Self-employed organizations are making moves to break the deadlock in reaching an agreement with the Spanish government.

MadridThe new social security contributions for the self-employed are one of the hot potatoes the Spanish government has on its plate and must resolve before the end of the year. The idea is that new social security contributions will come into effect on January 1, 2026, but negotiations between the Ministry of Social Security and the main organizations are stalled. With no date in sight for a new meeting, in recent days the main self-employed workers' organizations have made their demands clear. First, ATA, the organization within the Spanish employers' federation CEOE, did so; then UPTA, linked to UGT; and this Monday, UATAE, close to CCOO, followed suit. The organization headed by María José Landaburu has not only supported freezing current social security contributions for the lowest income brackets—a move also applauded by ATA—but is also proposing subsidies for social security contributions in brackets below the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) and in intermediate brackets. Specifically, UATAE has detailed its support for a "regressive" subsidy of contributions for self-employed workers with lower incomes. This means a larger subsidy for the lowest brackets, gradually decreasing for higher brackets. "Reducing contributions for the lowest brackets without any additional measures leads to a reduction in contribution bases, which diminishes social protection for the most vulnerable, despite their significant contributions," the association argued at a press conference this Monday. If put into practice, Landaburu explained that this bonus would translate into a reduction in the current minimum rate paid by self-employed workers with net income below the minimum wage. It's worth remembering that the reform approved in 2022 and implemented in 2023 requires self-employed workers to contribute based on their actual income, so that future social security benefits, historically much lower than those of workers affiliated with the general Social Security system, are higher. At the beginning of negotiations for new contributions starting in 2026, the Spanish government proposed a general increase for the period 2026-2028. Faced with this rejection, the ministry headed by Elma Saiz has revised its proposal and is now focusing solely on 2026. It has proposed a freeze on contributions for the lowest income brackets and a progressive increase of up to 2.5% in the case of the highest brackets.

Improving the so-called "unemployment of the self-employed"

The organization has also focused on the unemployment subsidy for those over 52 and has requested that it be extended to self-employed workers (it currently only applies to those affiliated with the general Social Security system). It is also demanding improvements to the benefit for cessation of activity: the so-called "unemployment benefit for the self-employed." In this regard, it proposes, among other things, that the economic grounds for accessing this benefit include current losses, without requiring them to be extended for a full year or to reach a certain percentage of income. It also includes anticipated future losses, even if they have not yet materialized.