Written by Josep Conesa
Labour and bankruptcy lawyer
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As of 31 December 2023, the whistleblowing channel will be mandatory in companies with more than 50 employees as a result of Law 2/2023 of 20 February, regulating the protection of persons who report regulatory breaches and of the fight against corruption (Ley 2/2023, de 20 de febrero, reguladora de la protección de las personas que informen sobre infracciones normativas y de lucha contra la corrupción).
Law 4/2023, of 28 February, for the real and effective equality of trans people and for the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people (Ley 4/2023, de 28 de febrero, para la igualdad real y efectiva de las personas trans y para la garantía de los derechos de las personas LGTBI), in its article 15 on LGTBI Equality and non-discrimination in companies establishes that:
Article 42.- Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013 of 29 November on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion (Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2013 de 29 noviembre de derechos de las personas con discapacidad y de su inclusión social) - Quota for the allocation of jobs for persons with disabilities.
"Public and private companies that employ a number of fifty or more workers shall be obliged to ensure that at least 2 per cent of them are workers with disabilities. The aforementioned calculation shall be based on the total workforce of the corresponding company, regardless of the number of work premises and regardless of the form of employment contract that binds the company's workers. Likewise, it shall be understood that those disabled workers who are at any given time providing services in public or private companies, by virtue of the provision contracts that they have entered into with temporary employment agencies, shall be included in this calculation.”
Draw up an equality plan in the company with the help of lawyers specialised in moral harassment and sexual harassment:
"In the case of companies with fifty or more workers, the equality measures referred to in the previous section must be aimed at the development and implementation of an equality plan, with the scope and content established in this chapter, which must also be subject to negotiation in the manner determined by labour legislation."
If you want to know how to implement an equality plan, we provide this informative post.
One job shall be of equal value to another when the nature of the functions or tasks actually performed, the educational, professional or training conditions required for their performance, the factors strictly related to their performance and the working conditions under which such activities are actually carried out are equivalent.
Female employees have the right to access, through the company's legal representation of workers, the wage register of their company.
The new Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, obliges companies with more than 100 employees to regularly publish the salaries paid to both men and women in the same job.
Article 51.2. ET Collective redundancies - Collective redundancies must be preceded by a period of consultation with the workers' legal representatives lasting no more than thirty calendar days, or fifteen calendar days in the case of companies with fewer than fifty workers. The consultation with the workers' legal representatives shall cover, as a minimum, the possibilities of avoiding or reducing collective redundancies and of mitigating their consequences by means of accompanying social measures, such as redeployment measures or training or retraining measures with a view to improving employability. The consultation shall be carried out within a single special negotiating body, although, if there are several workplaces, it shall be limited to the workplaces affected by the procedure. The special negotiating body shall be composed of a maximum of thirteen members representing each of the parties.
Companies with more than 100 workers must make financial contributions to the Public Treasury in the event of collective redundancies. You can find more information via this link (in Spanish).
Article 51.10. ET Collective redundancies: Any company that carries out a collective redundancy affecting more than fifty workers must offer the affected workers an external redeployment plan through authorised redeployment companies. This plan, designed to cover a minimum period of six months, must include training and vocational guidance measures, personalised attention for the worker affected and an active job search. In any event, the above shall not apply to companies that have been subject to bankruptcy proceedings. The cost of drawing up and implementing this plan shall in no case be borne by the workers.
If there is an obligation to draw up an equality plan... it is compulsory to have a work council because a committee elected via article 41 of the Workers' Statute is not valid. Check this link (in Spanish) for the new jurisprudential developments that determine this obligation.
The process for the election of the work council in companies with more than 50 employees can be complicated. The following link provides you with a model for trade union elections. This model offers a clear and informative guide of the steps to be taken by the company and the election committee, from the moment the elections are announced until the election results are made public and communicated to the public office.
In a company that has two or more workplaces in the same province, or in neighbouring municipalities, whose total workforce does not exceed fifty workers, but which together make up a total of fifty or more workers, a joint work council shall be set up. When some workplaces have fifty employees and others in the same province do not, work councils shall be set up for the former and another shall be set up for all of the latter.
By collective agreement, and in accordance with the professional composition of the sector of productive activity or of the company, a new college may be set up to adapt to this composition. In this case, the electoral rules of this section shall be adapted to the number of colleges. The seats on the committee shall be apportioned proportionately in each company according to the number of employees making up the aforementioned electoral colleges. If the division results in quotients with fractions, the fractional unit shall be awarded to the group to which the highest fraction corresponds; if they are equal, the award shall be made by drawing lots.
It must be set up in all companies or workplaces with fifty or more workers.
It must meet at least quarterly, or when requested by either of the two parties that make it up. The Committee shall have its own rules of operation (LPRL art. 38.3.).
Find out how to develop an internal digital disconnection policy to support the work-life balance of employees in your company. The following article provides practical advice on creating these policies and outlines clear criteria for the use of digital devices in the workplace. Connect with us to implement these strategies and promote a more balanced and healthy work environment for your team.
See our post on digital disconnection (in Spanish). Ideal for work-life balance policies.