New work life balance measures in Spain

Royal Decree Law 5/2023 of 28 June transposes, among others, Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019, which aims to eliminate any disadvantage or reduction in the professional careers of people who informally take care of family members or dependents.

Among the new developments are the regulation of new leaves, new cases for the adaptation of working hours and an equalisation in many aspects of the rights of the spouse, that are extended to civil partners.

1. NEW SPECIFIC CAUSE FOR DISCRIMINATION

It is expressly included as a right of workers not to be discriminated, directly or indirectly, for exercising their rights to balance work and personal life or co-responsibility for family issues.

2. ADAPTATION OF THE LENGTH AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE WORKING DAY TO ACHIEVE WORK-LIFE BALANCE

• Extension of cases: the possibility of adapting the length and distribution of the working day, the organisation of working time and the way in which services are provided is extended to workers who have care needs in relation to:
  • children over 12 years of age,
  • spouse or unmarried partner,
  • or relatives by blood up to the second degree of kinship, and
  • other dependants living in the same household, and who for reasons of age, accident or illness are unable to look after themselves.

• Negotiation: in the absence of a collective bargaining agreement regulating the terms for exercising the right to adaptation, a period of negotiation between the worker and the company must be opened in the event of a possible request, which until now lasted thirty calendar days, but with this regulation it can last a maximum of fifteen days. In the absence of a reasoned express reply, the adaptation will be presumed to have been granted.
• Impossibility of refusing the return to the previous conditions: when the causes that justified the adaptation cease to exist or when the agreed time has elapsed, unless there are justified objective reasons for this.
• Adaptations of working time in force on 30 June 2023: the new regime will be applied to them, including the return to the previous situation.

3. PAID LEAVE

• New unmarried partner registration leave: 15 calendar days.
• Extension of the duration of leave for serious accident/illness: leave for serious accident or illness, hospitalisation or surgery without hospitalisation requiring home rest of relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity is extended from two to five days. In addition, civil partners and their blood relatives are also included.
• New leave of two days for the death of the partner: two days. When the worker needs to travel, the period will be extended by two days.
• New leave for force majeure: the worker may be absent from work when necessary for urgent family reasons related to family members or cohabitants, in the event of illness or accident that make their immediate presence indispensable. The worker shall be entitled to be paid for the hours of absence equivalent to four days per year according to the collective agreement or collective bargaining agreement; and in any case, the reason for the absences must be accredited.

4. REDUCTION OF WORKING HOURS

The right to a reduction in working hours of between 1/8 and 1/2 of the working day with the corresponding reduction in salary is extended to cases of care for the civil partner or their blood relatives up to the second degree.

5. LEAVE TO CARE FOR UNMARRIED PARTNERS

Unpaid leave for a maximum of two years to care for a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, which for reasons of age, accident, illness or disability is extended to unmarried partners and their blood relatives up to the second degree.

6. SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES

The leave for the birth, adoption or foster care of children with disabilities is extended to a total of 20 weeks in the case of single-parent families.

7. NEW UNPAID PARENTAL LEAVE

• New leave of up to eight weeks to care for a son, daughter or foster child for more than one year, until the child reaches the age of eight.
• Form of leave: continuous or discontinuous, and full-time or part-time. The part-time regime is pending regulatory development.
• Prior notice: the worker must give ten calendar days' notice (or the notice specified in collective agreements) of the periods of leave, except in cases of force majeure.
• Nature: it is an individual right for men or women, and cannot be transferred.
• Indemnifications: for the calculation of indemnifications, the full-time salary will be taken into account in cases of part-time exercise of the leave.
• New cause for suspension: this parental leave is introduced as a new cause for suspension of the employment contract.

Directive 2019/1158 of 20 June provides that this parental leave must be paid. However, paid parental leave will be compulsory from 2 August 2024, so it will be necessary to wait for the potential regulatory development that lays down its paid nature.

8. COINCIDENCE IN THE SAME COMPANY OF TWO PARENTS ON BREASTFEEDING LEAVE, REDUCED WORKING HOURS OR LEAVE TO TAKE CARE OF CHILDREN

The company may postpone the granting of the leave and/or reduction of working hours for a reasonable period of time if two or more persons generate this right for the same son daughter or foster child, or in other cases regulated in the collective bargaining agreements, if the functioning of the company is seriously disrupted.

Such postponement must be justified in writing and an alternative must have been offered that ensures the enjoyment of both employees and makes it possible to enjoy work-life balance rights.

9. NULLITY OF DISMISSAL

The causes that make a dismissal null include the following:

• Taking parental leave;
• The request for leave due to serious accident or illness, hospitalisation or surgery without hospitalisation requiring home rest of the spouse, common-law partner or relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, including the common-law partner's blood relative, as well as any other person other than the above, who lives with the worker in the same home and who requires effective care of the worker; and
• Requesting or being enjoining the adaptation of the length and distribution of the working day.

10. EXTENSION OF WORK MEASURES LINKED TO THE RECEIPT OF PUBLIC AID

For companies receiving any of the public aid regulated in Royal Decree-Law 20/2022, the increase in energy costs may not constitute objective grounds for dismissal until 31 December 2023. Failure to comply with this obligation will entail repayment of the aid received.

Companies that avail themselves of measures to reduce working hours or suspend contracts for reasons related to the invasion of Ukraine and that benefit from public support may not use these reasons as grounds for dismissals.

11. POSTPONEMENT OF THE INCLUSION IN THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM FOR TRAINEES

The deadline for the inclusion in the Social Security system of students who carry out training placements or external academic placements included in training programmes, provided for in Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, of 16 March, is extended to 1 January 2024.

12. ENTRY INTO FORCE

The leave and other matters regulated in this Royal Decree-Law shall apply as of 30 June 2023. However, leave whose causal event took place prior to the entry into force of the Royal Decree-Law shall continue to be governed by the previous regulations.