Hundreds of interim officials of the General State Administration cease this Monday, August 31, after the Administration has linked the end of their appointments to the closure of the execution period of the European funds of the Recovery Plan. The situation now leaves numerous questions among those affected: Can I collect unemployment?, Am I entitled to compensation?, What happens to my vacation?, Do I lose the time worked or can I appeal the termination?
According to what EL PAÍS publishes this Monday, sources from the Administration estimate around 300 affected, while the unions raise the estimate to nearly 1,000. Some interim officials received the communication with about ten days' notice and there are cases where the appointment documentation included dates after August 31. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
However, there is no identical answer for everyone. The outcome will depend on the type and cause of the appointment, the accumulated contributions, the pending vacations, and the specific content of the termination resolution. That is why it is advisable to distinguish between the rights established by the regulations in general and those that need to be studied on a case-by-case basis.
Why can an interim official be terminated?
The Basic Statute of Public Employees establishes that interim officials are appointed temporarily for justified reasons of necessity and urgency. Among the circumstances that allow for their appointment is expressly the execution of temporary programs. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
The regulations also provide that the termination occurs when the cause that justified the appointment ends. In the case of these workers, the Administration interprets that the end of the execution period of the programs linked to the Recovery Plan determines the termination of the positions created specifically for those functions. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
According to the information published this Monday, the State Attorney's Office set the criterion on August 20, which was subsequently communicated by Public Function to the personnel managers of the affected agencies. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
Do I have the right to collect unemployment?
The affected individuals may have the right to contributory unemployment benefits if they have contributed for that contingency and meet the requirements established by the SEPE.
The State Public Employment Service establishes that a person with 360 days or more contributed for unemployment can access the contributory benefit if they have lost their job and meet the other required conditions. The contributions must be within the period that allows generating the right and must not have been previously used for another benefit. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
Those who do not reach 360 days should not automatically assume that they lack any protection. The SEPE contemplates a subsidy for insufficient contributions when at least 90 days have been contributed and the other requirements established for this aid are met. :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
How much time do I have to apply for unemployment benefits?
The application for the contributory benefit must be made, in general, within 15 business days from the legal unemployment situation. :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
There is an important exception when there are pending vacations that are compensated financially. In that case, the worker does not immediately enter a legal unemployment situation: the period begins when the equivalent period of those unused vacations ends. :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
Submitting the application late may imply the loss of benefit days corresponding to the delay, although not necessarily the complete loss of the right. :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}
What happens with the vacations I have not taken?
The Basic Statute of Public Employees establishes that the annual vacations of officials cannot normally be replaced by a monetary amount. However, it introduces an exception when the service relationship ends due to causes beyond the will of the official.
In those cases, the public employee has the right to request financial compensation for the accrued and unused vacations. :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}
Therefore, any affected interim should review which days they have pending and check how they are reflected in the final documentation issued by their personnel unit.
Am I entitled to compensation for the termination?
There is no automatic compensation of 20 days per year for all interim officials who terminate.
The Basic Statute of Public Employees recognizes a compensation equivalent to 20 days of fixed remuneration per year of service, with a maximum of 12 monthly payments, when the Administration fails to meet the maximum periods of stay established for temporary staff. :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}
This is not the same as an ordinary termination motivated by the disappearance of the cause that justified the appointment. Therefore, it cannot be stated that all those affected by the closure of these programs automatically have the right to that compensation. The circumstances of each appointment will need to be studied.
And what if my appointment said I could continue until 2027?
This is one of the most delicate points. According to the information published this Monday, some affected individuals have documentation in which appointment dates were listed after August 31, 2026, even until October 2027. :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12}
The Administration, however, applies the criterion that the end of the program execution period determines the disappearance of the cause that justified the appointment.
In these situations, it cannot be generally stated that the termination is correct or incorrect. It will be necessary to compare the original appointment resolution, its possible extensions, and the individual termination resolution.
Can I appeal the termination?
An administrative act of termination can be appealed if the affected individual considers that it does not comply with the law, but the specific route depends on the resolution received and whether or not it ends the administrative route.
When the act ends the administrative route, Law 39/2015 allows for the optional submission of a reinstatement appeal within one month if the resolution is express, or to go directly to the contentious-administrative jurisdiction. :contentReference[oaicite:13]{index=13}
The general period for filing a contentious-administrative appeal against an express act that ends the administrative route is two months from the day after its notification. :contentReference[oaicite:14]{index=14}
The resolution itself must indicate which appeals can be filed, before which body, and within what period, so that document is essential before deciding any action.
What documentation should I keep?
The affected individuals should keep the initial appointment resolution, possible extensions, communications received during August, and formal termination resolution.
The unions have recommended keeping all that documentation in case of reviewing or challenging the decision. EL PAÍS also reports that many affected individuals initially received communications by email with very little margin before August 31.
It is also useful to check that the services provided and the contributions made are correctly reflected in the corresponding administrative and labor documentation.
Do I lose seniority and the services provided?
The time worked as a temporary civil servant does not disappear by the mere fact of ceasing.
Law 70/1978 establishes that the services provided to the Public Administrations as a temporary civil servant are considered effective services, in addition to those provided under certain administrative or labor modalities.
This regulation allows those periods to be recognized later when appropriate according to the applicable legislation, for example, in certain cases of subsequent access to the status of a career civil servant.
Can I work again as a temporary civil servant?
The current cessation does not in itself prevent a person from being reappointed as a temporary civil servant in the future.
Another different question is what happens with the specific position of each affected individual in the public employment pools. The rules depend on the bases that regulate each pool and the corresponding body, so there is no single rule that allows one to affirm that everyone will automatically retain or lose their position.
This is precisely one of the aspects on which the unions have expressed concern regarding the cessations known this August 31.
Why can some temporary civil servants continue until December?
Not all workers linked to European funds necessarily have to leave their position on August 31.
According to the information published this Monday, some temporary civil servants can continue until December 31, 2026 when their permanence is justified to carry out subsequent tasks of audit or monitoring linked to European funds.
This does not mean that any affected individual can automatically request an extension until December. Continuity depends on the specific functions and on the Administration justifying the need to maintain the position.
What an affected interim should do now
The main reference should be the individual termination resolution. It is advisable to check what legal cause appears, the effective termination date, and the appeal routes indicated by the document itself.
It is also important to review unemployment contributions, pending vacation days, and any duration date that appears in the original appointment resolution or in its extensions.
The general rules allow for answering a good part of the doubts, but issues such as the existence of financial compensation or the real possibilities of appealing must be analyzed individually. Not all interim workers affected by the closure of European funds necessarily have the same file or identical rights.