Spain: New measures to protect work-life balance and worker protection

On 29 June, Spain's Official State Journal (the BOE) published Royal Decree-law 5/2023, of 28 June, which adopts a wide range of measures applicable to different fields and a series of provisions that aim to reinforce the right to work-life balance for parents and carers. In particular, it introduces:

• new measures applicable to leave and
• new measures regarding the right to work-life balance and flexible working hours as set out in the Spanish Workers' Statute.

Paid leave

• Workers are entitled to 5 days of paid leave (compared to the 2 days available under former provisions) due to serious accident or illness, hospitalisation or outpatient surgery that requires recovery at home suffered by
• (i) persons who live with the worker and
• (ii) civil partners, and
• (iii) relatives of the civil partner.
• A new right to 4 days of paid leave is also established for cases of force majeure, where the worker's absence from work is necessary for urgent and unforeseen family reasons and where illness or accident make the worker's immediate presence crucial. In the case of leave due to death of a spouse (2 days' leave), the scope of that right is now extended to include civil partners.
• Finally, the current leave of 15 calendar days applicable to marriage will now also apply to civil partners that are duly registered as such.

Unpaid leave

• The new provisions establish new unpaid leave of up to 8 weeks for parents to care for a son or daughter, or child who has been fostered for a period exceeding one year, which may be enjoyed until the child reaches 8 years of age. This leave may be enjoyed continuously or divided into separate periods, in a flexible manner and may not be transferred to another person.

 Work-life balance: reduction of or flexible working hours

• Workers may request a shortened working day when they need to care directly for a family member or relative up to the second degree of their spouse or civil partner, provided that there are no direct relatives up to the second degree.
• The right to a shortened working day is extended to workers who need to care for their son or daughter or persons in their care suffering from cancer or another serious illness up to 26 years of age, provided that before the age of 23 they prove a degree of disability equal to or exceeding 65%.
• Furthermore, the right to flexible working hours applicable to workers who have people in their care is extended to workers who prove that they have a duty to care in respect of any of the following:
• a son or daughter of more than 12 years of age,
• a spouse or civil partner,
• relatives of the worker up to the second degree, as well as
• other dependent persons who live in the same abode and who cannot care for themselves.

Finally, the new regulation includes a series of guarantees to ensure that workers who exercise these new rights to work-life balance do not suffer any detriment as a result.