Seville street cleaners offered 1,600-euro bonus in bid to tackle absenteeism

The bonus, known as the 'annual continuity bonus', is set out in Lipasam's collective agreement covering the period through to 2027. Workers receive a basic payment of 1,400 euros, with additional money available depending on the reduction in absenteeism compared with the previous year.

The company has reportedly recorded staff absenteeism at close to 10 per cent, with the level of absence cited as one of the factors contributing to problems with street cleaning in the Andalusian capital.

The agreement states that workers in all categories receive a flat-rate bonus each September. The minimum payment of 1,400 euros goes to employees with no periods of temporary incapacity for work, unauthorised absences or disciplinary sanctions between 1 August of one year and 31 July of the following year.

The payment then increases in line with the reduction in absenteeism compared with the previous year. It rises to 1,435 euros when an employee records a 0.5 percentage point reduction in their absenteeism rate and reaches a maximum of 1,600 euros when the reduction is 2.5 percentage points.

The agreement also imposes strict penalties for unauthorised absences. The first such absence is counted as 25 days of absence when calculating entitlement to the bonus. From the second unauthorised absence during the reference period onwards, the employee loses the bonus altogether.

The measure is intended as another tool to tackle what is described as a longstanding problem at Lipasam. Absenteeism is also an issue in other parts of Seville's municipal workforce, including the city's public transport company Tussam and the Local Police.