Can I collect unemployment and be registered as a self-employed worker?

unemployment is a contributory benefit that protects the worker in a situation of unemployment. Being a contributory benefit, it is available to those workers who have lost their job after have contributed for at least one year during the last six years. The Public State Employment Service (SEPE) is the competent body to manage this benefit.

You will pay it for a maximum of two years, although its duration will vary according to the time quoted during the last six years. During that period, the worker may have options to return to work and this will affect the unemployment rate. If you start working as a freelancer, it is possible to collect unemployment and be registered on your own or recover unemployment if the job does not last.

Maintain unemployment while being self-employed

The SEPE allows the option of continuing to collect unemployment if the worker registers as self-employed as long as they meet certain criteria. First of all, what the duration of self-employment is limited, a maximum of 270 days or during the shorter time that the worker has left to receive unemployment.

The SEPE explains that this option will be possible if the worker previously “He has totally and definitively ceased his work activity”. In addition, it is required to request compatibility within the “non-extendable” period of 15 days from the start date of the self-employed activity.

If the above requirements are not met, the strike will be terminated. The worker must communicate his new registration situation to the SEPE, although he can obtain information by other means. In this sense, they recall that “the consequence of not communicating the placement could be the loss of benefit due to a penalty”.

Suspension or extinction of unemployment?

In these cases, the strike may be terminated or suspended. Again it will depend on the duration of the self-employment. Specific, if it lasts less than 60 months, the unemployment payment can be resumed with the amount that was being received before registering as self-employed and with the duration that was pending.

In addition, the SEPE specifies that the benefit may be resumed, even if the worker has not registered on their own, if the job has lasted less than 24 months. If the duration is greater than 24 months, the resumption will be possible if the worker has registered as self-employed in the Special Regime of the Social Security for Self-Employed or Self-Employed Workers or in the Special Regime for Sea Workers. Otherwise, the unemployment benefit will be extinguished.

However, it must be taken into account that by being active before Social Security, you are contributing again for unemployment. Thus, if after ceasing self-employment you are entitled to protection for cessation of activity, You can choose between receiving this benefit or continuing to receive unemployment protection that was suspended. In this sense, if the worker opts for the benefit that was suspended, the contributions that gave rise to the benefit that he has not chosen will not be taken into account to access a subsequent benefit.

How much unemployment am I going to collect?

To decide which option is more convenient, you can look at the amount obtained. To determine the amount charged for unemployment, the SEPE uses the average of the worker’s contribution base for the last 180 days worked. During the first 180 days, 70% of the regulatory base is charged and if after 180 days, unemployment continues to be collected, the amount is reduced to 60% of the same regulatory base.

Even so, the result of this calculation may not be less than the minimum limit, nor greater than the maximum limit established in the Law according to the public indicator of multiple effects income (IPREM) and depending on whether or not they have dependent sons or daughters. In 2023, the minimum amount of unemployment benefits is 560 euros if the beneficiary does not have children or 749 for people with dependent children. The maximum amount is 1,225 euros for people without children, 1,400 euros for people with one child and 1,575 euros for people with more than one dependent child.