after the economic shutdown ends.
In addition, businesses which have not yet filed an ERTE are still able to do so.
Coronavirus ERTEs will end when the state of emergency is lifted
But one of the least acceptable aspects of the ERTEs to many businesses is the fact that their validity is limited to the duration of the state of emergency. That is to say, as of the date when the emergency is declared over and businesses are allowed to open again, they will effectively be obliged to do so, re-employing all of their staff on the same basis (full time or otherwise) as before it the lockdown began.
For many businesses the eventual re-opening will come as a relief and in a few cases problems are not anticipated in them being able to foot their wages bills – but even bars and restaurants cannot realistically expect lockdown to conclude one day and the world go back to normal the next day, as naturally many people will be cautious about putting themselves back in social contact with other individuals when the threat of the virus still looms. But for others the post-emergency reality may be a very bleak one as their client and customer base is likely to have been seriously eroded and the recovery in demand for their services is likely to be gradual rather than immediate.
Certainly those with fixed overheads and no income during the lockdown period will struggle to return to any sort of normality and financial equilibrium.
Such businesses, though, will be obliged to take their workers back on and to pay their wages and salaries, the only alternative being to begin the expensive process of laying them off and making the obligatory redundancy payments.
Workers employed for a period of years are entitled to many thousands of euros in redundancy payments; paying this money could be the death knoll for many small businesses who simply don´t have that amount of cash on hand.
This is the case for all ERTEs accepted on the grounds of the effects of the pandemic, and not for those specifying economic, technical and organizational reasons.
Temporary contracts will resume after the state of emergency
Another clarification included in the latest government legislation is that those employed on temporary contracts will be taken back on to complete their contracts when the state of emergency is lifted. For example, a worker taken on for six months on 1st January this year and then made temporarily inactive when the state of emergency was declared in mid-March will complete the duration of his or her employment when the emergency ends, effectively working beyond the original date of termination of the contract signed.
The self-employed
It is understandable that to a certain extent the government’s legislation has been drawn up in haste as a response to the dramatic expansion of the coronavirus in Spain, but there is considerable resentment over a perceived lack of consideration given to the situation of the millions of self-employed workers. Representatives of this sector of the workforce maintain that the economic subsidies announced are not reaching their beneficiaries quickly enough, and that it is unfair that employees can be compensated for their forced inactivity through an ERTE scheme but that no such option exists for the “autónomos” of Spain, no matter how severely their earning potential has been affected.
Image: the cabinet meeting in Sunday at which the economic shutdown legislation was approved
Remember: LOCKDOWN MEANS LOCKDOWN. STAY AT HOME. STAY SAFE AND DO YOUR BIT TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS.
Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest updates locally for the Region of Murcia and the main information for the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/.
Our local area groups are as follows. These are designed to filter locally specific information and may be used by clubs, charities, any of the businesses who work with us to ensure information is available to residents in English and for those living in the specific areas. They are not buy and sell groups, do not accept any bickering or argumentative so and so's, are not "open for any old rubbish" pages, and are not trying to compete with your local comunity groups, they are specifically for sharing good, relevant local information and we hope you will use them for that during this difficult time.
Around Mazarrón news, events and local info: Click to join
Mazarrón, Fuente Álamo, Águilas, Lorca, Totana, Puerto Lumbreras, Camposol, Alhama de Murcia. Click to join (all within a half hour drive of each other)
Mar Menor news, events and local info. Click to join (this includes all the Mar Menor municipalities and Cartagena)
North-west Murcia: Bullas, Mula, Cehegin, Caravaca, Cieza, Calasparra, Jumilla, Moratalla info. Click to join
What to do if you are in the Region of Murcia and believe you may have contracted the virus
The regional government has set up a special helpline to supply information to members of the public (900 121212) if they suspect that they may have contracted the virus rather than going straight to hospital or to a medical centre.
Sensible precautions
The advice being issued to members of the public by medical authorities all over the world coincides on the following points:
- Wash hands frequently with either soap and water or a sanitiser gel
- Catch coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues – and throw the tissues away immediately after use before immediately washing your hands!
- If you don’t have a tissue, use your sleeve – and wash the item of clothing used at the next opportunity
- AVOID touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
- AVOID close contact with people who are unwell
- Don´t panic!
Find more information by AREA, TOWN or URBANISATION .....
Cabo de Palos
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aguilas
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abanilla
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Urbanisations
CamposolCondado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig
Important Topics:
CAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia property news generic threadWeekly Bulletin
CAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia property news generic threadWeekly Bulletin
Contact Murcia Today: Editorial 966 260 896 /
Office 968 018 268