Labor and Employment Newsletter - January 2025
Working hours and collective bargaining
Federico Durán
Provisions on maximum working hours could be contrary to the essential content of the right to collective bargaining in Article 37 of the Spanish Constitution.
News
The Plenary Session of the Congress of Deputies has repealed Royal Decree-Law 9/2024 adopting urgent measures in economic, tax, transport and Social Security matters, and extending certain measures to deal with situations of social vulnerability.
It considers that Article 56 of the Workers' Statute does not violate the provisions of Article 10 of Convention No. 158 of the International Labour Organisation, the two provisions being compatible.
In addition to several procedural amendments, the regulation - published in the BOE on 3 January 2025 - restores the nullity of the dismissal of employees with an à la carte working day or who take five days' leave for illness or hospitalisation of a family member and clarifies the cases of termination of the contract due to non-payment or delay in payment.
The rules introduce several new features such as the modification of the partial retirement regime and relief contracts, the extension of partial retirement in the manufacturing industry until 31 December 2029, the extension of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage and the updating of the contribution bases.
The new list of CNAE-2025 codes has been published, together with the deadlines for reporting them
The National Classification of Economic Activities for the year 2025 has been updated and those responsible for the payment of Social Security contributions must comply with the reporting obligations.
DANA: Legal developments and aid approved to cope with the catastrophe
In view of the damage caused by the DANA, we address the main legal developments that have been approved, as well as the various state and regional aid measures, including those that directly affect the field of labour relations.
2025, a year of important legal developments for companies in Spain
Professionals from different practice areas at Garrigues analyze, from all angles of business law, the main regulatory developments that companies will face in 2025. This summary includes the employment law agenda for companies this year.
On the radar
- The update of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI) for the year 2025 is outlined
- Debate on the draft bill on the reduction of working time
- The draft law on industry and strategic autonomy provides for nine months' notice in the event of significant loss of industrial capacity
Judgments
- The Supreme Court reiterates the qualified value of what has been agreed in a collective dismissal when considering that there are objective causes
- Travel time from home to the first customer is not considered as actual working time
- An employee who claims to be a victim of harassment cannot terminate his or her employment contract if the employer acted immediately upon learning of the facts
- The dismissal of an employee who, while on temporary disability, was a football coach is lawful
- Dismissal after the application for a reduction in working hours as a strategy to shield oneself against dismissal is declared to be justified
Labor and Sustainable
The regulation shall include the possibility for the competent authorities to prohibit the introduction and placing on the Union market, as well as the export, of products made with forced labour. They will also be able to require companies to withdraw and dispose of them.
The Draft of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Law arrives to the Parliament
The Council of Ministers gave its approval to the Draft Law on Corporate Information on Sustainability for the disclosure of companies' contribution to environmental, social and governance issues, which will be processed as a matter of urgency.
In Latin America
The Minimum Living Wage will reach 1,130 soles from the first day of January 2025.
Law No. 21.634 introduces important changes in the application of the sanction of exclusion from contracting with state bodies to natural or legal persons convicted of anti-union practices or infringement of employees’ fundamental rights.
Labor and Employment Blog
Does an employee who has contested his medical discharge have to return to work?
One doubt that often arises when an employeecontests their medical discharge after a temporary disability process is whether they must return to their job or whether they can wait to receive the corresponding resolution. In this post we will see that the general rule is that the medical discharge determines the obligation to return to work, but there are exceptions.
Ten possible changes in labour law expected by 2025
2025 is set to be a key year for labour relations in Spain, as far-reaching reforms that have been in the pipeline for some time are expected. The reduction of the working day and other changes in working hours, possible changes in compensation for dismissals or the termination of contracts due to permanent disability, the reform of the Law on Occupational Risk Prevention, the Law on Industry, the Statute of the Trainee, 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 developments that we will see this year and may pose important challenges for companies.
The company is not responsible for all work-related accidents
Not every accident occurring at work or related to work is considered to be an accident at work under Spanish law. Specifically, among other cases, an accident that occurs due to malice or recklessness on the part of the employee is not classified as an accident at work, unless the recklessness is a consequence of the habitual exercise of a job and derives from the confidence that this inspires. It is necessary to analyse the set of concurrent circumstances of the case in question to determine whether the accident is an accident at work or not.
In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court has changed its doctrine on the procedure for disciplinary dismissals. From now on, Spanish companies must comply with a hearing of the employee before notifying him of his disciplinary dismissal, except in cases where the company cannot reasonably be required to do so.
We bid farewell to the year 2024 by sharing a compendium (click here) of all the posts published this year on the Garrigues Labor & Employment Blog. We hope this will be an excellent opportunity to review the year's employment law issues and other matters of interest in the area, by accessing our posts once again.
In the Press
This is what your working life will be like when you have your own AI agents
Garrigues Labor & Employment partners Eloy Castañer and Clara Herreros explain in this article in Expansión that "AI and, in particular, the new stage of AI agents that transform generative artificial intelligence into operational AI, will generate a paradigm shift in the labor market that is now immeasurable. We are not only talking about an improvement in productivity or performance processes at a quantitative or organisational level, but we are facing an unprecedented revolution, with an impact on multiple perspectives and facets of the world of work".
Contact
