Last March 31, Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of March 29, adopting urgent measures within the framework of the National Plan of response to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine (hereinafter “RDL 6/2022”) entered into force. The National Plan in question comprises regulatory and non-regulatory measures in areas that have been aggravated with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia last February 24, 2022, including most notably:

    • Energy sector, due to the increase in the price of natural gas in the main European organized markets and the price of electricity in the wholesale markets to unprecedented levels.
    • Food sector, due to the impact on the world supply of wheat, corn, barley and sunflower oil, and on fertilizer prices.
    • Road freight and passenger transportation sector, including cab, passenger transportation, road freight and sanitary transportation services, due to the increase in fuel prices.
    • Film and audiovisual sector, in order to make compliance with the requirements more flexible for those film projects that have obtained aid.

The urgent measures provided for in RDL 6/2022 include, among others:

    1. Lines of direct aid or individual aid for each beneficiary, if the requirements set forth in RDL 6/2022 are met.
    2. Possibility of requesting a deferral in the payment of Social Security contributions for companies with workers registered in the General and Special Regime (self-employed) of the Social Security.
    3. Lines of guarantees for companies and the self-employed.
    4. Fee exemptions in the port system of general interest or fee exemptions in the use of public property for aquaculture establishments on the continental shelf.

Other measures aimed at protecting employment, in order to avoid layoffs and job destruction, are as follows: a) companies benefiting from direct aid may not justify objective layoffs based on the increase in energy costs; b) and those companies that avail themselves of the measures to reduce working hours or suspend contracts regulated in article 47 of the Workers’ Statute for reasons related to the invasion of Ukraine and that benefit from public support may not use these causes to carry out layoffs.

Finally, taking into account the recent evolution of the CPI, an extraordinary limitation of the annual update of the rent is established in the housing lease contracts whose rent must be updated because the corresponding annuity of validity is fulfilled within the period between March 31, 2022 (date of entry into force of RDL 6/2022) and June 30, 2022. The lessee may negotiate with the lessor the increase to be applied to such annual update of the rent, subject to the following conditions:

    1. In the event that the lessor is a large tenant, the rent increase will be that resulting from the new agreement between the parties, without exceeding the result of applying the annual variation of the Competitiveness Guarantee Index as of the date of the update. In the absence of an agreement, the rent increase will be subject to the same limitation.
    2. In the event that the lessor is not a large tenant, the rent increase will be that resulting from the new agreement between the parties. In the absence of an agreement, the rent increase may not exceed the result of applying the annual variation of the Competitiveness Guarantee Index at the date of the update.

The Competitiveness Guarantee Index currently stands at 2.02%.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need additional information on these measures and how to apply for the aids provided for in RDL 6/2022.