A New Approach to Ending Contracts
The Fundació d’Estudis d’Economia Avançada (Fedea) has presented an innovative initiative to review the regulations governing the termination of employment contracts. This proposal seeks to allow workers to access unemployment benefits even when their employment relationship is terminated by mutual agreement.
The Current Context and the Limitations of the Legislation
At present, Spanish legislation restricts access to unemployment benefits only to cases of dismissal, which has given rise to the proliferation of simulated dismissals to obtain these benefits. This situation has been widely debated by experts such as Iñigo Sagardoy, professor of Labor Law, who has drawn up a report for Fedea which highlights the need for urgent reform.
The Reform Proposal: A Step Toward Employment Justice
Sagardoy points out that the General Social Security Law presents a legal loophole that prevents workers from obtaining benefits if their employment relationship ends by mutual agreement. This lack not only encourages deception but also distorts the reality of the contemporary labor market.
Equity in Access to Benefits
The reform proposed by Fedea aims to equalize the conditions of access to unemployment both for dismissals and for mutual agreements, thus eliminating the need to resort to fraudulent practices that affect the integrity of the system.
Impact of the Current Situation on the Judicial System
Fedea’s report highlights that the high rate of dismissals and the numerous court rulings linked to these cases reflect a larger problem: the normalization of false dismissals. This reality not only alters labor data, but also overloads the judicial system and the SEPE with cases that, in essence, are the result of agreements between the parties.
The Future of Unemployment Benefit: A Necessary Change
Fedea argues that, with the right safeguards, allowing access to unemployment benefits in cases of contract termination by mutual agreement would be a simple reform but with great potential for impact. This would not only more accurately reflect the labor reality, but would also encourage greater dynamism in the market.
Benefits for Everyone
The implementation of this reform would require an adjustment of the existing regulations to avoid incentives that could increase the cost of the benefits system. However, Fedea insists that, with careful design, this measure could be beneficial for both workers and employers, providing flexibility and reducing the litigation associated with the termination of employment contracts.