Employment support supplement: get a subsidy and a wage

SEPE pays the CAE automatically in most cases: between 30 and 480 euros a month while you work and keep part of your benefit.

The complemento de apoyo al empleo (CAE, employment support supplement) lets some people in Spain get part of their unemployment payment while they also earn a wage. SEPE, Spain's public employment service, pays it automatically in most subsidy cases. Below we set out who qualifies, how much it pays, how long it lasts, and how to apply.

What the CAE is

The CAE is a way to combine an unemployment subsidy (subsidio) or a contributory benefit (prestación contributiva) with paid work for an employer, full time or part time. Instead of losing your payment when you start work, you keep a reduced amount on top of your wage. You can check your CAE payments in your Área Personal (personal account) on the SEPE website.

Who can get it: the subsidio route

If you start a part-time or full-time job while getting an unemployment subsidy, SEPE pays the subsidy as a CAE. This applies if you reached the subsidy after using up your contributory benefit, or after leaving a job with at least 90 and up to 359 days of contributions, from 1 November 2024 onwards. From 1 June 2025, the same rule covers the subsidies for returning emigrants and for victims of gender violence, sexual violence, or violence from parents or children.

This is not something you choose. SEPE grants the CAE automatically (de oficio). You only need to tell SEPE if your situation falls into one of the excluded cases where the CAE does not apply.

Who can get it: the contributory benefit route

The rules differ depending on when your benefit started.

If your contributory benefit started before 1 April 2025, you can combine it with part-time work from the start, with a deduction for the hours you work. If SEPE granted you the benefit for more than 12 months (at least 14 months, or 420 days), you can also combine it with full-time work as a CAE once you have used the first 9 months. To do this, you must apply, and the job must meet conditions: the employer cannot have an active redundancy process, cannot have employed you in the previous 12 months, and cannot be your spouse or a close relative.

If you apply within 15 working days of starting the job, SEPE pays the CAE from the start date. If you apply later, it pays from the date of your application, as long as the job still exists then.

If your contributory benefit started on or after 1 April 2025, it is compatible with full-time or part-time work under the same CAE scheme.

How much you get

The amount depends on your working hours and on how many months or quarters of your payment you have already used. Full-time work pays the most; the amount drops as you work fewer hours.

CAE for the subsidio, by quarter

For the contributory benefit, the amount instead depends on the month of payment: it stays at 480/450/420/360 euros from month 10 to month 15, then steps down for months 16 to 18, 19 to 21, and 22 to 24, using the same four columns for full time, 75% or more, 50% to 75%, and under 50%.

How long it lasts

The CAE from a subsidy lasts a maximum of 180 days. This limit also depends on the length of your contract and on the days left on your subsidy. Every day you get the CAE counts against your subsidy's total duration, whatever amount you actually receive that day.

Income from your job during the CAE does not count towards the income limits normally needed for renewing or extending a subsidy. Once you reach 180 days of CAE on one subsidy, SEPE suspends it; you can restart it later if you become unemployed again on that contract or a later one, but you cannot get the CAE again on the same subsidy.

What about your demanda de empleo

Your demanda de empleo (jobseeker registration) is suspended while you get the CAE for full-time work. If you get it for part-time work, you must renew the demanda de empleo every three months instead.

How to apply

You can start the process online through your Área Personal on the SEPE website, or in person at your local benefits office (oficina de prestaciones). For an in-person visit you need a cita previa (prior appointment); see our guide on how to book a SEPE appointment. The service is free; SEPE never charges for the CAE or for any part of this process.

If you are not yet registered as unemployed, read our guide on how to register as unemployed in Spain first. For the general rules on subsidies and contributory benefits that the CAE sits on top of, see our guide to unemployment benefits in Spain.