Organic Law 10/2022 on the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom introduces rights and obligations in the labor law field

Organic Law 10/2022, of September 6, 2022, on the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom was published in the Official State Gazette on September 7, 2022. The law establishes the obligation on employers to promote working conditions that prevent the commission of offenses and other types of conduct against sexual freedom and moral integrity in the workplace, with a special emphasis on sexual harassment and harassment based on sex.

First of all, the law regulates the duties of prevention and raising awareness in the workplace, imposing a number of obligations on employers, namely: i) to promote working conditions that prevent the commission of offenses and other types of conduct against sexual freedom and moral integrity in the workplace, with a special emphasis on sexual harassment and harassment based on sex, ii) to devise specific procedures for preventing such conduct and channeling any complaints or claims that may be brought by the victims of such conduct, specifically including that suffered in the digital realm, iii) to promote awareness-raising and offer training aimed at providing comprehensive protection against sexual violence for all their personnel, and iv) to include sexual violence as one of the current occupational risks in the risk assessment for the different jobs held by female workers, with the obligation to provide training and information on such risks.

The law also introduces a number of labor law and social security rights for victims of sexual violence, placing them on an equal footing with victims of gender-based violence or terrorism. For these purposes, final provision fourteen and final provision sixteen of the law make a number of changes to the Workers’ Statute (e.g., for the purposes of geographic mobility, suspension of contracts, grounds for termination and grounds for the nullity of dismissals) and to the General Social Security Law.

Lastly, it establishes a specific employment program for victims of sexual violence registered as job seekers, which will be included in the framework of the annual employment plans referred to in article 11 of the revised Employment Law.