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Starting on December 5, 2027, companies with work centers employing more than 200 workers or 100 workers per shift will be required to draw up a Sustainable Workplace Mobility Plan (Plan). This Plan must be prepared together with the Legal Representation of the Workers and, if none exists, with the most representative trade unions and those most representative in the sector that are entitled to negotiate the applicable collective agreement. The Plan must include measures to promote (examples): (i) Active mobility (walking, cycling, etc.) (ii) Use of public transport (metro, bus, etc.) (iii) Mobility using low-emission vehicles (iv) Shared/collaborative mobility (e.g., sharing an electric car) (v) Provision of charging facilities for zero-emission vehicles (vi) Promotion of teleworking (vii) Training in road safety and accident prevention during commutes to the workplace It must also include measures concerning access to the work center by visitors, suppliers, and others. In high-occupancy work centers (more than 1,000 workers in municipalities with over 500,000 inhabitants), measures must be implemented to reduce workers’ mobility during peak hours or throughout the working day. Every 2 years, a monitoring report on the effectiveness of the Plan must be prepared. Law 9/2025, of December 3, on Sustainable Mobility.

The next targets of the Labor Inspectorate for 2025-2027. They will mainly check: The fraudulent use of temporary contracts, indefinite but discontinuous contracts, and especially terminations done during probationary periods (apparently their number has significantly increased since the reduction of the type of temporary contracts). Working time registers and compliance with the time off regulations (still waiting for the creation of a new mandatory digital working time register interconnected with the Labor Inspectorate). Prevention of work-related cancer and the application of a gender perspective to the health and safety measures and special attention to the psychosocial risks. The impact of AI at the workplace, preventing the related discrimination. Fraudulent use of Social Security pensions (unemployment, sick leave, etc.) and underpayment of contributions. Click to read the complete Labor Inspectorate Strategic Plan.

The severance pay for unfair terminations in Spain (33 days of salary per worked year) has been considered, again, adequate by the Spanish Supreme Court (no additional severance shall be granted). The European Social Charter (ESC) – which has the same wording as the ILO Convention nº 158 – only provides for an adequate compensation (without further details). Therefore, the EU states have to regulate this provision to set up a particular compensation. The Spanish regulation already provides a certain amount that considers the employee’s salary and years of service for its calculation – who says this is not adequate? Neither the ESC nor the European Court of Justice. However, the Decision of the European Committee of Social Rights (March 20, 2024) considers the Spanish severance pay insufficient. Even so, the Spanish Supreme Court reminds that these decisions are neither enforceable nor binding; these decisions are purely addressed to the European Committee of Ministers and even to them, they are not binding. Therefore, Spain is not obliged to follow those decisions. Supreme Court 07/16/25

Employees hired exclusively to work on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, have also the right to receive the public holidays bonus, as otherwise the right to equality would be breached (article 14 of the Spanish Constitution). This is because the work performed during those days is just as burdensome (or even more) for them (part-time employees) as it is for full-time employees who do not usually work on these days and only do it occasionally. Working on a permanent basis on public holidays is considered to be more burdensome than doing it occasionally. Therefore, it should be compensated with an additional remuneration if the employer intends not to pay the public holidays bonus. Supreme Court March 4, 2025.

On May 1, International Workers’ Day, the Law 2/2025 of April 29 on termination of the employment contract of employees for permanent sick leave entered into force: The employee shall communicate in writing to the Company whether they wish to maintain their employment relationship within 10 calendar days from the notification of the decision declaring the permanent disability. From that moment, the Company has 3 months to make the reasonable adjustments to the job position or to offer the employee a change of their job position in accordance with their professional profile and suitable to their permanent disability. If the adjustment involves an excessive burden for the Company, there is no other suitable existing position, or if existing, the employee does not accept to change their job position, the Company may terminate their contract by a reasoned written communication, without compensation. For a maximum period of 3 months, the employment relationship will remain suspended. When is the adjustment to be made considered an "excessive burden" for the Company? In companies with less than 25 employees: when the adjustment cost, without taking into account any public aid/subsidies that it may receive, exceeds the highest of the following amounts: a) severance compensation for unfair termination (33 days of salary per year of service) or b) 6 months of salary. In all other companies, the adjustment cost shall be assessed in relation to a) the size of the Company, b) its economic means, c) its economic situation and, d) its total turnover. The burden will not be considered excessive when it is sufficiently compensated by public aid/subsidies. This will be decided by a judge.