Thinking of an internship in Spanish? University scholarships have been a gateway to the world of work for young people for years in Spain. Although, of course, they have their problems. The conditions of the internship will be modified in the coming months.
The draft of the so-called Internship Holder Statute seeks to improve the needs of the trainee. At present, Spanish regulation is lax in several areas. In order to fix it, an agreement on new conditions is being sought between employers and trade unions. However, for the time being, there will not appear to be unanimity.
New Rights for Internships in Spanish
The draft law has been promoted by the Ministry of Labor and will radically change what we currently understand as an intern. So if you want to start an internship in Spanish, pay attention! The law will bring Spain closer to the European context in this respect. And it is marked by 5 main lines:
- Salary. Currently, there is no obligation for internships to be paid. With the new law, a salary is guaranteed, which must be sufficient to cover basic travel, accommodation and living expenses. If this is not the case, the company must cover these expenses separately. There is currently no minimum salary.
- Limit of trainees. The maximum number of trainees will be 20% of the workforce, to prevent companies from covering structural needs with trainees. The exception is very small companies, which may always have two trainees, not counting the number of employees.
- Vacations and schedules. The draft promotes the right to vacations for an internship in Spanish, which remains unregulated at present. Legal breaks and holidays must be respected. In addition, their conditions are unified with those of workers regulated by the collective bargaining agreement. Regarding working hours, night work is prohibited, except in special cases.
- End of extracurricular internships. In addition to the curricular internships, which are mandatory to obtain the degree, many students could benefit from extracurricular internships. These contracts, not associated with training, will be eliminated. According to the Ministry of Labor and trade unions, it is a major source of fraud, but companies and universities are against its elimination.
- Right to compatibility. Finally, students must be able to take time off for training or health reasons. They will also be able to interrupt their internships due to illness or care needs.
Disagreement on The New Conditions for Internships in Spain
The Ministry of Labor has achieved the broad support of the unions in this draft of the Statute of the Scholarship Holder. However, the employers’ association does not support the text, at least for the time being. The Ministry of Universities also has its misgivings with these new internships in Spanish in Spain.
The discussion is focused on extracurricular internships, which employers and university students do not wish to see eliminated. Moreover, employers explain that their proposals have not been taken into account. According to Labor, however, this law is essential to fight against the precariousness in which around half a million Spanish trainees live.
Next Steps in Spain’s New Internship in Spanish
For the moment, we must remember that we are only talking about a draft law. There are many steps before the Statute of the Scholarship Holder becomes a reality. The Government still has to finalize the negotiation with the social partners.
Then there is still the issue of Social Security contributions to be discussed. Currently, internship holders pay taxes, but they are not entitled to unemployment benefits. The next step is for the draft to go to the Council of Ministers and undergo further modifications.
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