Special System for Domestic Employees

In accordance with the Thirty-Ninth Additional Provision of Law 27/2011, of 1 August (BOE of 2 August), and effective from 1 January 2012, the Special Scheme for Domestic Employees of the Social Security has been included in the General Scheme of the Social Security, through the creation of a Special System for Domestic Employees.

For 2020, the provisions of Article 4.2 of Royal Decree-Law 28/2018, of 28 December, regarding the application of a 20 percent reduction to the business payment to the Social Security contribution for common contingencies in the Special System for Domestic Employees, are maintained as provided for in Article 7.3 of Royal Decree-Law 18/2019, of 27 December. Employers who have hired, under any type of contract, and have registered a domestic employee in this Special System from 1 January 2012, as long as the employee did not have active full-time contributor status in this Special System for the same employer, over the period from 2 August to 31 December 2011, will receive the reduction.

The above reduction in payments will be extended with a rebate up to 45 percent for large families, under the terms provided for in Articles 2 and 9 of Law 40/2003, of 18 November, on the protection of large families, provided that the two parents, or one parent in the case of single-parent families,, as defined in article 2(3), work as employees or self-employed workers outside the home or are unable to work.

For special category large families, it is unnecessary for both parents to work outside the home to apply this benefit.

In any case, the above rebate applies only to hiring one caregiver per family unit that is officially recognised as a large family.

Deductions from contributions in the form of reductions in Social Security contributions for which the employer is liable, or allowances in their own contributions, will not be applicable in cases in which domestic employees who provide services for less than 60 hours a month per employer are responsible for tallying, contributions and collection under the special system, in accordance with provisions set forth in the additional provision twenty-four of the General Social Security Act.

Person responsible

The employer shall be responsible for paying the fees, in accordance with the regulations of the Social Security General System. The fees shall be made by direct debit or bank transfer.

From 01-04-2013 onwards the employee may agree to be responsible for tallying, contributions and collection, as long as the number of monthly hours worked is less than 60, in accordance with Article 43.2 of Royal Decree 84/1996, of 26 January, approving the General Regulations for General Regulation on Registration of Companies and Affiliation, Registering, Deregistering and Changes of Worker Information in Social Security (BOE 27-2-96).

Time frame

The monthly payments will be made during the following month. 

Surcharges and late payment penalty

Once the regulatory period for payments to Social Security has ended without the payments having been made, and without prejudice to the special treatment given to instalment payments, the following surcharges will be levied:

• Surcharges:
  
  Surcharge of 20% of the debt, if paid after the period expires.
  
• Late payment penalty:
  
  The late payment interest shall accrue from the day following the end of the regulation period for making payments, although it will be payable fifteen calendar days after the court order notice or notification of the start of the deduction procedure, if the debt has not been paid.
  
  Likewise, this penalty will also be payable when the debt amount has not been paid within the period set in rulings rejecting appeals presented against the debt claims or settlement reports, if the execution of these rulings should be suspended in the contentious-administrative appeal process.
  
  The late payment penalty required will be the interest on the principal sum due, accrued from the end of the regulatory payment period, plus the interest accrued on the surcharge applicable at the time of payment, from the date on which it is required, according to the above paragraph.
  
  The late payment penalty rate will be the legal financial interest rate in force at any time during the period of accrual, plus 25 percent, unless established otherwise under the General State Budget Act. For 2017, 3.75%.