2025 is set to be a key year for labor relations in Spain, as major reforms that have been in the pipeline in recent times are expected. The reduction of the working day and other changes in working hours, possible changes in compensation for dismissals or termination of the contract due to permanent disability, the reform of the Law on Occupational Risk Prevention, the Industry Law, the Interns’ Statute, the remuneration of parental leave, mobility plans or changes arising from the transposition of the directive on transparent working conditions are some of the possible legislative developments that we will see this year and may pose significant challenges for companies.
The following is a list of the most relevant legislative labor developments for the year that has just begun.
- Reduction of working hours and digital disconnection
We closed the year 2024 with the agreement between the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and the trade unions to reduce the maximum working day to 37.5 hours per week on an annual average by 2025. The draft law was attached to this agreement, and the Government undertook to promote a legislative initiative to approve the corresponding regulation.
Among other issues, the draft law provides that (i) the negotiating committees of collective bargaining agreements which, upon the entry into force of the law, provide for working hours in excess of 37.5 hours per week, must make the pertinent adjustments to such working hours before December 31, 2025; (ii) part-time contracts with a working day equal to or greater than the new maximum working day will be automatically converted into full-time contracts; and (iii) part-time workers with an agreed working day lower than the new maximum working day will have a proportional increase in their remuneration.
The draft also contemplates the reinforcement of the unwaivable right to digital disconnection outside working hours.
- Time recording and digitalization
The aforementioned draft also includes significant changes in the regulation of time recording: companies shall have time records remotely accessible by the Labor and Social Security Inspection and by the workers’ representatives. In addition, it is foreseen that when the company fails to comply with its obligations regarding the recording of working hours, it will be considered to have committed an infringement for each person affected in the cases of absence of recording or falsification of the recorded data, and the potential fine will be increased to between €1,000 and €10,000 (instead of between €751 euros and €7,500, as established in the current regulation).
- Severance payments
It is not out of the question that a possible regulatory change on severance payments be addressed, so that they consider the real damage suffered and the individual circumstances of those who are unfairly dismissed, in line with the report of the European Committee of Social Rights and the recommendation of the Council of Europe.
For the time being, the Supreme Court has ruled that the courts and tribunals cannot increase the compensation for unfair dismissal established in article 56 of the Workers’ Statute with other amounts that take into account the specific circumstances of the case, without this entailing a violation of article 10 of ILO Convention No. 158, which only states that the compensation must be adequate.
- Termination of the employment contract due to permanent disability
There is a draft law to amend article 49.1 of the Workers’ Statute, according to which the declaration of an absolute or total permanent disability of an employee only determines the termination of the employment contract when it is not possible to make reasonable adjustments or a change to a vacant and available job, in accordance with the professional profile and compatible with the new situation of the employee, for constituting an excessive burden for the company.
The purpose of this reform is to bring Spanish legislation into line with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) (Case C-631/22) on the incompatibility with EU regulations of automatically terminating the employment contract following the declaration of permanent disability without first attempting to make reasonable adjustments to the job position.
- Reform of the Occupational Risk Prevention Law
During the year that has just begun, we could see the reform of the Law on Occupational Risk Prevention, which is expected to adapt the regulations in this area to the new times and to strengthen the integration of prevention in companies, with special attention to small and medium-sized companies. It could include specific measures to intensify the prevention of risks associated with the use of technologies or exposure to certain chemical substances, those derived from high temperatures and climatic phenomena, and psychosocial risks.
- Industry Law and notice in closures
On December 10, 2024, the Council of Ministers approved the Draft Law on Industry and Strategic Autonomy which, among other matters, provides for a reindustrialization plan for cases in which the company has a significant loss of industrial capacity and affects resources of prime necessity or of a strategic nature. Under this plan, companies will have to give the competent authority 9 months’ notice of a possible closure or reduction of activity that entails a significant reduction in employment and explore formulas for the prevention, correction or mitigation of the effects associated with the closure or reduction of the workforce.
- Interns’ Statute
In 2025, the so-called Interns’ Statute, which has been much talked about in recent years, may see the light of day.
On December 11, 2024, the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy opened for public hearing the Preliminary Draft Law on the Statute for persons undergoing non-work practical training in the company environment, which, among other issues, will regulate the number of interns that a company can have, set limits on internship hours and establish a new regulation on the figure of the tutor, and compensation for expenses.
- Remuneration of parental leave
We can also expect the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 regarding the remuneration of parental leave in article 48 bis of the Workers’ Statute. It has not yet been defined whether the leave will be paid directly by the companies or whether a benefit to be paid by the Social Security will be created.
Meanwhile, the Contentious Administrative Court No. 1 of Barcelona, in its judgment of November 28, 2024, has recognized the right of a public employee to receive the amount corresponding to the days on which he took parental leave, on the understanding that the aforementioned directive, which has not been transposed within the corresponding period, establishes that parental leave must be paid.
- Sustainable mobility plans
It is possible that in 2025 we will see the Sustainable Mobility Law whose main objectives will be to promote the use of more sustainable means of transport, thereby adapting urban planning regulations to improve accessibility and reduce carbon emissions. On the labor front, it includes obligations for companies to draw up, with the participation of workers’ representatives, and implement sustainable mobility plans for their staff.
- Transparent and predictable working conditions
Spain has yet to transpose the Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union (the deadline for its transposition was August 1, 2022). This directive seeks greater transparency in labor contracts and, if it is transposed into Spanish law in 2025, we may find changes in the minimum content of contracts and the elimination of limitations for those who wish to provide simultaneous services in other companies, as well as the reinforcement of information to part-time workers on possible extensions of working hours.
Conclusion: A 2025 of key transformations for the labor market
The year 2025 may bring with it several notable legislative changes that will set the labor agenda, and companies will need to prepare to adapt their practices and procedures to the regulations that will be passed.
