Law 63/1997 of 26 December 1997 on urgent measures for the improvement of the labour market and the promotion of indefinite employment has set out changes in the field of social security in the legal framework of the partial-time contracts, in accordance with the approach proposed, by common accord, by the social partners through the Interconfederal Agreement for the Stability of Employment.

It is therefore necessary to carry out, within the legally prescribed period, the corresponding regulatory development that allows the effective application of the legal changes introduced. This development does not prejudge or impede the criteria which, in the future, and taking into account the specific characteristics of parttime work, may be established for the rearrangement of the legal system of the benefits of the Social security system to be recognised in the assumptions of such a working modality, both within the Standing Committee of the Agreement on Consolidation and Rationalization of the Social Security System, and at the Employment Bureau.

As a singular measure of the alluded to regulatory development, it is introduced, for the purpose of encouraging the hiring under this modality, a reduction of the contribution, independent and compatible with the bonuses that can derive from the rules laid down in the field of policies for the promotion of employment.

In its virtue, fulfilling the mandate laid down in the transitional provision fourth of Law 63/1997, of 26 December, on the proposal of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, consulted the trade union organizations and more representative business associations, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on 27 March 1998,

D I S P O N G O:

CHAPTER I

Marginal benefit part-time workers

of services

Article 1. Scope of the protective action.

Workers who have been hired on a part-time basis with a duration of service less than 12 hours a week or forty-eight hours a month shall be protected from the entry into force of the Royal Decree, and whatever the date of conclusion of the contract, in the face of all the situations and contingencies which are provided for in general in the respective social security system in which they appear (a) the employees, as well as the rest of the part-time workers, in the terms and conditions laid down in the the following Articles and provisions.

Article 2. Rules applicable to trading.

For the purposes of listing, in relation to the workers referred to in the previous Article, the provisions of Article 65 of the General Regulation on the Quotation and Settlement of Other Rights of the Security Social, approved by Royal Decree 2064/1995, of 22 December, in the wording which is contained in the unique additional provision of this Royal Decree.

Article 3. Applicable rules for the calculation of benefits.

For the purposes of determining the periods of contribution and the regulatory basis for social security benefits, excluding unemployment benefits to be governed by their specific rules, in respect of the workers referred to in Article 1 shall apply the provisions laid down in the additional provision of Royal Decree 2319/1993 of 29 December 1993, as well as in the following Article of this Royal Decree.

CHAPTER II

Temporary Disability and Maternity

of part-time workers

Article 4. Temporary disability and maternity benefits for workers employed on a part-time basis.

1. Parttime workers shall be entitled to the economic benefit due to temporary incapacity, with the particularities laid down in the following paragraphs and which shall be applicable to any person who is the time of residence in such contractual mode:

(a) For the purpose of bringing together the minimum periods of contribution required by the scheme in question, the hours actually worked shall be taken into account. To this end, the number of days of contributions shall be the result of dividing the number of hours actually worked between the number of hours constituting the usual day in the activity concerned.

The five-year period within which the contribution period of one hundred and eighty days has to be understood, in the case of temporary incapacity arising from common illness, shall be increased by the same proportion as reduce the day actually carried out in relation to the usual day in the corresponding activity.

(b) The daily basis of the benefit shall be the result of dividing the sum of the listed bases of quotation into the undertaking during the three months immediately preceding the date of the causative event between the number of days actually worked and, therefore, listed in that period.

The corresponding economic benefit shall be paid during the days contracted as an effective work in which the worker remains in temporary incapacity.

(c) When, on the termination of the contract of employment or interruption of the activity, the managing body assumes or, where appropriate, a contributing entity the payment of the benefit, the regulatory basis of the benefit shall be calculated again. To this end, the daily basis of the benefit shall be the result of dividing the sum of the listed bases of quotation into the undertaking during the three months immediately preceding the date of the causative event between the number of days. natural resources included in that period.

If the worker's seniority in the company is less, the basis of the benefit will be the result of dividing the sum of the accredited quotation bases between the number of calendar days to which they correspond.

The economic benefit shall be paid during all calendar days in which the person concerned is in the situation of temporary incapacity.

(d) The application of the rules provided for in paragraph (b) above shall not affect the calculation of the maximum duration of the temporary incapacity situation, which shall in any case be made by reference to the number of days nature of the stay in the same.

(e) The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to employed persons covered by the special agricultural scheme and in the special scheme of household employees in respect of which the provision of temporary incapacity shall be recognised in the terms and conditions laid down in general in those Regulations.

2. Part-time contract workers shall be entitled to the maternity allowance, subject to the conditions laid down in the preceding paragraph, with the exception of the provisions of paragraph (b) thereof. In any event, the daily basis for the benefit shall be obtained in accordance with the rules laid down in paragraph (c).

Single additional disposition. Contribution to the work of part-time work contracts.

Article 65 of the General Regulation on the Quotation and Settlement of Other Rights of Social Security, approved by Royal Decree 2064/1995 of 22 December 1995, is hereby reworded as follows:

" Article 65. Contributions to the case of part-time and relief work contracts.

1. In respect of employed persons under contracts on a part-time basis and in relief, the contribution base for all contingencies and situations covered by the protective action of the scheme in question, including those of unemployment, accident at work and occupational disease and other contributions which are collected in conjunction with the social security contributions shall be determined, in accordance with Article 23 of this Regulation, by the remuneration actually paid on the basis of hours worked.

2. The contribution basis thus determined shall not be lower:

(a) For the common contingencies, the result of multiplying the minimum base corresponding to the professional category of the worker, adapted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs according to the Article 9 (4) provides for the number of hours actually worked in the month referred to in the settlement of quotas.

(b) For unemployment, accident at work and occupational disease and other concepts of joint recovery, the result of multiplying the absolute minimum ceiling, adapted by the Ministry, according to the hours, in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 (4), for the number of hours actually worked, in the month referred to in the settlement of quotas.

(c) For the purposes of the operations referred to in the preceding numbers, where the part-time contract involves only a reduction in the working day, but not in the number of working days, in respect of the full-time contract workers in the undertaking in question shall be counted as working hours in the case of the time of rest, which corresponds to the weekly rest and holidays.

If the part-time employment contract will result in a reduction in the number of working days in respect of full-time contract workers, it will not be counted as effectively worked days for workers. time off computable rest time for work corresponding to weekly rest and holidays.

3. During situations of temporary incapacity, the daily basis of contributions shall be the basis of the relevant provision. Such a basis shall apply only to the days in which the worker was obliged to provide effective services within the undertaking not to be in the situation of temporary incapacity.

4. In the case of workers whose provision of services is less than 12 hours per week or forty-eight per month, the corresponding quotas shall be reduced, on the basis of the indefinite or non-permanent nature of the contract concerned. with the exception of the unemployment rate. For this purpose, the quota resulting from the application of the levy rate, determined in accordance with the preceding paragraphs, shall be multiplied by the respective coefficient to be established at any time.

For the calculation of the above mentioned weekly or monthly limit, in the cases where the irregular distribution of the working day has been agreed, except for the discontinuous fixed works, it will be proportional to is, taking into account the annual working day, or the time of the contract duration if that duration is less than the year, in the activity in question.

The reductions in the quotas provided for in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall, where appropriate, be compatible with the benefits laid down in Law 64/1997 of 26 December 1997, subject to the limits laid down in paragraph 1 of this Article. Article 6 of that Law, as well as those provided for in the applicable legislation, in relation to disabled workers.

5. The provisions of Article 24 of this Regulation on additional contributions for overtime shall apply to these contracts, taking such consideration into account each hour of work carried out on the day agreed in the contract of work. "

First transient disposition. Contribution for 1998.

In the case of part-time contracts, the provision of services of which is less than 12 hours a week or forty-eight per month, from the entry into force of this Royal Decree and for 1998, it shall apply, for the purposes of The provisions of Chapter III of the Order of 26 January 1998 for the development of social security contributions, unemployment, the Guarantee Fund and vocational training laid down in Law 65/1997 of 30 May 1998 on the December, on the General Budget of the State for 1998, according to the following rules:

(a) For the purposes of the social security contribution for common contingencies, the share corresponding to the basis and type of contribution shall be multiplied by the coefficients 0,45 or 0,55, depending on whether the employment contract is indefinite or temporary character, respectively. The result thus obtained shall constitute the amount of the fee to be entered.

(b) For the purposes of the contribution of occupational accidents and occupational diseases, on the basis of the respective contribution, the premium corresponding to the work carried out shall be applied, in accordance with the provisions of the Royal Decree 2930/1979 of 29 December.

(c) For the purposes of the unemployment contribution, the rate of 7,8 per 100 is applied to the corresponding base, of which 6,2 per 100 shall be for the undertaking and 1,6 per 100 for the worker.

d) For the contribution to the Salarial Guarantee Fund, the rate of 0,4 per 100 shall apply to the basis of the contribution of accidents at work and occupational diseases.

Second transient disposition. Computation of previous quotes.

For the purpose of covering the periods of contribution required to cause entitlement to the economic benefit due to temporary incapacity arising from common sickness, benefits or unemployment benefits, and pension and retirement pensions. permanent incapacity and death and survival, both of which are the result of common sickness, the contributions made by part-time workers for a period of less than 12 hours per week or forty-eight hours shall not be computable per month, during periods which would have been excluded from protection by such contingencies.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

As many provisions of the same or lower rank are repealed, they are contrary to the provisions of this Royal Decree and, in an express way:

(a) Paragraph 3 and Rule 4 (a) (4) of the additional provision of Royal Decree 2319/1993 of 29 December 1993.

(b) Articles 32, 33, Article 34 (2) and the additional provision seventh of the Order of 26 January 1998 for the development of the rules on social security contributions, unemployment, the Guarantee Fund Wage and Vocational Training, contained in Law 65/1997 of 30 December 1998, of the General Budget of the State for 1998.

Final disposition first. Faculty of development.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs is authorized to dictate how many rules are necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this Royal Decree.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Royal Decree shall enter into force on the first day of the month following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Given in Madrid to March 27, 1998.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Labour and Social Affairs,

JAVIER ARENAS BOCANEGRA