If a person collects ‘unemployment’, can they carry out any economic activity and earn money from it? If the income you receive through this channel is minimal, just a few hundred euros per month? The Superior Court of Justice of Galicia (TSXG) has just published a ruling that dispels doubts about this scenario and, in the process, draws attention to the Public Employment Service (SEPE). And all for an unemployed man from Vigo who for a time devoted himself to selling grapes and wood to supplement his native economy.
To understand the case, we must go back to the summer of 2021, when the SEPE Provincial Directorate of Pontevedra recognized Victorio’s right to collect unemployment benefits. Specifically, he had 720 days guaranteeing him a source of income till August 2023. The fact is that the man was not satisfied with the SEPE subsidy and decided Complete your economy He sold what he got from the fields and hills.
We know the statistics thanks to the TSXG file that analyzes the case, and that exclusively, Voice of Galicia.
wood and grapes
In 2021 Victorio earned 5,371 euros from the sale of grapes and 3,571 euros from the sale of wood. The following year he earned 9,030 euros from the vineyard and 4,081 euros from the wood. However, there is an important nuance: these amounts show “gross income”, the “net” income, which is obtained once costs are excluded and reflects the actual benefit that the person receives, is much lower.
The net income in the first year was 1,222 euros and in the second year 2,348. In total, just over 3,500 in two years. More or less, the fact that SEPE ended gave Victorio a “Withdrawal procedure Unemployment benefits.” Their complaint was of little avail.
At the beginning of 2024 the public body takes a decision:
“Review the tenure of recognized benefits from August 13, 2021 to August 12, 2023, suspending it for a total of 213 days, 95 in 2021, 65 in 2022 and 53 in 2023, and declare improper realization, amounting to SEPEC, 9,20,7,20,000. To calculate that amount you Before providing details of the periods used, the victim complained, but was again denied by the employment service.
The case could have ended there, but it got complicated with new heroes. In April 2024, the Labor Inspectorate issued a report warning that Victoria’s agricultural and forestry activities “Residual and Scattered” And it was mainly oriented towards “family self-consumption”. Hence, he did not notice any irregularities that could affect his business. The matter ended up in the Court of Instance of Vigo and settled in chambers of the TSXG.
What is your conclusion? It confirms a previous ruling that partially agreed with Victorio and revokes the decision taken by SEPE in early 2024. In practice, as mentioned Voice of GaliciaThis means that the public body must return the subsidy to the unemployed. However, the most interesting thing about the TSXG judgment is not its final conclusion but the reasoning.
While reviewing the jurisprudence and reflecting on the case, the Galician High Court made several interesting comments. The first relates to Victorio’s income.
The TSXG recalls that in general “any activity on its own account or on behalf of another (…) incompatible including unemployment benefit”, but adds: “However, this activity must have some economic relevance and it does not, because the net income obtained from the sale of grapes and wood amounts to 1,222.3 euros in 2021; 2,348.45 in 2022 and an estimated 1,700 in 2023 of recognized unemployment benefits, its reversal and approval of any nature lacks sufficient significance to lead to a conclusion of inconsistency.”
If it is not clear, the judge notes that the amount earned from the sale of grapes and wood did not reach 200 euros per month analyzed, below 75% of the SMI.
“They are insignificant from the point of view of their effect on the essential income of the appellant and are conceptually completely remote from being considered as a ‘job’, whether self-employed or employed or part-time, which enables him to survive.” “It does not offer the possibility of personal support for you and your family, although it does reveal an activity scattered and merely marginal“
The TSXG document also states that, although the LGSS (Social Security Regulation) addresses anomalies related to agricultural holdings, “such anomalies must be excluded when agricultural work is specified, as in the case of a reduced harvest for household consumption, in terms of express limitations.”
“Contrary involves maintaining Ignore a sociological reality And as is the case, leads to disproportionate consequences.”
On its website, SEPE details the conditions under which it is possible to work while receiving benefits or subsidies. As a general rule, the agency considers self-employed and employed work to be inconsistent situations, except when the latter is performed “part-time” and an adjustment is requested. In that case, a portion proportionate to the amount of work will be deducted from the benefit amount.
Yes, “any form of minimum income, social wage or similar social support assistance” is considered compatible
The legal framework has been updated with Royal Decree Law 2/2024.
Picture | Andrea Chirone (Unsplash) 1 and 2
Through this Voice of Galicia
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