All the new regulations for self-employed workers published on October 25, 2017 in the BOE (Official State Gazette) are now applicable

Last October the government established a series of measures that favored the current conditions of self-employed workers in matters of Social Security, some of them applicable from September and others coming into force from January 1, 2018.

One of the most anticipated measures for this year is the improvement of the flat rate for self-employed workers.

Effective January 1, 2018, the flat rate of €50 for initial registrations in the RETA (Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers) is extended from six months to one year. Furthermore, it will be possible to resume business activity at the flat rate after two years of inactivity, without having to wait five years.

1. Self-employed workers who register for the first time or who have not been registered in the Special Social Security Scheme for Self-Employed Workers in the two years immediately preceding their registration date will be entitled to a reduction in their social security contributions for common contingencies. This includes temporary disability, which will be set at €50 per month for the 12 months immediately following their registration date, if they choose to contribute based on the minimum contribution base applicable to them.

Alternatively, those self-employed workers who, meeting the requirements set out in the previous paragraph, opt for a contribution base higher than the minimum that corresponds to them, may apply for the first 12 months immediately following the effective date of registration, an 80 percent reduction on the contribution for common contingencies, the contribution to be reduced being the result of applying to the corresponding minimum contribution base the minimum contribution rate in force at any given time, including temporary incapacity.

Following the initial 12-month period provided for in the two preceding paragraphs, and regardless of the chosen contribution base, self-employed workers benefiting from the measure provided for in this article may apply the following reductions and bonuses to the contribution for common contingencies, the contribution to be reduced or bonused being the result of applying to the corresponding minimum contribution base the minimum contribution rate in force at any given time, including temporary incapacity, for a maximum period of up to 12 months, until completing a maximum period of 24 months after the effective date of registration, according to the following scale:

1. a) A reduction equivalent to 50 percent of the fee during the 6 months following the initial period provided for in the first two paragraphs of this section.
2. b) A reduction equivalent to 30 percent of the fee during the 3 months following the period indicated in point a).
3. c) A bonus equivalent to 30 percent of the fee for the 3 months following the period indicated in letter b).
4. If self-employed workers are under 30 years of age, or under 35 in the case of women, and are registering for the first time or have not been registered in the Special Social Security Scheme for Self-Employed Workers in the two years immediately preceding their registration date, they may apply, in addition to the reductions and bonuses provided for in the previous section, an additional bonus equivalent to 30 percent on the contribution for common contingencies for the 12 months following the end of the bonus period provided for in section 1. The contribution to which the bonus is applied is the result of applying the minimum contribution rate in force at any given time, including temporary disability, to the corresponding minimum contribution base. In this case, the maximum duration of the reductions and bonuses will be 36 months.
5. The period of deregistration from the Special Social Security Scheme for Self-Employed Workers, required in the previous sections to be entitled to the contribution benefits provided therein in the event of resuming a self-employed activity, will be 3 years when self-employed workers have enjoyed said benefits in their previous period of registration in the aforementioned special scheme.
6. In the event that the effective date of the registrations referred to in sections 1 and 2 does not coincide with the first day of the respective calendar month, the benefit corresponding to that month will be applied proportionally to the number of days of registration in the same.
7. The provisions of the preceding sections shall also apply, when they meet the requirements established therein, to self-employed workers who are included in the first contribution group of the Special Social Security Scheme for Seafarers and to the partners of worker companies and to the working partners of associated work cooperatives who are included in the Special Social Security Scheme for Self-Employed Workers or in the Special Social Security Scheme for Seafarers, within the first contribution group.
8. The provisions of this article shall apply even if the beneficiaries of this measure, once they have commenced their activity, employ workers on their own behalf. 7. The contribution reductions provided for in this article shall be financed from the corresponding budget item of the State Public Employment Service, and the contribution reductions shall be borne by the Social Security revenue budget, respectively.
9. The contribution benefits provided for in this article shall consist of a bonus for self-employed workers registered in the National Youth Guarantee System who meet the requirements established in article 105 of Law 18/2014, of October 15, approving urgent measures for growth, competitiveness and efficiency, with said bonus being applied under the same terms as the incentives provided for in section 1 and also being entitled to the additional bonus contemplated in section 2.»

These measures, therefore, are designed to encourage the increase of new businesses and entrepreneurs by facilitating the start of activities without having to assume a self-employed contribution of 275 euros from the beginning.

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Marta Claudia Jabares

Labor consultant at Àmbit Assessor

She studied Accounting and Taxation at the AELLA study center and Labor Relations at the Afige business school, later specializing in Payroll Management at the Barcelona College of Social Graduates. Her professional activity focuses on business consulting, in which she has extensive experience. In November 2007, she joined the Àmbit Assessor team, where she currently works as a Labor Consultant.

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