Can The Children Work In The Family Business?
It often happens that in family businesses there is a conflict between parents and children. Parents want to continue the company by hiring their children and they have other plans, they are not interested or simply do not have the skills to work in the position.
On other occasions, the opposite also happens: parents and children working together harmoniously to carry out their business. In fact, one of the most common family work relationships is still that of parents and children. But can you work with your children in the family business? Is it legal to hire a child?
Incorporation of the children into the family business
Among the most important moments of a family business is the incorporation of the children into the business. Formerly, this was an obligation for children, who started working at an early age. Currently, things have changed a lot.
On the one hand, at present, the incorporation of the child into the workplace takes place later and, on the other hand, there is no obligation for children to work in their parents’ company.
Children have greater freedom to find their own vocation and to fulfill themselves professionally. That is why, when a son decides to work in the family business today, he is much more motivated and experiences that incorporation as an opportunity for personal development.
What do parents and children expect from working together in the family business?
When parents invite their children to work with them, they are actually looking for a rapprochement and identification with their children. They also seek respect and acceptance of parental authority, appreciation, admiration. They want their children to look up to them, to be proud of their accomplishments, and to continue the legacy of the family business.
Children, when working with their parents in the family business, mainly seek support for their personal growth and for their parents to be proud of them. But, despite the affection and admiration, the relationship is often not easy. And yet, what most parents who run a family business want most is for their children to come work with them.
Beyond these considerations, the joint work of parents and children in the family business is usually very positive. Of course, the work must always be framed in mutual respect and trust, trying to separate, as far as possible, family relationships and their possible tensions from the employment relationship. Good communication is essential.
Joining a business with a child with fresh ideas and a new vision for the business can be very rewarding. But from a legal point of view, what is the best way to hire a child?
The children’s training and apprenticeship contract for work
A self-employed owner of a family business can hire their children under the training contract modality. With this figure, you can benefit from a 100% reduction in social security obligations. This reduction will be valid for the entire duration of the contract, which can be up to three years.
Law 43/2006 establishes that a self-employed person can hire his son as an employed person if he is under 30 years of age, regardless of whether he lives with him or not, with the right to a 100% reduction in Social Security contributions .
In addition to being between 16 and 30 years old, for the children to be able to work with a training contract, they must not have official studies related to the position they are going to hold, among other requirements.
The figure of the self-employed collaborator
If a father wants to hire his son to work in the family business, he can also do so by incorporating him into the workforce as a ‘collaborating family member of a freelancer’. This is established in article 1.1 of the Workers’ Statute. To be considered self-employed, the parent who is going to hire must meet certain requirements.
The first requirement for this hiring is that they regularly carry out a professional or economic activity that generates profit and that they do so personally and directly, on their own account.
For his part, the son must be over 16 years old, live with his father, be in his charge and work for him. With this modality, a discount of 50% of the Social Security contributions is applied for a period of 18 months.
