Press Room

There is no discrimination when a senior manager earns less than the other female senior managers because all of them have senior management contracts and, therefore, the legislation on equal pay is not applicable (article 28 of the Spanish Employment Act and related legislation) because they do not have a regular employment relationship. In addition, there is no gender discrimination under the application of the constitutional right of equality (article 14 of the Spanish Constitution), because the pay gap was a result of the free will of both parties when they negotiated their conditions. In senior management contracts there is a presumption that the negotiating power of the parties is more balanced and the contract has more similarities to a commercial or civil contract. Canary Appellate Court 02/29/24.

Introducing into evidence images obtained by video surveillance cameras is valid even without having previously and expressly informed the employee of their installation for work monitoring purposes because i) the employee had made irregular cash movements which triggered the internal fraud control (sufficient suspicions) and ii) they knew there were cameras, because they were located in the working area with the corresponding informative sign. Additionally, i) the measure was necessary, because there were no other less restrictive means to protect privacy without warning the employee, which would have made the action of the company useless and, ii) if any client is aware that the surveillance system may be used against them, any employee must be aware as well. Supreme Court 1/14/25

Starting today, employees (donors) will be entitled to a paid leave for medical procedures/checkups prior to organ or tissue donation during working hours, for the necessary time (new article 37.3 g) of the Spanish Employment Act). Spain is the world leader in organ and tissue donation (Newsletter Transplant 2024 - Council of Europe).

The minimum salary is increased by 4.41%, rising to €1,184 gross per month (14 payments), which amounts to an annual gross salary of €16,576. This increase is applicable retroactively from January 1, 2025. Royal Decree 87/2025, of February 11.

Spain is required to adopt the necessary measures to ensure daily/weekly rest periods, maximum working hours, and paid annual leave (Articles 3, 5, and 6 of EU Directive 2003/88 and Article 31.2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union), including the employer’s obligation to establish a working time record (CJEU judgment of 14/05/19). It is not possible to provide for an exception to this obligation for domestic employers, as: (i) it would render the obligation meaningless since no alternative means are proposed to guarantee these rights; and (ii) it would constitute indirect discrimination because (a) domestic workers are predominantly women, and (b) there is no objective factor that justifies such differential treatment in pursuit of a higher legitimate public interest. CJEU 12/19/2024