SEPE opens emergency benefit for workers hit by forest fires

The PEEE covers contract suspensions caused by fires from 22 July 2026, for up to four months, based on your contributions.

SEPE opens fire emergency benefit

On 31 July 2026, Spain’s public employment service, SEPE, announced the prestación extraordinaria por emergencia extrema (extraordinary extreme emergency benefit), or PEEE.

The PEEE is a new contribution-based benefit for workers affected by forest fires. It covers fires that happened on or after 22 July 2026.

If you can’t attend work temporarily, ask your employer for suspensión del contrato de trabajo (temporary suspension of your employment contract). Then you can apply to SEPE.

Who can get the benefit

You can apply when the fires force you to suspend your contract for one of these four reasons:

• You can’t access your main home.
• You need to make your home safe or recover it.
• You must attend in person to get official or public documents.
• You need to support or care for affected family members up to the second degree by blood or marriage.

You must also meet all these conditions:

• Your contract is suspended for one of those fire-related reasons.
• You’re registered as a jobseeker, called demandante de empleo in Spain.
• You’re registered as an employee in the General Social Security Scheme, called Régimen General de la Seguridad Social.
• You haven’t reached the ordinary retirement age.
• You don’t receive a Social Security benefit that cannot be combined with work.
• Your main home is in an area affected by a forest fire.

If you need to register as unemployed, see our guide to registering as unemployed in Spain.

How to apply

First, ask your company to suspend your employment contract. The company then sends SEPE the certificado de empresa (employer certificate).

This certificate must show the suspension period and your contribution bases. SEPE needs these details to calculate the benefit.

Submit your application at any benefits office with cita previa (an appointment booked in advance). You can book an appointment through our SEPE appointment guide.

The application will soon be available in SEPE’s Área Personal (Personal Area). The procedure is free.

How long and how much

The payment lasts while the reason for the suspension continues. The maximum period is four months.

The amount is the same as the ordinary contribution-based unemployment benefit. See our guide to the unemployment benefit amount in Spain.

If you return to work

If you return to your job, tell SEPE so it can suspend the benefit payment.

You can do this with cita previa, by calling 060, or through the presolicitud (pre-application) in Área Personal.

SEPE published the full details in its official notice dated 31 July 2026.