The State Public Employment Service (SEPE) will pay the full amount of the unemployment benefit to all workers who access this aid, regardless of their working hours in the last contract. In this way, Royal Decree-Law 2/2024 eliminates the proportional reduction that applied until now to those who worked part-time.
This is so, since this is reflected in the modification of article 278 of the General Law of Social Security (modified by said Royal Decree), which eliminates the link between the amount of the subsidy and the hours worked in the last job, guaranteeing the full amount to all beneficiaries.
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The measure carried out by the Ministry of Labor, led by Yolanda Díaz, seeks to improve the income of unemployed workers who, after exhausting unemployment, lack sufficient income, thus correcting the gap that especially affected women, who mostly hold part-time jobs. Remember that to access these subsidies you must demonstrate economic vulnerability, which is why it is always requested not to exceed 75% of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (in 2025 it is 888 euros per month).
In this way, since the partiality of the last contract is a situation (so to speak) unrelated to the real need for economic protection of the unemployed, Social Security protects the worker by guaranteeing higher subsistence minimums.
How do the new unemployment benefit amounts work?
The SEPE establishes fixed amounts linked to the Multiple Effects Public Income Indicator (IPREM), without applying cuts regardless of the day. Now, the subsidies have a decreasing amount over time to encourage return to work, that is, you start by charging more and little by little the amount goes down. In this sense, the new article 278 distinguishes three amounts:
- During the first 6 months, 95% of the IPREM will be received, which is equivalent to 570 euros with the current IPREM.
- The next 6 months, 90% of the IPREM, that is, 540 euros.
- Starting next year, the amount will drop to 80% of the IPREM.
Now, keep in mind, this is valid for all subsidies, except for the subsidy for people over 52 years of age in which 80% of the IPREM will continue to be paid from the beginning, since this has the advantage that it is collected indefinitely and contributes towards the pension.
An example to understand it
To clarify and understand it, let’s think about a worker who, in December 2024, exhausts her contributory benefit (unemployment) and applies for unemployment benefits. His last contract, for which he generated the right, was part-time (50% of the usual working day).
With the previous regulations, having worked part-time, the SEPE would have recognized only 50% of the subsidy (50% of the 80% of the IPREM, that is, 240 euros). But, thanks to the new regulations, the partiality of your contract is no longer taken into account for the calculation. Therefore, this worker will receive 100% of the aid, that is, during the first six months she will receive 95% of the full IPREM (and not half), and subsequently the percentages of 90% and 80% complete, regardless of whether her last job was for a few hours.