SEPE pays unemployment benefit to workers hit by the floods

Royal Decree-Law 5/2026 covers workers whose jobs stopped because of the February floods in Andalucía and Extremadura. Three groups can claim.

Bad storms hit parts of Spain in February 2026. Andalucía and Extremadura were hit hardest. The government passed Royal Decree-Law 5/2026, on 17 February 2026, to help people and businesses affected. As part of this, the SEPE (Spain's national employment service) will pay unemployment benefit to workers whose jobs stopped or slowed down because of the floods.

Who this applies to

This support is for workers registered for unemployment cover in Andalucía and Extremadura whose work was affected by the floods. There are three main groups.

Workers on an ERTE

If your company put you on an ERTE (a temporary layoff scheme where your contract is suspended or your hours are cut) because of flood damage, the SEPE calls this an ERTE-inundaciones. You get a right to unemployment benefit for the time your contract is suspended or your hours are reduced.

Farm workers (trabajadores agrarios)

Farm employees under the Special System for Employed Agricultural Workers can get the farm unemployment subsidy or the farm income (subsidio agrario or renta agraria) if they live or work in an affected municipality. They still need at least five real working days paid into social security in the twelve months before losing work.

Domestic workers (personas al servicio del hogar)

If you work in someone's home and your job stopped or your hours dropped because of the floods, you get the same right to unemployment benefit as ERTE workers, even without the usual minimum contribution period.

How much you get and for how long

Under the ERTE-inundaciones rules, you do not need a minimum contribution period. You do not normally need 360 days of prior contributions, but for this scheme that rule does not apply. Your benefit also does not use up your stored contribution days.

Farm workers and domestic workers keep the specific rules for their own benefit (the subsidio agrario, renta agraria, or standard contributory unemployment benefit), but with the floods counted as the reason for their lost work.

How to apply

The steps depend on your situation.

Once the SEPE approves your ERTE benefit, it sends you an SMS. This text tells you whether the benefit was worked out with or without dependent children, based on the data the SEPE already holds. If that family information needs updating, the SMS explains how. Your company also tells the SEPE when you go back to work, or if anything else changes, such as holidays, having a baby, or sick leave.

Domestic workers apply differently. You must submit your own individual application within 15 working days. This deadline starts on 2 March 2026, or from the day your work is affected if that is later. You need to attach a signed statement (declaración responsable) from your employer or employers. You can apply in one of three ways.

• In person, with a cita previa (pre-booked appointment), at a SEPE benefits office, bringing a paper copy of the declaración responsable for each job affected.
• Online, through the SEPE electronic office, using a digital certificate or Cl@ve. You attach the declaración responsable as a file.
• By submitting the pre-application form (formulario de presolicitud), also on the SEPE electronic office, with the declaración responsable attached.

Whichever route you use, all of this is free. The SEPE never charges for these applications, and you never need to pay anyone to submit one for you.

Related help

If you already have an unemployment claim open and want to check what you would normally get, see our guide on how much unemployment benefit you get in Spain. If you are registering as unemployed for the first time, our guide on how to register as unemployed with the SEPE explains the normal process step by step.

This is an independent summary of the SEPE's official page on the 2026 flood measures. For full details and any updates, check the source directly: SEPE: support measures for people affected by the 2026 floods.