COVID-19: Potential legal impact (latest developments) - Pharma (Spain) (03/04/2020)

New regulations have been published in Spain to address the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. We will analyse below the most significant impacts that the new measures will have, essentially included in Royal Decree-law 11/2020, of 31 March, which adopts additional urgent social and economic measures to tackle COVID-19 (“RDL 11/2020”), as well as a number of aspects of Royal Decree-law 10/2020, of 29 March, which establishes a recoverable paid leave for employees that do not provide essential services with the aim of reducing the movement of people in the fight against COVID-19 (“RDL 10/2020”).

Pharmaceutical sector

RDL 10/2020 establishes that workers who do not perform essential services must take recoverable paid leave with the aim of reducing the movement of people in the fight against COVID-19.

Workers who fall within the scope of application of RDL 10/2020 must take recoverable paid leave from 30 March to 9 April 2020, both included, during which they will continue to receive their salary.

In particular, this leave does not apply to workers who render services in sectors considered to be essential, which are listed in the annex to the RDL 10/2020. These include:

• Workers who perform activities that must continue to be performed pursuant to articles 10.1, 10.4, 14.4, 16, 17 and 18, of Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, and the regulations approved by the Competent Authority and Delegated Competent Authorities. Article 10.1 refers to pharmaceutical and medical establishments, opticians and establishments that provide orthopaedic products, hygiene products, etc.
• Workers who work in activities that are part of the market supply chain and the operation of centres that produce necessity goods and provide basic services, including food, beverages, animal feed, hygiene products, medicines, medical devices and any other product necessary to safeguard health, and enable their distribution from point of origin through to final destination.
• Those who perform services in the production and distribution chain of medical technology, goods, services, medical material, protective equipment, medical and hospital equipment and any other items necessary to provide medical services.
• Workers who are essential for maintaining the production processes in the manufacturing industry that provides the supplies, equipment and material necessary for the proper performance of the essential activities listed in the annex.
• Workers who provide the passenger and goods transport services that continue to be provided since the state of emergency was announced, as well as the workers responsible for ensuring the maintenance of the resources used for those services, in accordance with the regulations approved by the Competent Authority or Delegated Competent Authority since the state of emergency was announced.
• Workers in medical and health centres, services and establishments, as well as the people who (i) care for the elderly, minors, dependent and disabled persons, and people who work in companies, R&D&I and biotechnology centres linked to COVID-19, (ii) the animal centres linked to them, (iii) those who provide the minimum required services in facilities linked to them and the entities that supply the products necessary for that research, and (iv) the people who work in funeral services and connected activities...
• The workers who render services in the sectors or subsectors involved in the import and supply of medical supplies, as well as logistics, transport, storage and customs transit companies and in general anyone who is involved in medical air routes (called corredores sanitarios).

The provision therefore established clearly that the supply chain of medicines constitutes an essential service.

There are further details of employment measures in the employment section and in our newsletter: COVID-19 PEOPLE: latest developments in employment law.

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