Bill to end temporary contracts and make permanent hiring the rule

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill, introduced by the Ciudadanos parliamentary group and admitted for processing in Congress, is not an approved law: it is an initial text that is still going through the legislative process.
2. The bill would make all employment contracts permanent by default. Fixed-term contracts would only be allowed for substitutions (leave, vacations, vacancies pending coverage) and for training contracts.
3. Dismissal grounds and current severance pay would stay in place: 20 days of wages per year of service for objective and collective dismissals, and 33 days per year for unfair dismissals. A new ground would be added: the justified elimination of an individual job position.
4. The bill would create a system of personal Social Security accounts, inspired by the so-called Austrian backpack: companies would contribute to each worker's account, and those rights could be used in case of unemployment (even if the worker quits), retirement, disability or death, and would carry over between jobs.
5. Temporary staffing agencies could only supply workers for substitution and training cases, and would be jointly liable for contracts that break the law. In addition, violations involving fraudulent contracts and breaches of working time rules would move from serious to very serious offenses, counted as one offense per affected worker.
6. The Government would have to strengthen public employment services and the Labor Inspectorate, with a shock plan, data analysis tools and extraordinary inspection plans, and adapt within one year the rules on public employment, health care and science to permanent hiring.

Who it affects

• Temporary workers: Their contracts would become permanent except for substitutions and training, and they would gain protection: 15 days' notice and 20 days' pay per year when the contract ends.
• Companies: They could no longer use project-based or seasonal contracts; they would have to justify any dismissal and contribute to their workers' personal accounts.
• Temporary staffing agencies: Their activity would be limited to substitution and training cases, and they would be liable along with the client company if there is fraud.
• Public administrations and health and research staff: The Government would have to adapt their rules to also make permanent hiring the norm there.
• Unemployed people: Public employment services would be strengthened, with personalized guidance, training vouchers and statistical profiling to help them find work.

Words worth knowing

Despido objetivo (objective dismissal)

Dismissal for economic, technical, organizational or production reasons, not for the worker's conduct.

Mochila austriaca (Austrian backpack)

A system where workers accumulate rights in a personal account they can use if they become unemployed, even if they quit voluntarily.

Contrato de puesta a disposición (supply contract)

A contract between a temporary staffing agency and a client company to supply a worker.

Infracción muy grave (very serious offense)

A type of violation carrying the highest penalties provided by law.

Amortización de un puesto de trabajo (job position elimination)

Removing a job position because the company no longer needs it on a permanent basis.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries