As of October 1, the way of calculating the pension changes to adapt to European guidelines. Specifically, the part-time contribution will count as one full day for the retirement pension and benefits for permanent, temporary disability, birth and child care. And the unemployment benefit? How do you count part-time work for unemployment?
Social Security and the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) are regulated differently and that is why until now they have been treating the part-time contribution differently.
Part-time work: does it give the right to unemployment?
The SEPE has an advantage over Social Security in this section. It already made this change in listing in 2018, also to adapt its operation to the instructions of European justice.
Since 2018, part-time contributions count as one entire working day to calculate the right to collect unemployment benefits. This means that each day adds a full day to the calculation, “whatever the duration of the day,” establishes article 3 of Royal Decree 625/1985.
From there, the requirements to collect unemployment do not change depending on the type of day. It is necessary to have contributed a minimum of 360 days, which will entitle you to 120 days or 4 months of unemployment benefit.
As working time increases, unemployment will also increase up to a maximum of 24 months with a minimum of 2,160 days of contributions.
The following table shows the relationship between days worked and days of unemployment:
Those who do not meet the number of days will be able to access unemployment benefits or request other aid such as Active Insertion Income.
Of course, it is also mandatory that the termination of employment be beyond the control of the worker. In other words, you cannot collect unemployment when you quit your job, you must be fired or your contract must end, even if it is during the trial period.
What happens to the amount of unemployment for a part-time job?
The amount of unemployment benefit is calculated taking the contribution bases for the last 180 days worked.
At this point there is no comparison. The SEPE will not multiply the contribution base by two for having worked part-time, half-time. To calculate the amount of the benefit, the actual contribution bases will be taken, whatever they may be.
Afterwards, during the first 180 days of unemployment you will pay 70% of that contribution base and from then on, 50%. As the part-time salary is usually lower, the resulting unemployment will also be lower.
If the amount is very small, it is possible to make unemployment compatible with other aid such as the Minimum Living Income (IMV), partial retirement pensions in certain cases, pensions from abroad, other part-time work or self-employed work.
