Labor Newsletter - May 2021 | News

The Government sets the objective of reforming the labor market before 2022

The Executive intends to negotiate labor market reforms with the social partners during the year 2021. Specifically, it will address issues such as collective bargaining, subcontracting, internal flexibility, reform of hiring models and active employment policies.

Among the Government's objectives is the use of European funds to implement a "new permanent mechanism for employment stability and support for transition processes" for sectors affected by high seasonality or suffering a significant drop in demand, whether cyclical or structural in nature.

ERTEs will be maintained until May 31, 2021 while talks continue between the Government and the social partners on additional extensions

The Directorate General of Labor has confirmed that the ERTEs due to force majeure are extended until May 31, 2021, as established in Article 1 of Royal Decree-Law 2/2021 (regardless of the end of the state of alarm on May 9, 2021).

Likewise, the Government and the social agents continue negotiations on an additional extension of the ERTEs beyond May 31, 2021. As in previous occasions, the Government's proposal is to continue with the current scheme, keeping in force the measures adopted to date such as the "employment safeguard" and the misnamed "prohibition to dismiss".

The compensation registry tool is now available

On the web page of the Women's Institute, the tool for the remuneration register, prepared jointly by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and the Women's Institute of the Ministry of Equality, has been published, which has also been agreed with the social partners, as we reported in our alert of April 15.

This tool establishes the format of the remuneration register that all companies must draw up in compliance with the provisions of Article 28 of the Workers' Statute and Royal Decree 902/2020 on equal pay for women and men. The tool is accompanied by a user guide and an illustrative example.

It is, in any case, a voluntary model to try to facilitate compliance with the legal obligation.

Labor Inspectorate publishes Technical Criteria No. 104/2021 on psychosocial risk actions

On April 14, 2021, the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate (ITSS) published the Technical Criteria on actions regarding psychosocial risks.

The technical criterion is structured around the three most frequent inspection actions in this area: (i) actions to control the preventive management of psychosocial risks; (ii) actions motivated by complaints from workers due to exposure to these risks; and (iii) actions on damage to health and occupational accidents caused by such exposure.

Through the aforementioned criterion, the ITSS aims to update the criteria for the homogeneous application of the current regulations on psychosocial risks.

Spain transposes the new Directive on the posting of workers in the framework of a transnational provision of services

On April 27, the BOE published Royal Decree-Law 7/2021 which, among other matters, amends several aspects of Law 45/1999 on the transnational posting of workers, as we pointed out in this alert of April 28.

As the most important novelty, the new regulation establishes that when the effective duration of a posting exceeds twelve months, the companies must guarantee (regardless of the law applicable to the employment contract), the working conditions provided by Spanish law with the exception of (i) procedures, formalities and conditions for the conclusion and termination of the employment contract, including non-competition clauses; and (ii) supplementary retirement schemes.

Likewise, Law 14/1994, of June 1, 1994, which regulates temporary employment agencies, as well as Royal Legislative Decree 5/2000, of August 4, 2000, which approves the revised text of the Law on Infractions and Penalties in the Social Order, are amended to guarantee equal remuneration and treatment between temporary workers assigned by temporary employment agencies and workers of the user company in the host State.