Self-employed professionals must meet a number of requirements in order to qualify for unemployment benefits in 2023.
To be eligible for the benefit, they must have economic, technical, productive or organizational reasons, which would require them to prove a 10% loss. Also, for reasons of force majeure, loss of administrative leave or due to divorce or gender violence.
It is essential to have paid at least 12 months of contributions for the contingency of cessation of activity, to be up to date in the payment of social security contributions and, in the case of a definitive cessation of activity, not to have exceeded the retirement age, which in 2022 is 66 years and 2 months (66 years and 4 months in 2023) or 65 years if at least 37 years and 9 months have been paid.
Self-employed workers who become unemployed are eligible for unemployment. However, although the measure has been in place since 2015, self-employed professionals must meet several requirements to qualify for unemployment benefit in 2023.
Requirements for collecting unemployment benefits for the self-employed
Self-employed workers must have paid at least 12 months of contributions for the contingency of termination of activity, must be up to date with the payment of Social Security contributions and, in the case of a definitive termination of activity, must not have exceeded the retirement age, which in 2022 is 66 years and 2 months (66 years and 4 months in 2023) or 65 years if they have paid at least 37 years and 9 months of contributions.
To be eligible for the benefit, they must have economic, technical, productive or organizational reasons, which would require them to prove a 10% loss. Also, for reasons of force majeure, loss of administrative leave or due to divorce or gender violence.
They can also become unemployed due to an ERTE, which is a 60% reduction in the working hours of the salaried employees that the professionals have contracted. Or if in the previous two fiscal quarters the level of income or sales has been reduced by 75% with respect to those recorded in the same periods of the financial year.
On the other hand, they may qualify for the benefit if they incur debts to their creditors, provided that they do not exceed 150% of the ordinary income from sales in the two fiscal quarters preceding the application.
As a prerequisite for applying for the unemployment benefit, you must attach all the documentation accrediting your situation and be up to date with your Social Security contributions.
For further information, please contact Labour Advisory.
