From the law firm Lawyou, we want to inform you about the tools that the law contemplates to face the challenge of the Coronavirus pandemic. One of them is the ERTE.
What is achieved with the ERTE?
In this case, the pandemic seems that it is going to spread enough to have to take extraordinary containment measures in order to guarantee the company and the employment after the pandemic. That said, a company can take, if there is a health alert situation, a series of measures to mitigate the consequences of these exceptional cases.
We do not intend to alarm or cause fear with the spread of the Covid-19 virus, but follow the indications published by the Ministry of Labor in the «Guide for action in the workplace in relation to the new Coronavirus».
The first forecasts indicate that, if the crisis continues, 10% of the small and medium-sized companies surveyed – 1,088 in total- plan to resort to temporary lay-offs, while 15% are considering the possibility of initiating partial stoppages of activity. A situation that could easily be reached since 35% of this type of companies are registering a drop in sales or cancellation of bookings of between 10 and 15%.
It is necessary to differentiate the figure and separate it from the general current approach of an ERE, or an ERTE, as a process generated only by adverse economic situations, crisis, recession or accumulated drop in income. Although this can also be activated by exceptional situations of force majeure:
- Direct epidemiological causes, which generate a situation of absenteeism that makes the continuity of the service provided, or of production, impossible.
- For the shortage or total lack of supply of elements or resources necessary for the development of the business activity as a consequence of the affectation by the coronavirus of supplier or supplying companies.
- For a decrease in the supply of elements or resources necessary for the development of the business activity as a consequence of the affectation by the coronavirus of supplier or supplying companies.
What is an ERTE?
It is an Expedient of temporary regulation of employment) it enables us to:
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- Suspend several employment contracts for a certain period of time
- Or reduce for a certain period of time
With this your companies will be able to reduce part of the loads in the period of inactivity . If we imagine an average wage cost of 2,000 € in a month of partial stoppages on half of a workforce of 16 workers, we will have:
2,000 € x 8 workers x 30 days = 16,000 € less burden to maintain the company and employment after the period of inactivity.
In addition, in order to ensure that this situation does not leave the workers unprotected, the Social Security and the Ministry of Labor have foreseen that there will be no unemployment during this period of suspension due to the causes derived from the Coronavirus.
The ERTE measure is regulated by the regulation of the procedures for collective dismissal, suspension of contracts and reduction of working hours, which establishes a procedure whose cause must be established by the Labor Authority and after a report from the Labor Inspectorate, and any additional reports it deems necessary. Subsequently, and within a maximum period of five days, the authority will issue a non-binding opinion, although the suspension decision will always be taken by the company.
In short, the Labor Authority must verify that there are circumstances of unforeseeability, inevitability, impossibility and causal relationship derived from force majeure.
Therefore from Lawyou, we recommend you to follow the indications of the competent authority, to be prudent and to allow you to act in front of these unforeseen events with coherence and with the knowledge of all the tools that the law puts at our disposal.If you have any doubts and need advice on how to manage it and avoid future problems, do not hesitate to contact us with your concerns.
At LAWYOU we have lawyers with many years of experience who can help you or give you more information about the currently applicable legislation and future changes. Do not hesitate to contact us to tell us about your case through our email atencionalcliente@lawyoulegal.com or, if you prefer, you can also call us at 602 226 895. Or you can leave us your contact information here.
Si quieres información sobre un ERTE para tu empresa tanto como empresario como trabajador, rellena el siguiente formulario.
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