The labour measures of the General State Budget 2021, contain a series of legislative novelties in this labor and Social Security matter. Among them, it is worth mentioning the ones that our experts summarize below.
Labour measures of the General State Budget 2021
Public pensions
Pensions paid by the Social Security system, as well as those of State Pensioners, will experience in 2021, in general, an increase of 0.9%.
The maximum pension amount is set at 2,707.49€ per month / 37,904.86€ per year.
Pensions for retirement, permanent disability, widowhood, orphanhood and in favor of family members in their contributory modality, and retirement and disability pensions in their non-contributory modality, will also increase by 0.9%.
Social Security contributions
Since the SMI (Minimum Interprofessional Wage) has been extended for the current year and as long as it does not undergo any variations, the following will remain unchanged:
- the maximum contribution base, set at 4,070.10€ per month
- as well as the minimum base, set at 1,108.33€ per month.
In the event of an update of the SMI:
- The maximum contribution base would be increased by 1/6 of the SMI.
- The minimum contribution base would be set by the new amount fixed by the SMI.
Contribution rates that we already had in 2020 are maintained. Both for common contingencies, as well as for work accidents and occupational diseases. As well as for unemployment, Wage Guarantee Fund and professional training.
Contribution in cases of compatibility of retirement and work.
With effect from January 1, 2021, the special solidarity contribution is increased to 9% of the contribution base for common contingencies. In the General Regime, the employer’s Social Security contribution is 7% and the employee’s contribution is 2%.
In the case of the RETA, this contribution will be paid in full by the person obliged to pay the contribution.
Moratorium on the payment of social security contributions by means of deferral.
Companies and self-employed workers included in any Social Security regime may request a moratorium on the payment of Social Security contributions. Yy for concepts of joint collection whose accrual takes place between the months of December 2020 and February 2021, in the case of companies. And between the months of January to March 2021 in the case of self-employed workers.
- provided that they are up to date in their obligations with Social Security
- and have no other deferral in force,
This deferral will be adjusted to the terms and conditions established in general in the Social Security regulations, with the following particularities:
- An interest rate of 0.5% will be applicable. Instead of that provided for in Article 23.5 of the revised text of the General Social Security Law.
- Requests for deferral must be made before the first ten calendar days of each of the regulatory deadlines for payment corresponding to the aforementioned accrued contributions have elapsed.
- The deferral will be granted by means of a single resolution. Regardless of the months it covers, it will be amortized by means of monthly payments and will determine an amortization period of 4 months for each monthly payment requested. Without exceeding a total of 12 monthly payments. The first payment shall be made as from the month following the month in which the deferral was issued.
- The request for this deferral will determine that the debtor is considered to be up to date with its obligations with the Social Security. With respect to the quotas affected by the same one, until the corresponding resolution is dictated.
This request may be made directly or through their authorized representatives to act through the Social Security electronic data remission system (RED System).
Extension of the contribution bonus.
For the extension of the period of activity of workers with discontinuous fixed contracts in the tourism, commerce and hotel and catering sectors linked to the same.
For the months of February, March and November.
With effect from January 1, 2021 and indefinite term, the companies that are linked to said tourism sector.
- That generate productive activity in the months of February, March and November of each year and that initiate and/or maintain in the months of February, March and November of each year
- and that initiate and/or maintain in high during these months the occupation of the workers with contracts of discontinuous fixed character,
They will be able to apply a rebate in those months of 50% of the employer’s social security contributions for common contingencies. As well as for the concepts of joint collection of Unemployment, FOGASA and Professional Training of such workers.
Companies belonging to the public sector are excluded.
Contribution rebate in the event of a change of job.
The 50% rebate on the employer’s contribution to the Social Security contribution for common contingencies is maintained for those cases in which, due to risk during pregnancy or risk during breastfeeding, the worker, by virtue of the provisions of Article 26 of Law 31/1995, of November 8, 1995, on Occupational Risk Prevention, is assigned to a different job or function compatible with her condition.
The same bonus will be applicable in those cases in which, due to occupational disease, under the terms and conditions provided for in the regulations, there is a change of job in the same company or the performance, in a different company, of a job that is compatible with the worker’s condition.
Suspension of the system of reduction of contributions for professional contingencies due to a decrease in the number of work-related accidents.
The application of the system of reduction of contributions for occupational contingencies to companies that have significantly reduced the number of work-related accidents, provided for in Royal Decree 231/2017, of 10 March, is suspended for the contributions generated during 2021. This suspension will be extended until the Government proceeds with the reform of the aforementioned royal decree, which should occur throughout 2021.
Financing of continuous training. It regulates the credit for training.
Companies that pay contributions for the contingency of professional training will have a credit for the training of their workers in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of Law 30/2015, of September 9, which will result from applying to the amount paid by the company for professional training during the year 2020 the bonus percentage that, depending on the size of the companies, is established as follows:
- Companies from 6 to 9 workers: 100 %.
- From 10 to 49 workers: 75 %.
- From 50 to 249 workers: 60 %.
- Finally, companies with 250 or more employees: 50 %.
Companies with 1 to 5 employees will have a bonus credit per company of 420 euros, instead of a percentage.
Likewise, companies that open new work centers during the year 2021 will be able to benefit from a training credit, under the terms established in the aforementioned regulation. As well as the companies of new creation, when they incorporate new workers to their staff. In these cases the companies will have a credit of bonuses whose amount will result from applying to the number of newly incorporated workers the amount of €65.
Taxation on employment income
The scale applicable to determine the percentage of withholding to be applied on the income from work derived from labor or statutory relationships and from pensions and passive assets is modified. With effect from January 1, 2021, adding a new bracket to the part of the base for calculating the withholding rate exceeding 300,000 euros, to which a withholding rate of 47% will be applied.
Basis for calculating the withholding tax rate | Withholding tax portion | Remaining basis for calculating the withholding tax rate | Applicable rate |
Up to euros | Euros | Up to euros | Percentage |
0,00 | 0,00 | 12.450,00 | 19% |
12.450,00 | 2.365,50 | 7.750,00 | 24% |
20.200,00 | 4.225,50 | 15.000,00 | 30% |
35.200,00 | 8.725,50 | 24.800,00 | 37% |
60.000,00 | 17.901,50 | 240.000,00 | 45% |
300.000,00 | 125.901,50 | en adelante | 47% |
Contributions to pension plans
The revised text of the Pension Plans and Funds Regulation Law is modified, in such a way that the total of the maximum annual corporate contributions and contributions to pension plans may not exceed 2,000 euros.
This limit will be increased by €8,000, provided that such increase comes from company contributions.
The own contributions that the individual employer makes to employment pension plans of which, in turn, he/she is the promoter and participant, will be considered as business contributions, for the purpose of calculating this limit.
IPREM 2021. Public Indicator of Multiple Effect Income.
For the rationalization of the regulation of the minimum interprofessional salary and for the increase of its amount, the public indicator of multiple effects income (IPREM) will have the following amounts during 2021:
- IPREM daily, 18.83€
- The monthly IPREM, 564.90€
- The annual IPREM, 778.8€.
- In the cases in which the reference to the SMI has been replaced by the reference to the IPREM in application of the provisions of RD-Law 3/2004, the annual amount of the IPREM will be 7,908.60€ when the corresponding regulations refer to the minimum interprofessional salary in annual computation. Unless the special payments are expressly excluded; in this case, the amount will be 6,778.80€.
Regulation of the dual university training contract.
Article 11 of the Workers’ Statute Law has been rewritten, adding a new paragraph 3 (the current paragraph 3 has been renumbered as paragraph 4) to regulate the dual university training contract.
- The dual university training contract, which will be formalized within the framework of the educational cooperation agreements signed by the universities with the collaborating entities, will have as its objective the professional qualification of university students through a system of alternating paid work activity in a company with training activity received within the framework of their university training, in order to favor a greater relationship between this and the training and learning of the worker.
The regulations will develop the delivery system and the characteristics of the training of workers in the university centers and in the companies, as well as its recognition, in a regime of alternation with the effective work.
Likewise, the aspects related to the financing of the training activity and to the remuneration of the contracted worker, which will be fixed in proportion to the effective working time, in accordance with the provisions of the collective agreement, without in any case being less than the minimum interprofessional salary, will be subject to regulatory development.
The protective action of the Social Security of the worker hired for the dual university training will include all the protectable contingencies and benefits, including unemployment. Likewise, the worker will be entitled to the coverage of the Wage Guarantee Fund.”
Arrabe Integra
Labour Consulting and HR Management.