Eurofound's COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the crisis, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.
Factsheet for case ES-2020-36/1479 – measures in Spain
Country |
Spain
, applies regionally
|
Time period | Open ended, started on 31 August 2020 |
Type | Company practices |
Category |
Ensuring business continuity and support for essential services
– Remuneration and rewards for workers in essential services |
Author | Alejandro Godino (UAB) |
Case created | 27 November 2020 (updated 12 February 2021) |
The private hospital company HM Hospitals decided to pay to its staff an extraordinary salary bonus as a reward for the effort during the first months of the pandemic, when they treated more than 23,500 COVID-19 patients in their hospitals in Madrid and more than 1,500 in Barcelona. The company has 17 hospitals in Spain: 10 of them in Madrid and Barcelona.
The bonus was paid during August 2020 to workers of the Madrid and Barcelona HM hospitals (both territories faced the highest numbers of the pandemic in Spain in terms of patients and hospital service congestion) especially to those workers located in the divisions most exposed to the contagion of COVID-19 patients: doctors, nurses, clinic assistants, orderlies, physiotherapists and cleaning personnel. Moreover, HM Hospitals reported that the company does not face a favorable economic situation to assume this extraordinary expense, so it is the Abarca Cidón Family, the Group's main shareholder, who assumes this expense by waiving the dividend corresponding to the 2019 financial year.
A total amount of €2.9 millions of were paid as bonuses to 3,288 workers at the Madrid and Barcelona hospitals. The individual amount varied depending on the occupation and the category.
Workers | Businesses | Citizens |
---|---|---|
Particular professions
Workers in essential services |
Does not apply to businesses | Does not apply to citizens |
Actors | Funding |
---|---|
Company / Companies
|
Companies
Other |
Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:
Trade unions | Employers' organisations | |
---|---|---|
Role | Unknown | No involvement |
Form | Not applicable | Not applicable |
Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
There is no evidence of any involvement of unions or of employer organisations in this initiative.
AMYTS (the majority union among the Madrid medical professionals) has celebrated this measure, considering that it should serve as an example for the rest of private hospitals (public hospitals have already implemented similar measures).
This case is sector-specific (only private sector)
Economic area | Sector (NACE level 2) |
---|---|
Q - Human Health And Social Work Activities | Q86 Human health activities |
This case is occupation-specific
Occupation (ISCO level 2) |
---|
Health professionals |
Cleaners and helpers |
Citation
Eurofound (2020), Salary bonus for HM Hospitals workers, case ES-2020-36/1479 (measures in Spain), COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, http://eurofound.link/covid19eupolicywatch
Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process. All information is preliminary and subject to change.