Up to 30,000 furloughed workers in Spain will have to return money after government blunder

Banks in Spain are clawing back ERTE payments from up to 30,000 furloughed workers after a government blunder.

TENSION between the main Spanish banking institutes and the government is now reportedly running high over the management of the coronavirus crisis.

AEB and CECA have revealed they are going to have to claim back from customers money already paid through the ERTE (temporary employment regulation) scheme due to errors in the information provided by the SEPE (Public Service of State Employment), according to financial sources consulted by El Confidencial.

The banks are reportedly “indignant” at having to go from client to client demanding the return of hundreds of euros.

Banks are already warning furloughed workers who have enough money on their account that they are going to deduct the difference between what was transferred on behalf of the SEPE and what they were actually entitled to.

And El Confidential’s financial sources say this could affect 20,000-30,000 people.

The institutions are said to be concerned because the returns could be between €500 and €1,000 on average, and many may have already spent the money.

As such, they have been in talks with the SEPE for several days to solve the problem, one of which may be to deduct the difference from the next payments if customers’ accounts are already empty.

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Tara Rippin

Tara Rippin is a reporter for Spain’s largest English-speaking newspaper, Euro Weekly News, and is responsible for the Costa Blanca region.
She has been in journalism for more than 20 years, having worked for local newspapers in the Midlands, UK, before relocating to Spain in 1990.
Since arriving, the mother-of-one has made her home on the Costa Blanca, while spending 18 months at the EWN head office in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
She loves being part of a community that has a wonderful expat and Spanish mix, and strives to bring the latest and most relevant news to EWN’s loyal and valued readers.

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