Estate Agents Prepare “ERTEs” for up to 80% of their Workforces

23 March 2020 – Brainsre.news

The sector is preparing itself for a wave of ERTEs (the temporary suspension of employment contracts or of regular working hours). Meanwhile, the trade unions and associations are waiting for the administrations to decide whether the cases submitted by estate agents qualify as being due to force majeure.

One of the consequences of the state of emergency resulting from the coronavirus has been the closure of estate agents’ premises and the impossibility of them being able to carry out their activity. Unions and trade associations in the sector estimate that temporary employment regulation files (or ERTEs) in the sector may affect 80% of the workers in these businesses, according to Ejeprime.

The Head of Real Estate at CCOO, Sofía Castillo, said that “it is difficult to collect information from companies” since the sector mostly comprises SMEs, and union penetration is low. In addition, she warned that some administrations are overturning some of the ERTEs due to force majeure submitted by companies in the sector, which is forcing those companies to submit them for other reasons and for the timeframes to be extended.

Original Story: Brainsre.news

Translation/Summary: Carmel Drake