Labor Law

Edwin is 36, he is from El Salvador and he lives in Murcia with his residence and work authorization. He works as a laborer for a small formwork company, the one that builds the wooden and metal molds into which the concrete is poured. That company is subcontracted by a large construction firm that is…

Resident doctor (MIR) on-call shifts in Spain are going to change. Royal Decree 951/2026, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on November 6, 2026, reforms the employment relationship of residents training as specialists in Health Sciences: it caps each on-call shift at 17 hours, sets a monthly limit on on-call shifts, strengthens rest periods,…

One Monday morning, Ionela opens a letter from her employer. She is 42, Romanian, has lived in Spain for fifteen years and works as a machine operator at the packaging plant her company runs in Toledo. She has been there for nine years and earns 1,700 euros gross a month. The letter says that, because…

The CUME benefit, the one paid to families who reduce their working hours to care for a child with cancer or another serious illness, has a new regulation. Royal Decree 957/2026 of 4 November, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 5 November 2026, fully replaces Royal Decree 1148/2011 and enters into force on…

On 28 October 2026, a railway accident near Urda (Toledo), on the Madrid-Seville high-speed line, killed 69 people and left more than 100 injured. One week later, the Government has approved Royal Decree-Law 32/2026 (Real Decreto-ley 32/2026), published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on 4 November 2026, with financial aid for the victims and…

Your supervisor leaves and you are asked to do their job “in the meantime”. Months go by, you keep doing it and your payslip does not change. If this sounds familiar, you should know that performing duties of a higher category in Spain has clear consequences: Article 39 of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los…

Birth leave in Spain lasts 19 weeks for each parent, and 32 weeks in single-parent families. But it cannot be taken just any way: the law sets which weeks are mandatory, which can be spread out during the baby’s first year and which can be saved for later. In this article I explain how it…

If you work in transport, agriculture or fishing, or run a business in one of these sectors, you may have read that the prohibition on dismissals in Spain linked to the Middle East crisis ended on September 30, 2026. That is no longer the case: Royal Decree-law 25/2026 has extended it until December 31, 2026…

Rocío wants to leave two hours earlier to pick up her son from school. Her employer says yes, but that the reduction “has to be in the morning”, and while they are at it, they remind her that people on reduced hours are “the first to go if there are cuts”. If this sounds familiar,…

If you are caring for the sons or daughters of a woman killed by gender-based violence, this change affects you directly. Since October 21, 2026, the orphan’s pension for gender-based violence has a minimum amount of twice the monthly minimum wage (salario mínimo interprofesional, SMI), and the orphan’s benefit becomes that same amount without the…

Carolina and Tomás have just gone back to work after the birth leave for their daughter. She wants to combine her breastfeeding hours into full days to spend more time at home; he wants to ask for his own hour. And both have hit the same wall: “you can’t do that”. In this guide we…

When a woman suffers injuries caused by her partner or former partner and cannot work, until now her sick leave for gender-based violence was handled like any other sick leave for common illness or a non-work accident, with the same requirements as any other: a minimum contribution period if it is a common illness and…

You get married, you move house, your grandmother dies on the other side of the ocean, a rain alert cuts off the roads or the school calls because your son has hurt himself. These things are part of life, but they are not “personal matters” you have to pay for with your vacation. The Workers’…

Working nights wears you down. You sleep while everyone else is awake, you eat at odd hours and you see less of your family. That is why night work in Spain has special protection under the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores): limits on working hours, a ban on overtime, a night work bonus and…

If you have custody of your children and the other parent does not pay the child support that the court ordered, the Spanish State can advance part of that money to you. It does so through the Child Support Guarantee Fund (Fondo de Garantía de Pago de Alimentos), and in 2026 its rules have changed…

If you have questions about a company dinner or lunch, an accident, a dismissal, or an employment claim, you can contact Fernanda Vargas, employment lawyer in Madrid, via WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly. Introduction: why the company dinner also has legal consequences The company dinner is often presented as a relaxed occasion, but…

How much time has to pass between leaving work and coming back in? Are you entitled to stop to eat? Can they make you work ten days in a row? Rest breaks at work in Spain do not depend on your supervisor’s goodwill: the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores) sets three minimum rest periods…

Kevin is 25 years old, works as a waiter in Málaga, and has a full-time permanent contract. November arrives, customer numbers drop, and one day his boss tells him: “There’s no one here today, go home and you’ll make up the hours at Easter.” They do not give him advance notice. They do not show…

If you need to review your case or confirm how your medical leave is calculated from December 2026 onward, you can contact Fernanda Vargas via WhatsApp or book a consultation on Calendly. The calculation of medical leave in Spain changes for many temporary disability cases due to common contingencies starting on December 1, 2026. The…

If you want to clearly understand the SMI 2027 in Spain, the first thing is to separate what has already been approved from what is still under negotiation. Today, the current legal reference remains the 2026 SMI, while for 2027 there are only announcements, positions of the social partners, and indicative scenarios. If you need…

If you believe you are working as a false self-employed worker in Spain in 2026, or if your company wants to review risks before an inspection, you can contact Fernanda Vargas, employment lawyer in Madrid, via WhatsApp or book a consultation on Calendly. This guide provides general guidance on the regulations currently in force and…

If you need to review how the 2026 Social Security deregistrations affect you, you can write to Fernanda Vargas on WhatsApp or book an appointment on her Calendly. This article provides general legal information on the changes that came into force on August 1, 2026, and may serve as a practical guide if you are…

If you are going through a similar situation and do not know whether you should obey or stand your ground, you can contact Fernanda Vargas on WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly. When it comes to a boss’s orders, a bad reaction can end in a sanction. And a good reaction can protect you.…

If you have had an accident on the way to work or on the way home, it is essential to classify it correctly from the start. That classification can change the amount you receive while on sick leave, who handles it, and how your case is defended. If you need help, you can write to…