The minimum wage that employers may pay their employees. The Spanish government revises this wage each year, following discussions with the country's most representative business associations and unions, and on the basis of the rise in the retail price index (referred to as the IPC in Catalan), the national average in terms of levels of productivity, the proportion of the national income represented by work and the general economic situation.
The National Institute for Social Security is the Spanish public social protection system. It applies to all Spain's inhabitants and is based on the principle of financial solidarity, meaning that it is financed by money contributed by employers, workers and the state alike. The system covers eventualities such as illnesses, accidents at work, retirement, being widowed or orphaned, disability, etc.
A separation that occurs as the result of a mutual agreement between both spouses or of a decision made by just one of them (leaving the family home, for example).
A body of the Catalan government. The SOC is a free, public facility, the basic function of which is labour mediation, i.e. establishing contact between people looking for work and companies that need workers.
Part of the Catalan social services system and the first source of social care for citizens. Basic primary social services are open to everyone who lives in Catalonia, and you should go to those corresponding to the district, town, city or area where you are included on the population register.
Services that provide support, guidance and protection, and which the authorities make available to people whose wellbeing is affected by problems related to finances, health, social exclusion or a lack of personal autonomy, which they are unable to solve without assistance.
An expression that refers to the absence of a decision from the authorities on procedures undertaken by citizens. Administrative silence is assumed to entail a particular decision (either positive or negative, as specified by law), enabling citizens to protect their rights and make petitions, claims or appeals, as appropriate.
The act of signing up to be a member of a union. Unions are associations formed by workers for the purposes of protecting and promoting their members' economic and social interests. Unions usually join together within federations or trade union confederations, which may be independent or may have a political orientation.
A home's water, electricity and gas.