Gender violence victims entitled to unemployment benefit from November

Victims of gender or sexual violence will be able to request unemployment benefits starting November 1, for a maximum period of 30 months, according to Royal Decree-Law 2/2024 of May 21 approved this week by the Council of Ministers and published in the Official State Gazette.

Specifically, victims of violence who do not have the right to contributory-level unemployment benefits, and who have not been beneficiaries of three rights to the Active Income Insertion program, who are registered as job seekers, may apply for unemployment benefits, if they lack their own income.

The subsidy reform improves the amounts of the subsidies during the first 12 months of receipt, establishing three sections: the subsidy will be 95% of the IPREM during the first six months of collection (570 euro per month with the current IPREM), 90% for the next six months (540 euro) and the current 80% for the rest of the duration of the benefit (480 euro).

New groups will be able to access this pension, such as the aforementioned victims from the age of 16, as well as returned emigrants, children under 45 years of age without family responsibilities, and temporary agricultural workers from across the State.

It will also apply to victims of violence committed by their parents or their children. In this case, the situation of violence will be proven by sentence or any other judicial resolution that agrees on a precautionary measure in favour of the victim, or by the report of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

This subsidy is incompatible with self-employment, although it does not imply mandatory inclusion in any of the Social Security regimes or in any alternative social security mutual society.

The rule specifies that the compatibility with employed work of subsidies for returned emigrants and for victims of gender or sexual violence will apply from June 1, 2025. Thus, from November 1, 2024 until May 31, 2025, these two subsidies will be incompatible with employed work, except when this is done part-time.

If they have exhausted the maximum duration of the subsidy that corresponds in each case due to being victims of gender or sexual violence, they may access it again if they request it, proving that they meet the required requirements, once three or more years have passed since the birth of the first right to Active Insertion Income.