El Gobierno aprueba terminar con la discriminación histórica de las condiciones laborales que sufren las empleadas de hogar

The Council of Ministers approved on Tuesday the Royal Decree-Law for the improvement of the working conditions and social security of domestic workers, a historical norm that ends with the discrimination suffered by many women.
The text has been prepared in contact with the trade union organizations and the platforms of domestic workers who have been claiming this rule for decades.

The regulation aims to equate the working and social security conditions of family domestic workers with those of other employed persons in order to end the historical discrimination of this feminized group.

This element of devaluation of domestic work has been maintained in the norms and is corrected to end with the historical undervaluation of a work carried out mostly by women, which has contributed to the perpetuation of stereotypes and the aggravation of the gender gap.

It is therefore resolved to equate with employed persons both in the context of the extinguishing system of the employment relationship and in that of the unemployment benefit.

It will also guarantee the protection of the safety and health of people in the service of the family home equivalent to that of any other working person, essential not only to ensure the equalization of conditions required by the anti-discrimination regulations of the European Union and ILO Convention 189, but also to guarantee the constitutional right to health that corresponds to all people.

Coverage in the area of wage security is also provided to domestic workers in cases of employer insolvency or insolvency.

Protection for unemployment

Domestic workers are no longer the only working group that lacked protection in a situation of unemployment despite the fact that most have part-time and intermittent employment relationships, which often end suddenly due to the death of their employers and with a special regime of dismissal that allowed arbitrary and untimely dismissals without any type of compensation.

In this context of special vulnerability, the provision of unemployment is, from the perspective of social justice, an inescapable necessity.

Bonuses

It will be obligatory to contribute for unemployment and to the Salary Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) from October 1. So that these contributions do not represent an economic overhang for the employers, they will be entitled to an 80% bonus in the business contributions to the unemployment contribution and to the FOGASA in this Special System.

The reduction of 20% in the business contribution to the contribution for common contingencies corresponding to this Special System is maintained. In addition, the bonus tranches of more than 20% will be increased, depending on the composition of the home and also on income and wealth levels, which will allow the number of beneficiaries to increase. The requirements for these bonuses will be determined by regulation.
 
In addition, the Royal Decree-Law also establishes that employers will assume the contribution obligations for workers who provide their services for less than 60 hours/month per employer, eliminating the possibility that it is the workers who directly request their affiliation, hikes, casualties and variations of data.

End of Withdrawal

The figure of withdrawal, which allowed dismissal without cause and, therefore, without the guarantees of dismissal for such situations, is eliminated by allowing domestic workers to be dispensed with without justifying any cause.

From now on, the reasons that may lead to the termination of the contract with the employees must be accredited, thus extending the protection against dismissal.

Accreditation of competences

The Government will develop training and accreditation policies for domestic workers dedicated to the care or care of people who are part of the domestic and family environment. These initiatives will take into account the particular working conditions in this sector and the working people who carry out their activity in it.

Occupational diseases

The regulation also establishes the commitment to create a study committee whose objective is the inclusion of a gender perspective in the category of diseases so that the deficiencies that exist in the field of protection against occupational diseases of the work carried out mostly by women are identified and corrected.