Hi all well my 1st post here and i look forward to anyone?s help.

Well here?s my story and i hope someone can help.

I’ve recently begun talking to my partner?s uncle who last year moved out to Spain.

He knows someone who works in a IT firm (which is my field) and can possibly get me a job working out there etc any who regardless of that i have been told a fact that im not to sure about due to this uncle being a lil bit of a show off / fibber.

He’s told me that if i were to work 6 months out there throughout the summer period i would then be paid around half my salary for them months in the winter as part of something that Spain tends to do? Seemed like easy / free money if you ask me. Ive spoken to him about this and he swears its true.

Anyone know anything about this?

Im just worried come winter if i lost my IT roll i wouldnt have any work?

Thanks

Scott.

I belive he called it something like IDOUA

Can’t say I’ve heard of anything like that. I mean, there’s unemployment insurance out here, or social security, just like back home. Social security requires more like a year to qualify though. My info on this is iffy but I can honestly say I’ve never heard of anything where you’d work 6 months and then receive pay for 6 months except, POSSIBLY, in something like the construction industy or fisheries or seasonal employment like that.

Sounds like the show-off is, unfortunately, showing off… I could be wrong though!

Anyone else?

hmm not sure were i should go in the uk to find out about this stuff. if there an agency or anything. hmm not sure were to start. ive looked abotu onliune but theres nothing much to look at. im just worried if i move out there for this IT job and 6 months later im not needed im stuck for work. im not to keen on bar work etc that aint me. and i dont think they have much office work etc like what i do now. hmm really wanna move out there just so confused on what to do etc and what the jobs are like out there

I just found this.

The Social Security System in Spain
The Spanish social security system is much like the British one, in that you pay your contributions every month, and that entitles you to a pension, unemployment benefit, sick pay, maternity pay and the right to receive free healthcare. The amount of pension or benefit you receive depends on the level of contributions you have been paying.

Once you take any job in Spain your employer is required to register you in the social security system and to deduct any contributions payable by you from your wages. You will need to register for your NIE number first. You should be a little careful too: some small businesses pay all their staff cash in hand and those staff will not be eligible for Social Security benefits, including health care. Other employers may register you, but claim you are working less than you are, thus saving themselves some money in contributions. In this situation you will still be eligible for health care, but if you become unemployed or have to take sick leave, your benefits will be lower. Obviously you may not have much of a choice as to who you work for, but we would strongly recommend that you do not work cash-in-hand.

If you are self-employed you will have to go to the local Social Security office and fill in all the paper-work yourself. Unless your Spanish is very good, then it is probably advisable to get a gestor (official agent - a bit like a lawyer for menial bureaucracy) to do this for you. The minimum monthly contribution for the self employed in Spain is currently 225EUR per month.

Claiming Social Security Benefits in Spain
If you are claiming jobseeker’s allowance, a pension or certain other benefits when you leave the UK, you may be able to get your claim transferred to Spain. See The Department for Work and Pensions website for details. If you leave a job in order to move to Spain, you will not be able to claim any benefits.

If you have been employed in Spain for 6 months and you lose your job, you will generally be entitled to Spanish unemployment benefit. If you are employed or self-employed, you will also be entitled to sick pay, maternity pay and, when you retire, a pension. All benefits are paid at variable rates depending on the level of your contributions. If you have been paying minimum social security contributions the amount you will receive in benefits is currently around 750 EUR per month. If you are planning to live in Spain long term you should contact the DSS overseas department (above) in order to get your UK NI contributions transferred to the Spanish system.

Hehe, good digging! Looks like you’ve found most of the answers to your questions about social security here! So, what do you think you’ll do?

IMHO, if you arrive in Spain and settle in, after 6 months you won’t want to leave and a temp bar position won’t be looking so bad 😉. Then again there seems to be at least some decent IT work around.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

Im thinking about doing it after xmas. i have my gf’s uncle out there anyway who we can live with for a month or so till we find something of our own. the main worry about IT work is that i cant speak /read spanish and your windows systems will be mostly gobbledegook to me lol hmm well see reason im not a fan of bar work is ive never done it plus i dont knwo the 1st thing about drinks ( not really a drink myself ) hmm really wanna do it though.

Yeah, I hear ya (about the bar work), I’m kinda like that myself.

If you’re any good with Windows I doubt you’ll have too much of a problem. I was troubleshooting Windows in Spanish inside of a week, without learning any Spanish. Once in a while you’ll need someone to help you translate the error messages of course… but hopefully you’ll have someone around for that, no?

It being Windows you might drive that person nuts of course. 😉

So you live out there yourself mate? can i ask what you do out there? you lived out there long etc. whats your “deal” 😛

Scott