Royal Decree-Law 2/2023 reforming pensions, effective from October 1, 2023, has included in the Social Security system students who carry out training and academic internships included in training programs.
We inform you that Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, of March 16, reforming pensions, effective from October 1, 2023, has included in the Social Security system students who carry out training and academic internships included in training programs.
In this way, all interns will be required to pay social security contributions from October 2023 onwards, regardless of whether they are paid or not.
Until now, only students with paid internships contributed to Social Security for both general and occupational contingencies. Thus, interns with paid internships accumulated years of work experience that could be counted towards their retirement benefits.
- Inclusion in the Social Security system
Well, now, the completion of training internships in companies, institutions or entities included in training programs and the completion of external academic internships under the respective legal and regulatory framework, will determine inclusion in the Social Security system.
- Which students will be eligible for this situation?
Those carried out by university students, both those aimed at obtaining official undergraduate and master's degrees, doctorate, as well as those aimed at obtaining a university's own degree, whether it be a continuing education master's degree, a specialization diploma or an expert diploma.
Those carried out by vocational training students, provided that they are not provided under the intensive vocational training regime.
Those who carry out the internships will be included as assimilated to employees in the General Social Security Scheme, excluding the special systems thereof, unless the internship or training takes place on board vessels, in which case the inclusion will occur in the Special Social Security Scheme for Seafarers.
- Protective action
The social security coverage will be that provided by the applicable social security scheme, excluding unemployment benefits, coverage from the Wage Guarantee Fund, and vocational training benefits. In the case of unpaid internships, coverage for temporary incapacity benefits due to common contingencies will also be excluded.
The financial benefits for birth and childcare, risk during pregnancy and risk during breastfeeding, will be paid by the managing entity or, where appropriate, by the collaborating mutual insurance company, through direct payment from the same.
The benefits due for temporary incapacity resulting from common or occupational contingencies will in all cases be paid by delegated payment.
- Social Security Obligations
a) In the case of paid training placements, compliance with Social Security obligations will be the responsibility of the entity or body that finances the training program, which will assume the status of employer for these purposes. If the program is co-financed by two or more entities or bodies, the entity responsible for making the respective financial payment will be considered the employer.
Registrations and cancellations in Social Security will be carried out in accordance with the general regulations applicable.
b) In the case of unpaid training placements, compliance with Social Security obligations will fall to the company, institution, or entity where the placement takes place, unless the cooperation agreement or contract signed for its implementation stipulates that such obligations will fall to the training center responsible for the training program. The employer must report the actual days of the placement based on the information provided by the training center.
The entity responsible, as indicated in the previous paragraph, will request the General Treasury of Social Security to assign a specific contribution account code for this group of people.
Registration and deregistration with Social Security will be carried out in accordance with the general regulations applicable to the sector, except for the exceptions provided for in this regulation. Registration will take place at the beginning of the training period and deregistration at its end, without prejudice to the fact that for Social Security contributions and its protective effect, only the days on which said training is carried out will be taken into account. For these purposes, the deadline for notifying the General Treasury of Social Security of said registration and deregistration will be ten calendar days from the beginning or end of the training period.
- Social Security contributions
In both the case of paid and unpaid training placements, the following provisions will apply:
- In both cases, the final contribution of the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) is expressly excluded.
- Contributions for common contingencies will be subject to a 95 percent reduction without any other contribution benefits being applicable other than this reduction.
- The entity that assumes the status of a company for the purposes of obligations with Social Security, acquires the status of obligated subject and responsible for the payment of all contributions.
5.1 Social security contributions in the case of paid training internships
- It will be carried out by applying the contribution rules corresponding to the alternating training contracts, established in the respective General State Budget Law and in its application and development regulations
- The monthly contribution base applicable for the purposes of benefits will be the minimum contribution base in force at any given time with respect to contribution group 7, except in those months in which the registration does not extend to all of them, in which the contribution base for the purposes of benefits will be the proportional part of said minimum base.
5.2 Social security contributions in the case of unpaid training placements
a) It will consist of an employer contribution for each day of training internships for common contingencies and for professional contingencies, which will take into account the exclusion of coverage for temporary incapacity (IT) derived from common contingencies, which will be established for each year in the corresponding General State Budget Law, without being able to exceed the maximum contribution for common and professional contingencies that is determined, also, in said law.
In accordance with the second transitional provision of Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, between October 1 and December 31, 2023, this contribution will consist of an employer's contribution of €2.36 for common contingencies and €0.29 for occupational contingencies for each day of registration. The maximum monthly contribution will be €53.59 for common contingencies and €6.51 for occupational contingencies.
b) The monthly contribution baseapplicable for the purposes of benefits will be the result of multiplying the minimum contribution base in force at any given time with respect to contribution group 8 (for 2023: €38.89/day), by the number of days of training practices carried out in the calendar month with the limit, in any case, of the amount of the minimum monthly contribution base corresponding to contribution group 7 (€1,166.70/month for 2023).
c) The regulatory deadline for paymentof the fees corresponding to the months of January, February and March will be the month of April; the deadline for the fees corresponding to the months of April, May and June will be the month of July; the deadline for the fees corresponding to the months of July, August and September will be the month of October; and the deadline for the fees corresponding to the months of October, November and December will be the month of January.
Until the penultimate calendar day of each of the months that, in accordance with the provisions of the previous paragraph, constitute the regulatory period for payment of contributions, the entities that assume the status of company must communicate to the General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS) the number of days in which any of the unpaid training programs and practices have been carried out, carried out by the persons assimilated to employees referred to in this section, during the three months immediately preceding.
d) In the case of individuals who have not completed any days of unpaid internships or training programs in a given month, this circumstance must be expressly stated. In any case, the company must request from the TGSS (General Treasury of the Social Security) the settlement of contributions corresponding to the three immediately preceding months, by the penultimate calendar day of the respective payment period.
When the person carrying out the internship is in a situation of temporary incapacity (IT) derived from professional contingencies, birth and care of a minor, risk during pregnancy or during breastfeeding, the company must indicate to the TGSS the planned days of carrying out the training internship.
Failure comply with the duty to provide the indicated data will mean that the amount of the debt for the monthly period to which it refers will be the result of multiplying the sum of the installments by the number of days of registration in the month in question
e) For the purposes of benefits, each day of unpaid training will be considered as 1.61 days of contributions, without exceeding, under any circumstances, the number of days in the corresponding month. Any fractions of a day resulting from the above calculation will be counted as a full day.
- Does it apply retroactively?
The regulation establishes that the persons referred to in this provision who, prior to its entry into force date (October 1, 2023), were in the situation indicated therein, may subscribe to a special agreement, on a one-time basis, within the period, terms and conditions determined by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, which will allow them to count the contribution for the periods of training or non-work and academic internships carried out before the entry into force date, up to a maximum of two years.
- Other issues
- The competent public authorities will carry out specific plans for the eradication of Social Security fraud associated with training practices that conceal jobs.
- Within three months from April 1, 2023, and with the aim of improving the effectiveness of the measures regulated in this legislation, a ministerial order will establish an observatory for the analysis and monitoring of the application and effectiveness of the measures adopted. This observatory will be composed of representatives from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Universities, the State Secretariat for Social Security and Pensions, and the most representative business and labor organizations. To this end, it will periodically propose measures aimed at adapting the regulations and coverage for students undertaking external training or academic placements included in training programs.
You can contact this professional office for any questions or clarifications you may have.
Warm regards,
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A Àmbit Assessor, SL has 40 years dedicated to the tax, comptable and labor consultancy of the Pime.
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