For months now, the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate has significantly increased its actions aimed at verifying compliance with business obligations regarding effective equality between women and men in the workplace. This intensification is not temporary or anecdotal: it is part of a sustained strategy that will continue throughout 2025, as the inspectorate itself has already announced.

The main objective of the inspection campaigns is to verify that the companies required, that is, all those with 50 or more workers, as well as those that are required by collective agreement or specific regulation, have a valid, registered and effectively applied equality plan.

What documentation are the inspectors requesting?

In its visits or requests, the ITSS requires the following minimum documentation from obligated companies:

• Equality Plan negotiated with the legally constituted Commission and approved in accordance with RD 901/2020.
• Resolution certifying its registration in the Public Register of Equality Plans (REGCON).
• Acts of constitution and meetings of the negotiating and monitoring Commission.
• Remuneration audit and job evaluation, under the terms established by RD 902/2020.
• Annual remuneration register differentiated by gender, professional category and contribution group.
• Protocol against sexual harassment and harassment based on gender (mandatory for all companies).
• Specific LGTBI measures or plan, when the company has more than 50 workers.

Attention. Not having this documentation or not having it updated can imply financial penalties of up to 225,018 euros, in addition to the loss of bonuses, public aid and the impossibility of contracting with the public sector.

What does the Inspectorate check besides the paper?

Beyond checking that the equality plan exists and is formally registered, the ITSS checks:

• If the plan includes effective measures with an implementation schedule, designated persons responsible and monitoring mechanisms.
• Whether corrective measures are being applied following the detection of wage gaps, occupational segregation or unequal treatment.
• Whether there is an equality committee or real mechanisms for periodic review.
• Whether the content of the plan has been communicated to the workforce.
• If the pay gap exceeds 25%, documented objective justification is required.

Furthermore, although the company is not required to have an equality plan, it must in any case respect the principle of equal treatment and opportunities, adopting preventive measures against discrimination and mandatorily having a remuneration register.

Sanctions to consider

• Lack of equality plan when it is mandatory: up to €225,018.
• Not having a salary record: up to €7,500.
• Unjustified salary gap greater than 25%: penalty of up to €7,500, unless there is serious discrimination, in which case it can also reach €225,018.
• Not communicating the plan, not applying it or not evaluating it: cumulative penalties, in addition to reputational damage or loss of subsidies.

Therefore, if your company has more than 50 employees or is affected by an agreement that imposes this obligation, it is unavoidable:

1. Verify that the plan is valid and registered with REGCON.
2. Keep salary audits and remuneration records up to date.
3. Accredit the negotiation process with legal representation or, if there is none, with an ad hoc commission.
4. Have protocols in place against harassment and LGTBI measures, as appropriate.
5. Implement real and evaluable measures that make the principle of equality effective.

At Ramió Assessors we provide solutions to any of your needs in the workplace, contact our office.

L'entrada The Labor Inspectorate intensifies control over equality plans ha aparegut primer a Ramió Assessors.

The bill for the reduction of the maximum duration of the ordinary working day and the guarantee of the registration of working hours and the right to disconnection was approved by the Council of Ministers on May 6, 2025. It is currently in parliamentary processing and has been published in the Official Gazette of the Cortes Generales, Series A, number 58-1 , dated May 16, 2025.

Article 34 of the Workers’ Statute (ET) is about to undergo one of the most significant reforms of recent decades. If Parliament approves the text in its current terms, the maximum ordinary working day will go from 40 to 37.5 hours per week on an annual basis, without any impact on salary . This transformation is not only born from the desire to modernize the legal framework, but also from a growing awareness of mental health, family reconciliation and sustainable lifestyles.

Digital day registration

The future wording of article 34 bis of the ET imposes an inescapable obligation: the workday record must be digital, objective, reliable and remotely accessible to the Labor Inspectorate. No more handwritten sheets or rudimentary systems: the standard requires traceability, four-year retention and legible and complete data.

Furthermore, the company that does not have this system or manipulates it will face a direct consequence: the hours claimed by the worker will be presumed to be true. This reversal of the burden of proof turns the register into an element of protection, but also of high risk if it is not managed rigorously. The system must be fully operational six months after the entry into force of the standard, except for the sections on interoperability, which will depend on regulatory development.

Right to disconnect

Article 20 bis of the ET and article 18 of Law 10/2021 on remote work are forcefully rewritten: the right to disconnect does not admit waivers or reprisals. Not answering emails outside of working hours can no longer be considered a breach or a reason for a sanction. And not only is the right affirmed, but it is also invited to be implemented through collective bargaining, allowing exceptions only in justified, proportional and exceptional cases.

This right transcends teleworking. It forces companies to rethink their communication dynamics, their implicit expectations and their organizational culture.

Part-time contracts

As part of the reform, article 12 of the ET is also being revised. Part-time contracts will no longer be governed by specific time control: they will be integrated into the general regime. But the biggest change comes with those that exceed 37.5 hours per week: they will automatically be transformed into full-time contracts.

In addition, the partiality coefficients are redefined and proportional remuneration is adjusted, in order to prevent part-time contracts from being used as a covert route for poorly paid full-time work.

Sanctions

The Law on Infractions and Sanctions in the Social Order is being tightened on several fronts. Failure to comply with the new framework (whether due to excessive working hours or inadequate registration) will be considered a serious infraction. But the most relevant thing is that the infraction will be calculated for each affected worker, substantially increasing the economic exposure. Fines may reach 10,000 euros per worker.

The message is clear: working time is respected not only as a labor right, but as a business obligation with direct economic consequences.

Family home service

Royal Decree 1620/2011, which regulates the employment relationship of family home service, also adapts to the new working day and time registration. A specific regime is foreseen, more flexible and adapted to the particularities of the employing household, but not exempt from compliance.

Domestic workers, often little visible, will see their right to rest and limited working hours strengthened, in line with the rest of the labor market.

Entry into force

The law will enter into force the day after its publication in the BOE, but contains clear transitional deadlines:

• Digital time registration: mandatory after six months.
• Collective agreements with higher working days: adaptation before 12/31/2025.
• Negotiation for companies without an agreement: also before 12/31/2025.
• Part-time contracts with more than 37.5 hours: automatic conversion to full-time.
• Previous time registration: applicable during the first six months.

According to members of the government, the working day is no longer just a weekly number: it is a reflection of social values, the balance between productivity and well-being, and the type of labor relations we want to promote. This bill, still in the parliamentary phase and which may undergo some changes, represents a turn of the helm that requires preparation, documentary review and, above all, a new attitude towards the time of others.

L'entrada Short-time work and digital disconnection: what companies will have to prepare if the law is approved ha aparegut primer a Ramió Assessors.

We often take for granted that certain things work with “common sense”, but we already know that the law has its own rules. And this case is a clear example of that.

A recent ruling (STS 165/2025, of March 4) makes things very clear: yes, you also have to pay the holiday bonus to those who have been hired just to work on those days . Not just because it seems fair… but because it is legally so.

Here is a real example.

A cleaning worker, with a part-time contract, worked exclusively on weekends and holidays. Her agreement established a bonus of €21.67 for each Sunday or holiday worked. But the company did not pay it. The argument? That this bonus only applied to those who have a “normal” schedule and occasionally work on a holiday. That those who always do it are already compensated for it within the contract.

The Supreme Court, however, does not agree at all.

What does the ruling say?

The Supreme Court is clear:

• If the agreement does not expressly exclude these workers from the bonus, they cannot be left without it .
• And if there is no other equivalent economic compensation , even less.
• In this specific case, there was neither express exclusion nor alternative compensation .

Conclusion: the company acted with unjustified unequal treatment .

Furthermore, the Supreme Court adds that denying this bonus violates the right to equality (article 14 of the Constitution and article 12.4.d of the Workers’ Statute). Part-time workers have the same rights as full-time workers, also with regard to salary supplements.

Important: Working on weekdays is not the same as always working on holidays. Working on holidays is more expensive, and this must be compensated for.

What should be done?

If you have people hired to work only on weekends or holidays:

• Review the agreement : does it say anything about excluding this bonus in these cases?
• Check the contracts : is there any other compensation agreed upon?
• If there is none of this , and you are paying them the same as everyone else, you may be violating the principle of equality … and this can be taken to court.

It will be necessary to review each case to see how to address this situation.

In summary

The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the worker and has clarified an issue that many of us took for granted until now. The bonus for working on public holidays also applies to those who always work on these days , unless there is a contrary regulation or specific compensation.

Do you have cases like this in your company? Does your agreement regulate these supplements? If you want, we can help you review it and make sure everything is correct, before there are any claims.

L'entrada Holiday bonus also for those who only work on weekends and holidays? ha aparegut primer a Ramió Assessors.

In order for your company to take advantage of this advantage at Ramió Grup, we have reached an agreement with AEDES that gives us all the necessary support in both bonuses and training under the best conditions since we concentrate all the procedures in a single interlocutor, the Ramió Grup labor department:

• Cross-curricular courses
• Getting the bonus
• Bonus management

Within the framework of Training Programmed by Companies, they can order training for their workers and deduct a good part of the cost from social security payments, thus recovering part of what they have paid.

As you already know, all companies with staff hired under the general Social Security regime have an annual training credit, which can be offset against Social Security contributions. This credit must be used once the training action has been completed.

Key aspects to consider:

• All companies with employees are assigned a minimum credit of €420 per year , calculated according to the average workforce of the previous year.
• The credit shown by the FUNDAE platform at the beginning of the year is provisional and is validated between the months of April and May .
• Companies with fewer than 50 employees can accumulate unused credit for two consecutive years , as long as they request it during the first half of the year.
• The credit is only applicable to the training of workers under the general regime . Self-employed persons cannot benefit from this bonus.
• Newly created companies can access training credit from the moment they hire hired staff.

Bonusable training:

• Training actions provided by accredited organizing entities .
• Training actions carried out by the company’s own personnel or by non-accredited professionals. These trainings must be managed through the company profile in FUNDAE or through an external manager .

We inform you that the training credit for the 2025 financial year has recently been updated . You can access your space at FUNDAE to check the amount assigned.

L'entrada Subsidized training for companies ha aparegut primer a Ramió Assessors.