Blog: Equality Plan

Written by Josep Conesa

Employment and insolvency lawyer

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Contents:

1. When must I implement an equality plan in my company?

2. Formal requirements of the equality plan — does it need to be negotiated?

3. Diagnostic assessment

4. Possible MEASURES to IMPLEMENT IN AN EQUALITY PLAN

5. Work-life balance proposals and equality-related procedures:

6. Our recommendations

7. Equality plan auditor

The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority."

Rachel Decker

UPDATES ON PAY EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN:

The following are the key changes introduced by Royal Decree 901/2020 and 902/2020 of 13 October:

Rules on the pay register under Article 28 of the Workers' Statute:

• All companies must maintain a pay register covering their entire workforce, including senior management and executive staff, within six months — that is, by 14/04/2020.
• The register must include the average values of salaries, salary supplements and non-salary payments across the workforce, broken down by gender and structured in accordance with Article 28.2 of the Workers' Statute.
• Broken down by gender, the register must show both the arithmetic mean and the median of actual amounts received under each of these headings, for each professional group, professional category, grade, job role, or any other applicable classification system.
• The register must be disaggregated according to the nature of each element of remuneration, including base salary, each salary supplement, and each non-salary payment, with every individual item specified separately.
• Access where there is no employee representation body: the company shall provide the employee not with the averaged actual figures recorded in the register, but with information limited to the percentage differences in the averaged remuneration of men and women, also disaggregated by the nature of the remuneration and the applicable classification system.
• Access where an employee representation body exists: access to the register shall be provided to employees through their representatives, and employees shall have the right to view the full contents of the register.
• The reference period shall generally be the calendar year.
• It may follow the format set out on the official websites of the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy and the Ministry of Equality.
• Workers' representatives (RRTT) must be consulted at least 10 days before it is drawn up, and also whenever it is amended.

equality obligations applicable to all companies:

• Adopt anti-discrimination measures
• Promote anti-harassment measures with reporting procedures and channels

DEADLINES FOR NEGOTIATING THE EQUALITY PLAN IN THE company:

• Establishment of the Negotiating Committee (within 3 months of reaching the threshold, or of the publication of the collective bargaining agreement unless otherwise specified)
• 1 year to negotiate, approve and submit the registration application for the Equality Plan

SCOPE OF NEGOTIATIONS:

• Both the diagnostic assessment and the equality plan must be negotiated with workers' representatives (RRTT)
• The Negotiating Committee must be composed on a parity basis
• Where no existing workers' representation is in place, a committee must be formed comprising company representatives and the most representative trade unions in the sector, on a proportional basis or comprising those that respond within 10 days, with a maximum of 6 members on each side of the table, or 13 where there are workplaces both with and without workers' representatives.
• The negotiating committee may be supported by external advice specialising in gender equality in the workplace; such advisers may speak but may not vote.
• The committee must be composed of a balanced mix of women and men who have training or experience in workplace equality matters.
• Minutes must be taken at each meeting.
• The agreement must be approved by the company's representatives and a majority of workers' representatives (RRTT), and must be registered with the Labour Authority.
• In the absence of agreement, the matter must be referred to the Joint Committee of the collective bargaining agreement, or to the autonomous dispute resolution body (the Labour Tribunal in Catalonia).
• Committee members shall be entitled to access the information and documents necessary for implementing the equality plan, and shall be bound by the same duty of confidentiality required of workers' representatives (RRTT).

POWERS OF THE NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE:

1. Negotiation and development of the diagnosis, as well as negotiation of the measures to be included in the plan.
2. Preparation of the results report from the diagnosis.
3. Identification of priority measures, in light of the diagnosis, their scope of application, the material and human resources required for their implementation, as well as the individuals or bodies responsible, including an action timetable.
4. Driving the implementation of the equality plan within the company.
5. Definition of measurement indicators and the information-gathering tools required to monitor and evaluate the degree of compliance with the equality plan measures implemented.
6. Any other functions that may be assigned by applicable regulations and the collective bargaining agreement, or agreed upon by the committee itself, including the submission of the approved equality plan to the competent labour authority for registration, deposit and publication.
7. Promoting the first information and awareness-raising actions among the workforce.
8. The committee may adopt internal rules of procedure.

EQUALITY PLAN DIAGNOSIS:

• The criteria on which the equality plan diagnosis must be based are established.

MINIMUM CONTENT OF THE EQUALITY PLAN:

1. Identification of the parties entering into the plan.
2. Personal, territorial and temporal scope.
3. Diagnostic report on the situation of the company, or several reports if it forms part of a group of companies.
4. Results of the pay audit, together with its period of validity and review frequency.
5. Definition of qualitative and quantitative objectives of the equality plan.
6. Description of specific measures, their implementation timeline and prioritisation, as well as the design of indicators to track the progress of each measure.
7. Identification of the material and human resources and means required for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of each measure and objective.
8. Action schedule for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the equality plan measures.
9. A system for monitoring, evaluating and periodically reviewing the equality plan.
10. The composition and functioning of the joint committee or parity body responsible for monitoring, evaluating and periodically reviewing equality plans.
11. The procedure for amendment, including the procedure for resolving any discrepancies that may arise in the application, monitoring, evaluation or review of the plan, provided that no legal or collective obligation to update it has arisen in the meantime.

When must I implement an equality plan in my company?

Current legislation sets out the following obligations for companies:

• From 7 March 2020, all companies with a workforce of more than 150 employees are required to have one.
• From 7 March 2021, all companies with more than 100 and up to 150 employees are required to have one.
• From 7 March 2022, all companies with more than 50 employees are required to have one.

"For the purposes of calculating the number of employees that triggers the obligation to draw up an equality plan, the total workforce of the company shall be taken into account, regardless of the number of workplaces and regardless of the type of employment contract, including workers on permanent seasonal contracts, fixed-term contracts and agency work contracts. In all cases, each worker on a part-time contract shall be counted as one additional employee, irrespective of the number of hours worked. Fixed-term contracts of any type that were active within the company during the six months prior to the count and have since expired must also be included. In such cases, every one hundred days worked, or part thereof, shall count as one additional worker. This calculation must be verified on the last day of June and December each year." Article 3.1, Royal Decree 901/2020.

HOW LONG DOES AN EQUALITY PLAN LAST?

An equality plan has a duration of 4 years.

DO I NEED TO IMPLEMENT AN EQUALITY PLAN IF I HAVE FEWER THAN 50 EMPLOYEES?

The obligation to maintain an equality plan remains in force even if the number of employees falls below fifty, once the negotiating committee has been established and until the agreed plan's validity period expires, or, as applicable, for four years.

DO I NEED TO IMPLEMENT AN EQUALITY PLAN IF THE collective bargaining agreement REQUIRES IT?

Notwithstanding the above timeline, if a collective bargaining agreement has established that companies must draw up an equality plan, those companies will be obliged to implement one even if they do not otherwise meet the relevant thresholds. This is confirmed by the ruling of the Supreme Court 403/2017,

Social Division, Section 1, Case 85/2016, dated 9 May 2017, which states that:

«it should be noted that Article 45(3) of Law 3/2007 does not provide for the option put forward by the appellant company: namely, negotiating an equality plan or implementing one unilaterally if collective bargaining fails. Not only because a logical and systematic interpretation of that provision shows that negotiation of an Equality Plan is mandatory for companies with more than 250 employees, but also because that same paragraph establishes that the drawing up and negotiation of such a Plan will likewise be mandatory where the applicable collective bargaining agreement so requires, even if the company has fewer than 250 employees. It must therefore be concluded that the appellant company failed to comply with the obligation to negotiate imposed on it by both statute and the collective bargaining agreement».

It is also worth noting that the equality plan applies to companies using temporary agency workers, in accordance with the ruling of the Supreme Court dated 13 November 2019.

Download ruling

Penalties for non-compliance with the equality plan:

Failure to implement an equality plan will constitute a serious infringement for the company, under the amended wording of Article 7.13 of the Law on Labour Offences and Sanctions.

This means that in accordance with Article 40 of the same Law on Labour Offences and Sanctions, the fine could range from €626 to €1,250 at the minimum level; from €1,251 to €3,125 at the intermediate level; and from €3,126 to €6,250 at the maximum level.

practical guide Equality Plan in the company:

INTRODUCTION:

Equality between men and women is a fundamental right. Since the adoption of the Organic Law on Effective Equality between Women and Men, which, in developing the fundamental right to equality free from gender discrimination, underlines that women and men are equal in human dignity and equal in rights and duties, and that no one may be discriminated against on grounds of sex.

It is worth noting that positive discrimination is legally permitted as a means of supporting groups that face social disadvantage, such as women in this context, or persons with disabilities. Accordingly, in workplaces where women already outnumber men, there is no need to introduce positive discrimination measures to address imbalance. In other words: positive discrimination is designed to benefit women, not men.

THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTING AN EQUALITY PLAN IN THE company:

Positive discrimination aims to address situations where genuine inequality exists within society.

Since real inequalities between men and women persist in the workplace, it is important for companies to establish equality plans. Beyond the legal obligation to do so, there are further compelling reasons to consider when assessing the need for an equality plan:

1st — COMPANIES WILL BE REQUIRED TO DEMONSTRATE THE ABSENCE OF INEQUALITY:

Article 13 of Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March on the effective equality of women and men establishes that in accordance with procedural legislation, in proceedings where the claimant's allegations are based on discriminatory conduct on grounds of sex, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to demonstrate the absence of discrimination in the measures adopted and their proportionality.

This article means that the company must prove that there is no discrimination in its actions, and that it does not permit any.

2nd – procedures for the prevention of sexual harassment:

All companies are required to have specific sexual harassment prevention procedures in place, regardless of their number of employees.

Indeed, in accordance with Article 48 of Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March on the effective equality of women and men, irrespective of the number of employees in the company, all companies should promote working conditions that prevent sexual harassment and sex-based harassment, and put in place specific procedures for their prevention and for handling any complaints or claims submitted by those who have been subjected to such conduct.

Well aware of this reality — having frequently represented clients in workplace harassment cases and, at times, in sexual harassment matters — at Conesa Legal we have developed a practical, preventive and effective tool for channelling complaints of workplace and sexual harassment.

Find out more here about the workplace and sexual harassment protocol we have designed. We highly recommend it as an extremely useful and preventive tool.

3. REGISTRATION OF EQUALITY PLANS:

The Equality Plans Register for Companies is the same register used for collective bargaining agreements, and registration of equality plans is mandatory, accompanied by the relevant statistical form. The contents of registered equality plans are publicly accessible through this Register.

Registration of anti-sexual harassment procedures is voluntary, as is registration where the preparation of an equality plan is optional.

Where the plan arises from collective bargaining, the Directorate-General for Labour of the Ministry of Labour and Immigration is the competent authority responsible for carrying out the registration. In Catalonia, jurisdiction lies with the Catalan Department of Labour, where equality plans can be registered via this link.

4. EQUALITY DISTINCTION AWARD FOR COMPANIES (company):

In addition to the Register, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has established a distinction award for companys that stand out for implementing equal treatment and equal opportunities policies for their workforce. This distinction may be used in the company's commercial dealings and for advertising purposes.

In order to be granted this distinction, it is required that the plan has been negotiated, and consideration will also be given to:

• a balanced representation of women and men within the company's management bodies and across its various professional groups and categories,
• the adoption of equality plans or other innovative measures to promote equality,
• non-sexist advertising of the company's products or services.

NEGOTIATING THE EQUALITY PLAN:

The relationship between employee representatives and the company varies considerably from one organisation to another. Many companies have engaged us to advise, facilitate, mediate or negotiate with the Works Council, so if you are interested in this service, please do not hesitate to contact us via either of the following links:

• Workplace mediation
• Collective negotiations

In any event, the amended text of the Organic Law 3/2007, of 22 March, on effective equality between women and men establishes that the Equality Plan must be drawn up within the Negotiating Commission for the Equality Plan, to which the company must provide all data and reports necessary to carry out the process.

Like many Negotiating Commissions, this one may agree on internal rules to govern its proceedings. Download, free of charge, a template set of Rules of Procedure for an Equality Plan Negotiating Commission, in case it proves useful:

Negotiating Commission Rules of Procedure

The first step is to review the collective bargaining agreement applicable to the company, as Article 85 of the Workers' Statute requires the negotiating parties to incorporate measures aimed at promoting equal treatment and equal opportunities between women and men in the workplace, or equality plans in accordance with the provisions of Organic Law 3/2007, of 22 March, on effective equality between women and men.

The applicable collective bargaining agreement may already have established additional formalities for the sector beyond those required purely by law, as well as minimum content requirements that the Equality Plan must include.

Possible provisions in collective bargaining agreements:

Article 17 of the Workers' Statute provides that collective bargaining may establish reservations and preferential treatment in hiring conditions, so that, where candidates are equally suitable, preference is given to individuals of the under-represented sex in the professional group concerned.

Collective bargaining may also establish such measures in relation to professional classification, promotion and training, so that, where candidates are equally suitable, preference is given to individuals of the under-represented sex in order to facilitate their access to the professional group or position in question.

Employee representatives on the Negotiating Committee:

Article 45 of Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March on the effective equality of women and men provides that the company must negotiate, or where appropriate agree, with the legal representatives of employees in the manner determined by employment legislation.

Companies sometimes have no employee representatives in place. In such cases, the provisions of Article 41.1 of the Workers' Statute must be followed in order to appoint members to the Negotiating Committee.

Equality Plan diagnostic assessment:

To carry out the diagnosis, relevant data on male and female employees across the different areas of the company must be provided to employee representatives. Based on this information, the Negotiating Committee will draw up a diagnosis covering, as a minimum, the following areas:

a) Recruitment and hiring process.
b) Job classification.
c) Training.
d) Career progression.
e) Working conditions, including a gender pay audit.
f) Shared exercise of personal, family and work-life rights.
g) Under-representation of women.
h) Remuneration.
i) Prevention of sexual harassment and gender-based harassment.

The measures to be implemented and the objectives must be defined on the basis of this diagnosis.

Accordingly, both the measures and the objectives of the plan must be "measurable", and the diagnosis must be "negotiated" with employee representatives.

Download the official criteria on which the diagnosis must be based:

EQUALITY PLAN CONTENT

MINIMUM CONTENT OF AN EQUALITY PLAN:

1. Identification of the parties entering into the plan.
2. Personal, territorial and temporal scope.
3. Situation diagnosis report for the company, or multiple reports where a group of companies is involved.
4. Results of the pay audit, together with its validity period and frequency.
5. Definition of the plan's qualitative and quantitative objectives.
6. Description of specific measures, their implementation timeline and order of priority, as well as the design of indicators to track the progress of each measure.
7. Identification of the resources — both material and human — required for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of each measure and objective.
8. Action calendar for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the equality plan's measures.
9. System for ongoing monitoring, evaluation and periodic review.
10. Composition and operation of the joint oversight body responsible for the ongoing monitoring, evaluation and periodic review of the equality plans.
11. Amendment procedure, including the procedure for resolving any discrepancies that may arise during implementation, monitoring, evaluation or review, unless applicable legislation or collective agreements require adaptation.
12. A monitoring committee for the equality plan must be established, aiming for equal representation of women and men. This committee must meet at least twice: once during implementation and once at the end of the plan.

POSSIBLE EQUALITY PLAN MEASURES:

Once the diagnosis has been completed, it will be necessary to define the specific measures to be adopted in order to address the inequalities identified.

Is the company required to implement the measures proposed by the Negotiating Committee or employee representatives?

Article 45.2 of Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March on effective equality between women and men establishes that the equality plan must be subject to negotiation in the manner determined by employment legislation. It follows that, unless the collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, it is the company that ultimately decides how, when and with what budget the measures set out in the equality plan are implemented.

It should be noted, however, that a company may be found liable for breach of the fundamental right to trade union freedom enshrined in Articles 28 and 37 of the Spanish Constitution if it obstructs negotiation of the Equality Plan. In the ruling of the Supreme Court 832/2018 of 13 September 2018, Case No. 213/2017, the company was found liable for infringing that fundamental right by preventing collective negotiation of the Equality Plan — delaying the negotiation process and imposing its own plan unilaterally. As the ruling makes clear, the issue is not the nullity of the plan on the grounds that it was adopted without the agreement of employee representatives, but rather the infringement of trade union freedom in its dimension as the right to collective bargaining.

The measures that may be implemented are numerous and varied. Below we set out some of the most practical and commonly adopted, whose effectiveness and feasibility will always depend on the type of company in question:

MECHANISMS TO PREVENT THE PERPETUATION OF GENDER ROLES AND STEREOTYPES IN REMOTE WORKING

in accordance with Article 8.3 of the Remote Working Act, mechanisms for diagnosis and intervention may be established to ensure that the company's remote working policies are non-discriminatory.

DEVELOPING A RIGHT-TO-DISCONNECT POLICY in accordance with THE LOPD

Under the Organic Law on Data Protection, companies are required to establish an internal policy on the exercise of the right to digital disconnection. This measure may be agreed upon as part of the development of an equality plan, as it is fully consistent with measures aimed at reconciling personal and family life with professional life.

development and dissemination of codes of good practice

Your company may already have an ethics protocol or a criminal compliance programme that also covers other good practice standards within the company.

In any event, we set out below a sample corporate commitment statement on gender equality within the company:

(Name of the company) declares its commitment to establishing and developing policies that integrate equal treatment and equal opportunities for women and men, without direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex, and to promoting and advancing measures to achieve real equality within our organisation. We establish equal opportunities for women and men as a strategic principle of our corporate and human resources policy, in accordance with the definition of that principle set out in Organic Law 3/2007 of 22 March on the Effective Equality of Women and Men.
In every area of this company's activities — from recruitment to promotion, including pay policy, training, working conditions and employment, occupational health, the organisation of working time, and work-life balance — we uphold the principle of equal opportunities for women and men, with particular attention to indirect discrimination, understood as "a situation in which an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice places a person of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex".
With regard to both internal and external communications, all decisions taken in this respect will be communicated, and the company will project an image consistent with this principle of equal opportunities for women and men.
The principles set out above will be put into practice through the promotion of equality measures or through the implementation of an equality plan. The equality plan will address, among other matters, access to employment, professional classification, promotion and training, remuneration, the organisation of working time to facilitate — on equal terms for women and men — the reconciliation of work, personal and family life, and the prevention of sexual harassment and harassment on grounds of sex. In these areas, specific actions will be designed to bring about improvements on the current situation, with corresponding monitoring systems put in place, with the aim of advancing towards real equality between women and men within the company and, by extension, in society as a whole.
To achieve this objective, the legal representatives of employees will be involved, not only in the collective bargaining process as required by Organic Law 3/2007 on the Effective Equality of Women and Men, but throughout the entire process of developing and evaluating the aforementioned equality measures or equality plan.
Signed by senior management (name and position):
Place and date:

(Extracted from the publication "Clarifying Some Questions About Equality Plans", Women's Secretariat of the Federation of Citizen Services, June 2011)

PROVIDE information

Run information campaigns about the Equality Plan and its measures, targeting all staff, and provide information on the purpose and importance of achieving genuine gender equality within companies.

Use a variety of communication channels to keep employees informed: internal newsletters, a dedicated section on the company website, social media, notice boards, and so on.

IMPLEMENT training initiatives.

Training initiatives can take many forms. Among the most effective are workshops on shared responsibility, which address concepts such as co-responsibility (gender roles and stereotypes), work-life balance, and the management of personal, family, and professional spaces.

In addition, team training in assertiveness, conflict management, time management, and meeting facilitation helps build empathy and improve communication between individuals. With the right trainers, these sessions can foster greater understanding and more constructive responses to situations or conversations that are at odds with gender equality.

There is also specialist training for the role of equality officer.

An equality officer is a trained professional who designs, coordinates, drives, implements, manages, and evaluates plans, programmes, projects, and positive action campaigns, with gender equality and equal opportunities at the core of their work across a range of professional settings and contexts.

Their primary role is therefore to promote the advancement and mainstreaming of equal opportunities and gender equality within organisations and institutions, through the implementation and evaluation of measures and policies aimed at achieving equality of opportunity and treatment between women and men, in both the public and private spheres.

The main functions of the equality officer are as follows:

• Develops, implements and evaluates equal opportunities plans for women and men, coordinating the different areas of intervention, social partners and bodies involved in their delivery.
• Designs, drives and evaluates the progressive mainstreaming of a gender perspective across the various areas of intervention or fields of activity within the organisations where they work.
• Defines positive action measures for equal opportunities, and provides guidance and support to ensure their development and implementation.
• Designs and manages awareness-raising, information and training programmes on equal opportunities and gender equality for different target audiences.
• Supports and promotes the social and political participation of women's associations and groups facing particular difficulties.

recruitment and selection policies

Reviewing and correcting recruitment and selection practices to ensure that women and men have equal opportunities when applying to join the company.

Once inequality has been identified, positive action measures can be introduced to achieve a balanced representation of women and men across the different job categories, areas or departments.

One of the policies adopted during recruitment is to use blind CVs, in which the candidate's gender is not disclosed.

The image below provides an example we find particularly interesting: the message is indirectly aimed at encouraging women to apply for the position, without the job offer being discriminatory on grounds of gender:

Hiring policies

Alongside internal promotion policies, companies may establish rules to prioritise the hiring of women for positions of responsibility or professional categories where a gender imbalance has been identified.

ADDRESSING THE PAY POLICY

The new Regulation 901/2020 on pay equality between women and men introduces new mandatory measures regarding the requirement to produce a Salary Register, regardless of the number of employees.

The revised wording of Article 28 of the Workers' Statute establishes that employers are required to pay the same remuneration for work of equal value, and sets out monitoring measures.

• On the one hand, it requires employers to maintain a register of average salary values, salary supplements and non-salary payments across their workforce, broken down by gender and distributed by professional group, professional category or equivalent or equal-value job role.

Furthermore, employees have the right to access their company's salary register through the company's employee representatives.

• Where a company with at least fifty employees pays one gender an average of 25% or more above the other — whether measured across the total wage bill or average individual earnings — the employer must include in the salary register a justification demonstrating that this difference is not attributable to the employees' gender.

Where pay gaps based on gender are identified, these may be considered discriminatory. Moreover, even where a justification exists, corrective pay policies should be agreed upon as part of the company's Equality Plan.

We attach the Guide on Equal Pay between Men and Women, published by the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Catalan regional government).

implementing a harassment protocol

The implementation of a sexual harassment protocol is one of the most effective tools available in our view — valuable precisely because it serves to prevent, address, and provide a defence against harassment situations.

At Conesa Legal, we have developed a protocol covering both sexual harassment and workplace bullying (moral harassment).

Our protocol is hosted online and includes a form through which any individual can report or raise a concern with the company about a situation of sexual or moral harassment.

We consider this not only highly valuable from a business ethics standpoint — companies have a duty to prevent harassment and ensure a safe, healthy working environment — but also because a passive stance by the company may lead a judge to conclude that it tolerated the situation, making it jointly liable for any harm the harasser causes to the victim.

You can commission a harassment protocol with us, or visit this link to learn more about how to implement one:

internal promotion policies

Alongside recruitment policies, internal promotion policies aim to advance women into positions of responsibility.

working time arrangements

• REMOTE WORKING:

- Many tasks can now be performed remotely. This means an employee could access the company's server from home, and a rota system could be introduced — for example, one day per week where attendance at the physical workplace is not required. As discussed in our post on Working Time Tracking, the right tools make it perfectly possible to verify that working hours are being met, regardless of schedule or location.

- It may also be agreed, where there is a need to care for family members, that working hours is carried out from home, thanks to remote access.

• extended leave of absence provisions:

The Equality Plan may expand the leave and absence entitlements set out in the employment contract, the collective bargaining agreement or the Workers' Statute.

• flexible start and finish times available to 100% of the workforce.

- One of the most effective measures — and one that can actually benefit the company's profitability — is recognising that certain roles, teams or departments do not need to follow the same working hours as the rest of the organisation. In some cases, a condensed working day is possible without any negative impact on business performance: it accommodates the schedules of working parents and helps retain talent, since employees completing the same hours will perceive the arrangement as a genuine improvement to their working conditions.

- In some companies, a two-hour flexible window for start and finish times is applied. In certain sectors, productivity now matters far more than clock-watching, and flexibility is a natural driver of productivity — people perform better when their personal priorities are in order. With the right tools, since working-time recording was introduced, monitoring productivity has become considerably more straightforward.

- Another measure that supports flexible working and work-life balance is flexible remuneration, which may include childcare vouchers, meal vouchers, transport allowances, private health insurance and similar benefits.

• CREATION OF A HOURS BANK:

The creation of a hours bank allows working schedules to be adapted more effectively — aligning production output with the company's operational needs while accommodating the personal circumstances of each employee.

Regulating bespoke working hours arrangements

The company may wish to anticipate certain situations and proactively grant rights within its power to do so, in order to avoid disputes relating to the new right of employees to adapt the length and distribution of their working hours.

REGULATING REMOTE WORKING

• Companies must take remote workers into account when implementing equality plans, applying anti-harassment measures, and protecting victims of gender-based violence.
• Remote workers also have the same rights as on-site employees regarding work-life balance and responsibilities, including the right to adapt their working hours.

PROMOTING WORK-LIFE BALANCE-FRIENDLY LEADERSHIP:

- Building and fostering a leadership culture in which managers are aware of employees' personal circumstances as well as their professional ones, and take both into account when planning and organising work. A good leader must identify and understand the personal priorities and circumstances that affect their people. Life stages differ according to age, and companies sometimes lose talent as a result of failing to recognise this.

This leadership culture can be implemented as part of an Equality Plan.

implementing a conflict mediation system:

The implementation of a mediation system within the company for resolving gender equality disputes can be an ideal solution for addressing any situation involving discrimination, as well as other types of conflict.

A professional mediator guarantees confidentiality and impartiality, and ensures that all parties work towards reaching an agreement.

If you are interested in this measure, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have experienced mediators who can help you manage conflicts in a peaceful, professional and constructive manner.

promoting shared responsibility:

companys must recognise that employees' needs vary depending on their stage of life. Shared responsibility measures can help prevent the long-term loss of talent within the company.

Promotion measures can be adopted for men with family and caring responsibilities who have taken parental leave, suspended their contract, or taken a career break, with the aim of sharing family responsibilities equally with their partners.

ASSESSING PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS

Psychosocial risks are an increasingly serious problem across many sectors. They are a leading cause of sick leave and can even give rise to occupational illness. Many of these risks are linked to a lack of work-life balance.

One useful tool for identifying this issue is the results of a psychosocial risk assessment. This measures the degree of autonomy in a given role, the repetitive nature of the tasks, the demands of the position, and other related factors concerning working hours and work-life balance.

Once the issue has been identified, it becomes possible to assess whether certain gender equality measures may help reduce sick leave and promote positive action through the reconciliation of professional and family life.

measures relating to gender-based violence

Possible measures to support and provide positive action for potential victims of gender-based violence within the company.

REVIEWING COMPANY company COMMUNICATIONS

Reviewing language and communications as a social vehicle for expressing ideas, attitudes and behaviours that may be sexist. Implementing corrective measures on non-sexist language and communications is also a key action to include in an equality plan. 

OVERSIGHT AND INFORMATION RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES:

Article 64 of the Workers' Statute grants the Works Committee of the company powers to monitor compliance with and application of the principle of equal treatment and equal opportunities for women and men, particularly in relation to pay.

It provides that the Works Committee of the company shall have the right to receive information, at least annually, concerning:

• the application within the company of the right to equal treatment and equal opportunities for women and men
• the pay register provided for in Article 28.2 of the Workers' Statute.
• data on the proportion of women and men at the various professional levels

GRANTS AND OFFICIAL SUPPORT TOOLS FOR PROMOTING EQUALITY:

The Government awards annual grants to companies, cooperatives, jointly-owned businesses, associations and foundations with between 30 and 49 employees that are developing and implementing an Equality Plan for the first time, with the aim of promoting genuine equality between women and men.

If you are interested in this grant and would like to receive full details, please share your email address so we can send you the information:

The Ministry of the Presidency, Parliamentary Relations and Equality provides the following website with comprehensive resources to support the development of Equality Plans: Resources for developing Equality Plans.

The Catalan Department of Labour (Departament de Treball) also offers tools to assist with the development of Equality Plans.

An Equality Plan can be as detailed and comprehensive as the company wishes or is able to make it. There are also official template documents produced by the Women's Institute (Instituto de la Mujer) to serve as a guide when drafting an Equality Plan. That said, for practical purposes, we recommend the Equality Plan template developed by Conesa Legal.

ADMINISTRATIVE CONCILIATION AND LITIGATION IN EQUALITY MATTERS:

We set out below the relevant provisions of the current Organic Law 3/2007, of 22 March, on effective equality between women and men, concerning equality plans in companies and other measures to promote equality:

Article 45. Preparation and implementation of equality plans.
1. Companies are required to respect equal treatment and equal opportunities in the workplace and, to that end, must adopt measures designed to prevent any form of employment discrimination between women and men. Such measures must be negotiated, and where applicable agreed, with the employees' legal representatives in the manner determined by employment legislation.
2. In the case of companies with fifty or more employees, the equality measures referred to in the preceding paragraph must be directed towards the preparation and implementation of an equality plan, with the scope and content set out in this chapter, which must likewise be subject to negotiation in the manner determined by employment legislation.
3. Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, companies must prepare and implement an equality plan where required by the applicable collective bargaining agreement, on the terms set out therein.
4. Companies shall also prepare and implement an equality plan — following negotiation or consultation, as appropriate, with the employees' legal representatives — where the labour authority has agreed, in the course of disciplinary proceedings, to replace ancillary sanctions with the preparation and implementation of such a plan, on the terms specified in that agreement.
5. For all other companies, the preparation and implementation of equality plans shall be voluntary, following consultation with the employees' legal representatives.

Article 46. Definition and content of company equality plans.
1. Company equality plans are a structured set of measures, adopted following a situational assessment, aimed at achieving equal treatment and equal opportunities between women and men within the company and at eliminating sex-based discrimination.
Equality plans shall set out the specific equality objectives to be achieved, the strategies and practices to be adopted in order to reach them, and the establishment of effective systems for monitoring and evaluating the objectives set.
2. Equality plans shall contain a structured set of measurable measures aimed at removing the obstacles that prevent or hinder the effective equality of women and men. A prior assessment shall be carried out — negotiated, where applicable, with the employees' legal representatives — covering at least the following areas:
a) Recruitment and hiring processes.
b) Job classification.
c) Training.
d) Career progression.
e) Working conditions, including a gender pay audit.
f) Shared exercise of personal, family and work-life rights.
g) Under-representation of women.
h) Remuneration.
i) Prevention of sexual harassment and harassment on grounds of sex.
The assessment shall be carried out within the Equality Plan Negotiating Committee. For this purpose, the management of the company shall provide all data and information necessary to complete the assessment in relation to the areas listed in this paragraph, as well as the data from the Register governed by Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Workers' Statute.
3. Equality plans shall cover the entirety of a company, without prejudice to the establishment of specific targeted measures in respect of particular workplaces.
4. A Register of Company Equality Plans is hereby established, as part of the Register of Collective Agreements and Collective Labour Agreements held by the Directorate-General of Labour of the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security, and by the Labour Authorities of the Autonomous Communities.
5. Companies are required to register their equality plans in the aforementioned register.
6. Detailed regulatory provisions shall be developed covering the assessment, contents, subject areas, pay audits, and monitoring and evaluation systems for equality plans, as well as the Register of Equality Plans, with regard to its establishment, characteristics, and conditions for registration and access.

Article 47. Transparency in the implementation of equality plans.
Access to information on the content of equality plans and the achievement of their objectives is guaranteed to employees' legal representatives or, where no such representatives exist, to the employees themselves.
The foregoing shall be without prejudice to the monitoring of developments regarding equality plan agreements by the joint committees of collective bargaining agreements that are assigned such responsibilities.

Article 48. Specific measures to prevent sexual harassment and gender-based harassment in the workplace.
1. Companies must promote working conditions that prevent sexual harassment and gender-based harassment, and must establish specific procedures for their prevention and for handling any complaints or claims submitted by those who have been subjected to such conduct.
To this end, measures may be put in place — to be negotiated with employee representatives — such as the development and dissemination of codes of good practice, the running of information campaigns, or the delivery of training programmes.
2. Employee representatives must contribute to preventing sexual harassment and gender-based harassment in the workplace by raising awareness among employees and by informing company management of any conduct or behaviour of which they become aware that could give rise to such harassment.

Article 49. Support for the voluntary adoption of equality plans.
In order to encourage the voluntary adoption of equality plans, the Government shall introduce promotional measures — aimed particularly at small and medium-sized enterprises — which shall include the necessary technical support.

CHAPTER IV
Corporate equality distinction

Article 50. Corporate distinction for equality.
1. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall create a distinction to recognise companies that stand out for the implementation of equal treatment and equal opportunities policies for their workers, which may be used in the company's commercial activities and for advertising purposes.
2. In order to obtain this distinction, any company, whether publicly or privately owned, may submit to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs a report on the equality parameters implemented in respect of employment relations and the advertising of its products and services.
3. The name of this distinction, the procedure and conditions for its award, the rights arising from obtaining it, and the conditions for the institutional promotion of companies that receive it and the equality policies they apply shall be determined by regulation.
4. In awarding this distinction, account shall be taken of, among other criteria, the balanced representation of women and men in management bodies and across the various professional groups and categories within the company, the adoption of equality plans or other innovative measures to promote equality, and the use of non-sexist advertising for the company's products or services.
5. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs shall monitor whether companies awarded the distinction are continuously upholding their equal treatment and equal opportunities policies for their workers and, in the event of non-compliance, shall withdraw the distinction.

Phased application of Article 48 as amended by Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March, on urgent measures to guarantee equal treatment and equal opportunities for women and men in employment and occupation.

1. Sections 4, 5, and 6 of Article 48, as worded by Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March on urgent measures to guarantee equal treatment and opportunities for women and men in employment and occupation, shall be applied gradually in accordance with the following rules:

a) In the case of birth, the biological mother shall be entitled to the full suspension periods provided for under Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March from the date it enters into force.

b) From the date Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March enters into force, in the case of birth, the other parent shall be entitled to a total suspension period of eight weeks, of which the first two must be taken on an uninterrupted basis immediately following the birth.

The biological mother may transfer to the other parent a period of up to four weeks from her non-compulsory suspension entitlement. The other parent's use of this period, as well as the remaining six weeks, shall be governed by the provisions of Article 48.4.

c) From the date Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March enters into force, in the case of adoption, foster care with a view to adoption, or guardianship, each parent shall be entitled to a six-week suspension period to be taken on a full-time, compulsory, and uninterrupted basis immediately following either the court order establishing the adoption or the administrative decision granting foster care with a view to adoption or guardianship. In addition to the six weeks of compulsory leave, the parents may take a combined total of twelve weeks of voluntary leave, which must be taken on an uninterrupted basis within the twelve months following the court order establishing the adoption or the administrative decision granting foster care with a view to adoption or guardianship, in accordance with the provisions of Article 48.5. Each parent may individually take a maximum of ten of the twelve total voluntary weeks, with the remainder available to the other parent. Where both parents exercising this right are employed by the same company, the company may restrict the simultaneous use of the twelve voluntary weeks on duly justified and objective grounds, set out in writing.

d) From 1 January 2020, in the case of birth, the other parent shall be entitled to a total suspension period of twelve weeks, the first four of which must be taken continuously and immediately following the birth. The biological mother may transfer to the other parent a period of up to two weeks from her non-compulsory suspension entitlement. The other parent's use of this period, as well as the remaining eight weeks, shall be governed by the provisions of Article 48.4.

e) From 1 January 2020, in the case of adoption, guardianship for adoption purposes, or foster care, each parent shall be entitled to a six-week suspension period to be taken full-time, on a compulsory and uninterrupted basis immediately following the judicial decision establishing the adoption, or the administrative decision granting guardianship for adoption purposes or foster care. In addition to the six compulsory weeks, the parents may take a further total of sixteen weeks on a voluntary basis, to be taken consecutively within the twelve months following the judicial decision establishing the adoption or the administrative decision granting guardianship for adoption purposes or foster care, in accordance with the provisions of Article 48.5. Each parent may individually take a maximum of ten weeks out of the total sixteen voluntary weeks, with the remaining weeks available to the other parent. Where both parents exercising this right work for the same company, the company may, on duly justified and objective grounds stated in writing, limit the simultaneous taking of the sixteen voluntary weeks.

f) From 1 January 2021, each parent shall be entitled to an equal employment contract suspension period, including six weeks of compulsory leave for each of them, with the new rules set out in Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March applying in full.

2. Until full equalisation of the suspension periods for both parents is achieved, and during the phased implementation period, the new system shall apply with the following specific provisions:

a) In the event of the death of the biological mother, regardless of whether she was in employment at the time, the other parent shall be entitled to the full 16-week suspension provided for the biological mother in accordance with Article 48.4.

b) In the case of childbirth, the other parent may continue to use the suspension period originally transferred by the biological mother even if, at the time the mother was due to return to work, she is on temporary disability (IT) leave.

c) In the event that one parent has no right to suspend their professional activity with entitlement to benefits in accordance with the rules governing that activity, the other parent shall be entitled to suspend their employment contract for the full 16 weeks, without any limitation under the transitional arrangements applying to them.

d) In cases of adoption, guardianship for adoption purposes, and foster care, in accordance with Article 45.1.d), where both parents are in employment, the suspension period shall be distributed at the option of the parties concerned, who may take it simultaneously or consecutively, within the shared-use limits established for each year of the transitional period. The periods referred to in those provisions may be taken on a full-time or part-time basis, subject to prior agreement between the employers and employees concerned, on the terms to be determined by regulation.

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How we can help:

Both Royal Decree 901/2020 and Royal Decree-Law 6/2019 of 1 March introduce amendments to Spain's Equality Act affecting the obligation to negotiate equality plans within companies. These changes are being phased in progressively, reducing the workforce threshold from 250 to 50 employees, making it mandatory for any company reaching that headcount to negotiate an equality plan.

An equality plan can be as comprehensive as you wish to make it. We recommend, however, that you start with the Equality Plan template we have developed at Conesa Legal — a straightforward, effective and practical tool to guide the negotiation and drafting of your Equality Plan:

As a further measure to implement following the diagnostic assessment and agreement on actions, we also recommend our Sexual Harassment Protocol, available at the following link: protocol on sexual and moral harassment.