Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q1 2020 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q1 2020 Global Guide Quarterly

COVID-19: Greater Flexibility for Temporary Redundancy Plans

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Juan Bonilla, Partner and Jennifer Bel, Senior Knowledge Lawyer – Cuatrecasas

On March 14, 2020, the Spanish Government declared a state of emergency, resulting in businesses closing or drastically reducing their operations. Since March 30, any employees who do not provide essential services cannot go to work and must either work from home or receive a recoverable paid leave by the company. The government has facilitated simplified procedures for temporary redundancies for companies, both for force majeure and business-related reasons. Companies can be exempted, if requested, from paying social security contributions while the temporary redundancy plan, due to force majeure, is in force. These measures are subject to companies’ commitment to maintain jobs for six months from the date the activity is resumed.

COVID-19: Protection of Employees

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Juan Bonilla, Partner and Jennifer Bel, Senior Knowledge Lawyer – Cuatrecasas

A new law was enacted that prohibits terminations or dismissals based on force majeure and economic, technical, organizational, and production grounds arising from COVID-19. If there is no cause for termination unrelated to COVID-19, the termination will be declared contrary to law. Protections for temporary employees are also in place, so their contracts can be fully completed when the temporary redundancy is over. Unemployment benefits for employees affected by these plans will not count for purposes of later payment of the unemployment benefit. For employees who were still working on March 30, 2020, Royal Decree-Law 10/2020 approved a paid leave for non-essential activities until April 9, 2020 for employees who cannot go to their workplace. This paid leave does not apply to employees providing essential services; those affected by a temporary redundancy plan; those on temporary disability leave or parental leave; or those who are able to continue teleworking, among other exceptions.

Repeal of Fair Dismissal Based on Absenteeism

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Juan Bonilla, Partner and Jennifer Bel, Senior Knowledge Lawyer – Cuatrecasas

On February 18, 2020, objective dismissal based on absenteeism has been repealed through Royal Decree-Law 4/2020, effective February 20, 2020. Under the repealed article, an employment contract could be legally terminated with a lower severance compensation, on the grounds of intermittent absences, even if justified, when the absences amount to certain percentages of the employee’s working days within certain periods. To fight absenteeism, companies may still legally dismiss on disciplinary grounds, when employees reach an unjustified level of absenteeism established in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

COVID-19: Health & Safety Measures and Data Privacy Provisions

New Regulation or Official Guidance

Authors: Juan Bonilla, Partner and Jennifer Bel, Senior Knowledge Lawyer – Cuatrecasas

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to multiple strict health and safety measures. An employee with a confirmed infection will be placed on temporary sick leave and not allowed to work. Employees susceptible to COVID-19 must contact the Health & Safety service to proceed with a medical exam; an employee’s refusal to do so may constitute a labor offense. Employees suspected of infection must contact the health and safety services to activate the company’s preventive protocol. Given that health data is highly sensitive, the employee must be informed of the treatment of his or her health data. If there are cases of contagion in the company, the preventive instructions established by the occupational risk prevention service must be complied with, to facilitate continuity of the business activities and the protection of the rest of the employees.

Mandatory Equality Plans for Companies with Over 150 Employees

Upcoming Deadline for Legal Compliance

Authors: Juan Bonilla, Partner and Jennifer Bel, Senior Knowledge Lawyer – Cuatrecasas

March 7, 2020 was the deadline for companies with a workforce between 150 and 250 employees to implement an equality plan. This measure currently affects all companies with over 150 employees; from March 7, 2021, the threshold will be 100. To negotiate the content of the equality plan, companies must prepare a diagnosis considering the items specified in Royal Decree-Law 6/2019. If a company fails to meet its obligations in this area, the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate could issue an infringement report for a serious offense and the company may be banned from signing public contracts.