Extension of the relief for permanent intermittent contracts in tourism, retail, and hospitality.

Requirements to benefit from the relief.

The General State Budget for 2021 (Presupuestos Generales del Estado, PGE), in force since January 1, 2021, includes, among many other employment-law changes, a 50% relief (bonificación) on employer Social Security contributions for common contingencies, as well as on the jointly collected contributions for Unemployment, the Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA), and Vocational Training, in respect of permanent intermittent workers (trabajadores fijos discontinuos) in the tourism, retail, and hospitality sectors, three of the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

This relief, which was already in force but has been extended by the 2021 PGE with effect from January 1, 2021, and for an indefinite period, will allow the companies and professionals that apply for it to obtain a 50% relief on employer Social Security contributions for common contingencies, as well as on the jointly collected contributions for Unemployment, FOGASA, and Vocational Training, in respect of those workers.

Requirements to benefit from the relief for permanent intermittent workers

To benefit from the 50% relief, companies and professionals must meet the following requirements:

– They must be companies and professionals engaged in activities within the tourism, retail, and hospitality sectors, provided that they are linked to the tourism sector and do not belong to the public sector.

– They must carry out productive activity in February, March, and November of each year.

– They must start and/or maintain, during those months, the Social Security-registered employment of workers on permanent intermittent contracts.

The 2021 PGE also includes an extension of the contribution relief for extending the period of activity of workers on permanent intermittent contracts in the tourism sector and in the retail and hospitality sectors linked to it.

Likewise, Royal Decree-Law 35/2020 maintains the extension of the relief for extending the period of activity of workers on permanent intermittent contracts in the tourism sector and in the retail and hospitality sectors linked to it, on an exceptional basis during 2021, in all Autonomous Communities (regions) and during the months of April to October 2021, as a complement to the measure for the months of February, March, and November provided for in the General State Budget for 2021.