Law 14/2005, of 1 July, on clauses in collective bargaining agreements relating to employees reaching the standard retirement age.
Written by Josep Conesa
Employment and insolvency lawyer
The purpose of this Law is to incorporate into the Workers' Statute a provision allowing collective bargaining agreements to include clauses that permit, under certain circumstances and subject to specific requirements, the termination of an employment contract when the employee reaches the standard retirement age.
International law establishes that differences in treatment on grounds of age do not constitute discrimination where they are objectively and reasonably justified under national law by a legitimate aim. Such aims include legitimate objectives of employment policy, labour market policy and vocational training, provided the means of achieving those objectives are appropriate and necessary.
The employment policy objectives that justify the inclusion of such clauses in collective bargaining agreements upon an employee reaching the standard retirement age must no longer be generic or unconditional in nature. They must be set out expressly in the collective bargaining agreement, with the Law citing legitimate objectives such as improving employment stability, converting fixed-term contracts into permanent ones, maintaining existing jobs, hiring new workers, or any other objectives aimed at promoting quality employment.
In all cases, these objectives are compatible with the mandate on public authorities to pursue a policy directed towards full employment, and the aim is to strike an appropriate balance between employees' individual rights and the collective interests arising from specific employment-related circumstances. In addition, a further requirement for these clauses is that the employee whose contract may be terminated upon reaching the standard retirement age must, at that point, be entitled to access a contributory retirement pension, having completed the minimum qualifying contribution period, or a longer period if so agreed in the collective bargaining agreement, and must satisfy all other conditions required under Social Security legislation.
The law thus protects employees' expectations of accessing retirement under more favourable conditions, by preventing interruptions to contribution records of more limited scope for reasons beyond the employee's control, an approach more consistent with the current state of the labour market and with the rules governing retirement in Spain.
