The last few years have seen a large number of legislative developments in the field of employment law, and 2024 looks set to continue to add new legal obligations for companies. In this article we will review some of the latest laws that have come into force and others that are about to come into force.
At Confianz Employment Law Department we keep our clients permanently updated on existing or developing procedures and duties to enable them to have a strategy that anticipates changes, eliminates the risk of sanction and protects the company’s reputation.
New rules that entered into force in 2023
Implementing an internal complaints channel
For companies with 50 employees or more, it is mandatory as of 1 December 2023 to have an internal whistleblower channel in place to enable employees to report breaches of the law in the professional field.
Leave to reconcile work and familiy life
Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 of 28 June introduced a package of reforms directly affecting work-life balance. It extended the adaptation of the working day, marriage leave for unmarried couples, paid leave from 2 to 5 days for carers, the new right to take four days paid leave from work due to force majeure, eight weeks’ parental leave to care for a child for more than one year, and the cases of objective nullity of dismissals when there is unfavourable treatment for exercising the rights to work-life balance or co-responsibility.
Breastfeeding leave of up to 28 days
From 21 December 2023 it will be possible to take up to 28 days of cumulative breastfeeding leave.
Changes coming into force in 2024
Minimum wage increase
In 2024, the minimum wage will rise by 5% to 1,134 euros in 14 annual payments. This increase has already been approved a few weeks into the year 2024, but it will be applied retroactively as of 1 January.
Intergenerational Equity Mechanism contribution rises
From January 2024 the SS contribution rate for the International Equity Mechanism increases from 0.6% to 0.7%. The company pays 0.58%, while the worker pays the remaining 0.12%. This rate will continue to rise by 0.1% until 2029, when it will reach 1.2%.
It is compulsory to register all trainees with the social security system
Since 1 January, it has also been compulsory to register and pay social security contributions for all trainees. Even if their internships are unpaid. The company is entitled to a 95% reduction for common contingencies.
Mandatory LGTBI harrassment protocol
From 2 March it will be compulsory for all companies with more than 50 employees to have a protocol for dealing with harassment or violence against LGTBI people.
Labour law developments announced for 2024
Reduction of working hours
Among the changes in labour regulations announced by the government for this year, the reduction of the maximum working week from 40 to 38.5 hours without a reduction in salary stands out for its significance.
New statue for trainees
The Ministry of Labour has announced that it will reopen the dialogue on the statute for trainees. This regulation aims to restrict the hours of internships according to their type, to compensate at least the costs of transport and meals, and to limit the presence of interns to 20% of the workforce per work centre.
In addition to these expected changes, we will have to keep an eye on the developments that are sure to take place in labour law in 2024.