Since last April 1, 2025, unemployment workers can compatible the contributory benefit (unemployment) with a salary. This measure approved by the Government of Spain led by Pedro Sánchez and known as the “complement to support for employment”, allows part of the contributory for unemployment while working, provided that the gross monthly salary does not exceed 2,250 euros.
This compatibility is part of the reform of the unemployment protection system, which also brought with them other novelties, such as the initial increase in subsidy amounts (with the exception of subsidy for over 52 years) and the improvement of accessibility to aid. The main objective of this measure is to encourage reinstatement to the labor market without this implying the total loss of the benefit.
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The regulations, collected in Royal Decree-Law 2/2024 (can be consulted in this BOE), establishes that to access this complement it is necessary to meet certain requirements. The contributory benefit can be compatible with a job provided that the salary does not exceed 375 % of the public indicator of multiple effects income (IPREM), which currently equals 2,250 euros per month. In addition, the duration of the complement is not always 180 days, since it depends on the moment it begins to make unemployment compatible with the new job.
Requirements to collect unemployment while working
In order to compatible the collection of the contributory benefit by unemployment (what is known as unemployment) with a new job, it is necessary to meet several requirements. The most important is the salary limit, since the monthly gross salary of the new employment must not exceed 375 % of the IPREM, which currently equals 2,250 euros gross per month. If the salary exceeds this amount, the benefit will be incompatible.
In addition to the income limit, the regulations require that the person has been receiving unemployment for a minimum of nine months before requesting compatibility. Likewise, this measure is only applicable for those who have recognized an unemployment benefit with an initial duration greater than twelve months.
The complement to support for employment, which is the amount of unemployment that is still perceived, begins with an amount of 80 % of the IPREM (480 euros per month) for full -time work, and this amount varies according to the working day and the time elapsed. To guarantee the correct application of this measure and prevent fraud, the Public State Employment Service (SEPE) and the Labor and Social Security inspection carry out specific inspections and controls.
Amount
The amount of the “complement to support for employment”, that is, the part of the contributory benefit that can be continued while working does not depend on the quarter, but on the month of perception of the benefit in which the compatibility and the working day of the new contract begins.
It is important to highlight that the table that had previously been disseminated corresponded to unemployment subsidies, not to the contributory benefit (unemployment). The correct table for the contributory benefit is as follows:
| Quarter | Falls. Full -time employment (% IPREM) | Falls. Partial employment ≥ 75% of the day (% IPREM) | Falls. Partial employment <75% and ≥ 50% of the day (% IPREM) | Falls. Partial employment <50% of the day (% IPREM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st quarter | 80 % | 75 % | 70 % | 60 % |
| 2nd quarter | 60 % | 50 % | 45 % | 40 % |
| 3rd quarter | 40 % | 35 % | 30 % | 25 % |
| 4th quarter | 30 % | 25 % | 20 % | 15 % |
| 5th quarter and following | 20 % | 15 % | 10 % | 5 % |
To understand it we are going to give the following example: if a person who has been charging unemployment for 9 months finds full -time job, compatibility begins in his tenth month of benefit. According to the table, during the 10th, 11th and 12th months, it will continue to receive a complement to 80 % of the IPREM (480 euros per month). If you continue working, from the 13th month, the complement remains in that same amount and the maximum duration of compatibility can reach 180 days.
On the other hand, if that same person agrees to part -time job that is less than half of the usual day, the complement is reduced. In that case, it would receive 60 % of the IPREM (360 euros per month) during the same period (from the tenth month onwards).