The Government plans to approve this Tuesday in Minister council the reform of immigration regulations, which will make the conditions of access to the labor market more flexible for thousands of migrants. The ministerial conclave also plans to give the green light to the new contribution system for self-employedagreed with employers and unions, as confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security. Jose Luis Escriva manages to carry out two of the most important regulations that he has been working on in recent months. The first will not require further procedures and will enter into force once it is established by the Official State Gazette (BOE). And the second must still be validated by Congress and for this the minister must assemble a parliamentary majority to support it.
The reform of the regulation designed by Escrivá will expand the possibilities of people of foreign origin to access a job in Spain. According to the latest Social Security data for the month of June, a total of 2.3 million active workers were born outside of Spain. One of the innovations that the new text will introduce is the possibility that anyone who makes a Training Course automatically have a work permit. In other words, you will be able to combine your studies with an employment contract and you will be able to maintain it for the duration of your studies. Until now, the student visa did not give a work permit.
Another of the modifications that the norm will introduce is the elaboration of a “catalogue of professions of difficult coverage” for each province or territorial demarcation. This will be based on the data sent from the SEPE and must be approved by employers and unions. And when a profession without staff is identified, it will open the possibility for companies to bring people from outside to work.
“The priority, how could it be otherwise, is the generation of employment for Spaniards, for our youths. And that is perfectly compatible with the fact that certain bottleneckcertain areas of the labor market, can be tackled in another way”, Escrivá justified at an informative breakfast in June. From the centrals they fear that it is a flexibility that allows companies to look for personnel outside of Spain instead of improving working conditions to attract unemployed people already on Spanish soil. “We run the risk of doing what the United Kingdom with Spanish nurses. As the trade is not well valued there, they are brought from Spain, offering them better salaries and taking advantage of the fact that they are well trained. Well, here we can end up doing the same, but with the waiters,” said the source.
BOE pending
What will happen if a student’s employment contract is not renewed? Here trade union sources consulted indicate that the small print that the BOE collects will be decisive. If the company decides renew the worker could continue working and keep his work permit without having to continue studying. Another element that the reform must specify is what type of studies will give the right to a work permit. Sources consulted indicate that university degrees, master’s degrees, professional or continuous training would fit in with the new regulations, as well as the comparable courses included in the public employment services (in the case of Catalonia, the SOC).
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The other major reform that the Council of Ministers must approve this Tuesday is that of the special regime for self-employed workers (CHALLENGE). The final document was agreed upon after more than six months of negotiations with employers and unions and will turn the contribution scheme upside down from 2023. Until now, it was the self-employed worker who chose what quota he wanted to pay, opting for 85% of the workers for the minimum quota (294 euros). As of January of next year, he must pay based on the net income he obtains from his work, these being the result of subtracting the deductible expenses from the income obtained.
The reform establishes 15 income brackets that draw 15 different installments, with the minimum in 2023 being 230 euros and the maximum 500 euros. The system is regressive, insofar as it requires -percentage-wise- a greater contribution from those who earn less compared to those who earn more. However, it is less regressive than the current one, insofar as everyone could pay the minimum fee. According to Social Security calculations, around 1.5 million self-employed will pay less fee, about half a million will pay a fee very similar to the current minimum and the remaining million will pay more.