For the first time, it will audit all contracts thanks to a new massive data analytics tool
The Labor Inspectorate expects to convert 100,000 temporary contracts into permanent contracts next year thanks to its checks on their legality. After the labor reform adopted in December 2021, the employment or service contract expires, the contracts are assumed to be for an indefinite period and there is only one fixed-term employment contract, which can be concluded for production conditions or by replacement of the employee, whereby exactly the cause is specified that enables them (productive or replacement) and their relationship to the expected duration.
The control of this type of contract will translate into those 100,000 new permanent jobs, which represents an increase of 11.1% compared to the implementation planned for this year of the conversion of 90,000 temporary jobs into permanent jobs after almost half a million have examined contracts. These numbers leave a ratio that one in five temporary contracts does not comply with the law.
Next year, however, Labor plans to check all employment contracts with a new tool, the HLF (Fraud Fighting Tool), which will make it possible to examine the entire universe of contracts through the massive analysis of databases.
The inspection activity of the Ministry of Labor will be refocused in order, according to the executive, to cope with the “weakening of working conditions produced in previous years, restore labor rights and improve the quality of employment and working conditions.” .”
The Inspectorate will focus on the abuse of temporary contracts, especially among young employees, the fraudulent use of part-time contracts and the fraudulent use of discontinuous permanent contracts. Given the relevance of this type of employment relationship, this new indicator has been included for 2023.
With the labor reform, the scope of discontinuous permanent contracts has been significantly expanded, so that it can now be used for performing jobs of a seasonal nature or linked to seasonal productive activities, or for jobs with certain execution times; also for the provision of services under foreseeable commercial or administrative contracts and which are part of the normal activity of the company; and they can be used by employment agencies to cover contracts related to the temporary needs of user companies.
With all this, discontinuous permanent contracts have tripled and are presented as an alternative to temporary contracts. Once the company hires a permanent discontinuous employee, he or she becomes part of the company’s workforce, with the same rights as a permanent employee, albeit with the specifics of his or her discontinuous activity. The company registers the employee with social security while he/she accrues his/her benefit with the same contributions as an unspecified person; and when the work period ends, they are fired and can apply for unemployment benefits if they meet the requirements.
Likewise, false wage contributions, false self-employed, false co-op members, and false interns (companies hire employees below these self-employed or intern figures to save social security contributions) will remain under the microscope of the inspection.
The monitoring of non-payment of salaries, in whole or in part, and their delay will be strengthened, with special attention to the minimum interprofessional salary; and in terms of working time, both in the case of irregular overtime and part-time work that masks longer working hours. Specifically, the Ministry of Labor plans to carry out 27,000 actions to control working time next year.
On the other hand, Yolanda Díaz’s department plans to conduct one and a half million checks to verify that unemployment benefits requirements are met and whether half a million claims for reimbursement of ill-gotten gains are made. A figure that barely exceeds a third of the claims made this year, but which the ministry justifies because it only concerns budgetary targets. In fact, every year the implementation far exceeds forecasts, so the target set is certainly very conservative.
In addition to monitoring, the Department of Labor will also focus on detecting training needs for labor market retraining, including digital skills and for the ecological transition, and anticipating change and responding to demand that may arise.
In this regard, the government expects at least 825,000 people to have completed training programs to acquire skills for digital, environmental and productive transformation by the end of 2025. Along the way, 150,000 people will be discouraged or fired as they calculate that 975,000 will be enrolled in these training actions.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
