It is a well-known fact that the manufacturing industry has the obligation to maintain competitiveness in Europe if it wants to guarantee its economic growth in an increasingly globalized market. Nowadays, If a company does not commit to innovating and digitally transforming, it runs the risk of being left behind. and even lose their place in the market. Given this situation, how can manufacturing companies ensure their long-term survival and competitiveness in this scenario?
A strategic solution is – without intending to influence your choice – partial retirement with a replacement contract, a mechanism that allows maintaining the knowledge and experience accumulated over the years by workers close to retirement, at the same time which facilitates the rejuvenation of the workforce by incorporating young talents with the necessary physical capacity for the demands of a sector such as manufacturing.
The legal framework: a current opportunity
The partial retirement mechanism with a relief contract, extended until December 31, 2024 by Royal Decree Law 20/2022, modified section 6 of the fourth transitional provision of the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law (LGSS) approved by the?Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, of October 30,?extending the effects provided for therein, in such a way that?the regulation for the partial retirement modality with simultaneous execution of a contract will continue to apply. relief, in force prior to the entry into force of Law 27/2011, of August 1, to pensions accrued before January 1, 2024.
Partial retirement, regulated per se in article 215 of the LGSS, allows workers who meet the conditions required to have right to contributory Social Security retirement pensionreduce their working hours while receiving a proportional part of their retirement pension.
For its part, the relief contract, included in article 12 sections 6 and 7 of the Workers’ Statute, allows the company to hire a worker – a reliever – to cover the part-time vacancy left by the partially retired worker, allowing the transfer of accumulated knowledge to new incorporations. So, The duration of the relief contract will have to be indefinite or, at least, equal to the time that the replaced worker is missing from reaching ordinary retirement age.
Thus, the partially retired worker becomes a “mentor” for the reliever, ensuring that the transfer of responsibilities is carried out gradually, minimizing the risk of loss of company knowledge.
In turn, when the partial retiree reaches ordinary retirement age, the position will probably pass to the full reliever.
Requirements to access a relief contract
To be relieved, the worker must:
- Be unemployed, or
- have a fixed-term contract with the company.
Requirements to access partial retirement
The requirements to implement this modality in the manufacturing industry (CNAE Group C) are the following:
- Qualities of the worker: the partial retirement modality is intended for workers who carry out physically demanding activities or that require high technical specialization.
- Seniority and contributions: a minimum stay of 6 years in the company and 33 years of contributions is required (25 years for people with a disability of 33% or more).
- Reduction in working hours: the worker’s working hours can be reduced between 25% and 67%, or up to 80% if the hired relief worker works on a permanent, full-time contract. These percentages will be understood as referring to the working day of a comparable full-time worker.
- Contribution base of the reliever: to maintain financial stability, the contribution base of the reliever must be at least 6 5% of the average base of the last six months of the partially retired worker.
- Age of the worker: the worker must be at least 61 years old to access partial retirement (or 60 if he or she was a mutual member before January 1, 1967).
- Business conditions: at least 70% of the workforce must have permanent contracts.
Conclusion of the analysis
Clearly, with the implementation of the partial retirement modality with simultaneous conclusion of a replacement contract, the company manages to “renew part of its workforce” without having to resort to layoffs or carrying out a significantly smaller number of them.
De facto, Job stability becomes a prioritysince many relievers end up covering the position of the working person who partially retires. Thus, the reliever, by being gradually trained and supervised by the worker whose working hours are reduced due to partial retirement, acquires the necessary skills to fill the gap that the latter leaves, guaranteeing that the intellectual capital of the company is not lose in addition to facilitating a smooth transition to full retirement.
In general terms, The salaries of workers with greater seniority tend to be higherwhile the relievers, being younger or with fewer years of experience in the company, receive lower remuneration. This salary difference contributes to the company achieving a cost reduction to the extent that the reliever covers the reduced hours of the partially retired worker, without this having a negative impact on the company’s productivity.
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