Changes to part-time contracts and other work contracts

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. Part-time contracts become more flexible: notice periods for additional hours are shortened, the maximum number of those hours is increased, and they can only be agreed if the contract sets at least ten weekly hours. Employers must also record part-time workers' hours day by day.
2. The trial period for temporary contracts of up to six months cannot exceed one month, unless the collective agreement says otherwise. The age of children whose care allows a workday reduction with proportional pay cut rises from eight to twelve years.
3. The permanent contract supporting entrepreneurs can now also be signed part time. The related bonuses and tax incentives will apply in proportion to the agreed working hours.
4. Temporary work agencies can assign workers on training contracts to client companies. A client company that hires such a worker permanently gets the same bonuses as other companies.
5. The law defines what counts as a sector of activity for incentives on part-time contracts with training, and clarifies the concept of a group of companies for payments due for layoffs of workers aged fifty or older.
6. The unemployment contribution rate for temporary part-time contracts drops by one point, the minimum contribution base rises for self-employed people with ten or more employees, and training contracts not tied to official qualifications can be signed until December 31, 2014.

Who it affects

• Part-time workers: New rules on additional hours and recording of working hours.
• Small and medium-sized companies: Can use the entrepreneur support contract part time and get proportional bonuses.
• Temporary work agencies and client companies: Can assign workers on training contracts and get bonuses if they hire them permanently.
• Self-employed people with employees: Their minimum contribution base rises if they have ten or more employees.
• Young people in training and apprenticeship contracts: They can sign these contracts without a linked official qualification until December 31, 2014.

Words worth knowing

Horas complementarias

Extra hours an employer can ask a part-time worker to work, on top of the hours set in the contract.

Periodo de prueba

Trial period at the start of a contract during which either side can end it without consequences.

Distribución irregular de la jornada

Spreading working hours over the year differently from the usual schedule, as agreed.

Base de cotización

The amount on which a worker's Social Security contributions are calculated.

Empresa de trabajo temporal

Temporary work agency: a company that hires workers and assigns them temporarily to other companies.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries