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Want to know more about Reported Speech and practice?
Here is a grammar video

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We use reported speech when we want to tell someone what someone said. We usually use a reporting verb (e.g. say, tell, ask, etc.) and then change the tense of what was actually said in direct speech.
So, direct speech is what someone actually says? Like 'I want to know about reported speech'?

Yes, and you report it with a reporting verb.
He said he wanted to know about reported speech.
I said, I want and you changed it to he wanted.

Exactly. Verbs in the present simple change to the past simple; the present continuous changes to the past continuous; the present perfect changes to the past perfect; can changes to could; will changes to would; etc.
She said she was having the interview at four o'clock.
(Direct speech: 'I'm having the interview at four o'clock.')
They said they'd phone later and let me know.
(Direct speech: 'We'll phone later and let you know.')
OK, in that last example, you changed you to me too.

Yes, apart from changing the tense of the verb, you also have to think about changing other things, like pronouns and adverbs of time and place.
'We went yesterday.' > She said they had been the day before.
'I'll come tomorrow.' >He said he'd come the next day.
I see, but what if you're reporting something on the same day, like 'We went yesterday'?

Well, then you would leave the time reference as 'yesterday'. You have to use your common sense. For example, if someone is saying something which is true now or always, you wouldn't change the tense.
'Dogs can't eat chocolate.' > She said that dogs can't eat chocolate.
'My hair grows really slowly.' >He told me that his hair grows really slowly.
What about reporting questions?

We often use ask + if/whether, then change the tenses as with statements. In reported questions we don't use question forms after the reporting verb.
'Do you have any experience working with people?'
They asked if I had any experience working with people.
'What acting have you done?'
They asked me what acting I had done.
Is there anything else I need to know about reported speech?

One thing that sometimes causes problems is imperative sentences.

You mean like 'Sit down, please' or 'Don't go!'?

Exactly. Sentences that start with a verb in direct speech need a to + infinitive in reported speech.
She told him to be good. (Direct speech: 'Be good!')
He told them not to forget. (Direct speech: 'Please don't forget.')
OK. Can I also say 'He asked me to sit down'?

Yes. You could say 'He told me to ...' or 'He asked me to ...' depending on how it was said.

OK, I see. Are there any more reporting verbs?

Yes, there are lots of other reporting verbs like promise, remind, warn, advise, recommend, encourage which you can choose, depending on the situation. But say, tell and ask are the most common.

Great. I understand! My teacher said reported speech was difficult.

And I told you not to worry!

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Daisy has just had an interview for a summer job.

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Grammar practice Reported Speech

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OUR PADLET Companies for a better future

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OUR PADLET Companies for a better future

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Here are some of the examples of companies presented by students of 4th CSE in Fiñana

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COMPANIES FOR A BETTER FUTURE

COMPANIES THAT IMPROVE OUR LIVING CONDITIONS, OUR SOCIETY, OUR ENVIRONMENT

L´Òreal

MICROSOFT

MICROSOFT

APPLE

INDITEX 2

NESTLE

LEGO

IBERDROLA

NOAA

RED ELECTRICA

IKEA 2

AXIAL

MERCADONA

PC COMPONENTS

IDENTO

AMAZON

TESLA

GOOGLE

INDITEX

IKEA

ECOALF

TELEFONICA

TESLA 2

CRAM FOUNDATION

FASTER WEAR

MACBETH

INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE:Organizations and Companies that have a positive impactSustainability - Growth - Agility - Fun - EnjoymentWhich is your favourite company when it comes to contributing to your future life? Which businesses will make YOUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE?In your INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION of 2 minutes, try to present the company you have chosen. Talk about the following aspects:What did you get to know this company?What do you think is most interesting / outstanding aspect of this company?Why is the business model different?Does the company improve your life? If yes, how (what does the company DO to improve your life)?Does the company improve the life of their costumers in general? If yes, how?Does the company improve the life of their employees? If yes, how?Does the company improve our society? If yes, how?Does the company improve the environment (sustainability)? If yes, how?In which aspects could your company improve to make your future even BETTER?Need some inspiration?Check out this terminology: Scrum Techniques, Agile - Lean Companies, TEAL Organisations, Social / Environmental sustainabilityFind some interesting business models here:INNOCRACY- People, prosperity and our planet: Thinking out of the box with Maya GöpelTEAL ORGANISATIONS- List of companies with a different business modelhttps://www.climate-kic.org/news/top-30-cleantech-start-ups/https://ec.europa.eu/environment/awards/whats_new.htmlTASK: MAKE A POSTER/GENIAL.LY AND PRESENT YOUR COMPANYPresent your company to your classmates on 23rd April. To support your presentation,do a poster or other visual support (IMPORTANT!).RECORD a video of your presentationand share it with me on Google Drive. Send me a link to your presentation in this task.CREATIVITYis an important factor. Make sure you implement strategies to get the attention of your audience!

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COMPANIES FOR BETTER FUTURE by nicolehaemmerle.aleman on Genially

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COMPANIES FOR A BETTER FUTURE COMPANIES THAT IMPROVE OUR LIVING CONDITIONS, OUR SOCIETY, OUR ENVIRONMENT L´Òreal MICROSOFT MICROSOFT APPLE INDITEX 2 NESTLE LEGO IBERDROLA NOAA RED ELECTRICA IKEA 2 AXIAL MERCADONA PC COMPONENTS IDENTO AMAZON TESLA GOOGLE INDITEX IKEA ECOALF TELEFONICA TESLA 2 CRAM FOUNDATION FASTER WEAR MACBETH INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE:Organizations and Companies that have a positive impactSustainability - Growth - Agility - Fun - EnjoymentWhich is your favourite company when it comes to contributing to your future life?

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Almost 50 years ago, the American philosopher John Rawls published a celebrated account of what fairness looks like in a liberal democracy. Though scrupulous in its safeguarding of individual freedoms, Rawls's groundbreaking A Theory of Justice incorporated an important rider. His so-called "difference principle" stipulated that resulting inequalities were justified only if they benefited the least well-off in society.

It is doubtful that Rawls would have judged the pay of Tim Steiner, the chief executive of Ocado, to fall into this category. A report by the High Pay Centre thinktank has revealed that Mr Steiner last year earned £58.7m. This astonishing rate of remuneration is 2,605 times the average wage of one of his employees, which stands at £22,500. Put another way, 24 hours of Mr Steiner's time is allegedly worth about 10 years of toil from an average Ocado worker.

The Covid pandemic has, of course, been a boom time for digital businesses. An online grocery delivery company, Ocado has profited hugely from an accelerated shift to internet shopping. This came on top of years of steady growth. No doubt, Mr Steiner's talents and judgment have played a part in this success story. It is, however, equally certain that he has simply ridden the good fortune of having a top job in the right sector at the right time. In a fair society, no slice of luck should ever be worth this much.

The High Pay Centre's analysis reveals that the biggest pay gaps in the British economy are found in retail, where the CEO/employee ratio is 140:1. But the figures reflect more broadly an explosion in executive pay over recent decades. In the UK's 100 biggest stock market-listed companies, chief executives pocket 73 times the amount paid to workers on average. Forty years ago, the ratio was 18:1. Since the financial crash, this shameless self-enrichment by the wealthiest in society has taken place as average wages have stagnated and, in many cases, fallen in real terms.

Most recently, of course, Covid-19 has tipped millions into economic crisis. The details of Mr Steiner's pay were disclosed on the same day that it emerged that 800,000 people have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. As the working poor resort to food banks in ever larger numbers, Unicef has launched an emergency response in Britain for the first time. The UN aid agency will channel over £700,000 to food insecure households across the country.

This gulf between the top and bottom of our society is not inevitable. It is immoral. Last spring, it was generally recognised that delivery drivers, along with care workers, supermarket staff and refuse collectors, were crucial to the nation's wellbeing, but poorly paid. The public mood - expressed in those Thursday night rounds of applause - suggested there was a desire that something should eventually be done about this.

It is therefore depressing, at this year's end, to note that while Ocado van drivers were merely earning plaudits, their CEO was sitting on the more tangible reward of £58.7m. The notion of regulating the pay ratio between chief executives and employees has been mooted in the past. If a better, more cohesive Britain is to emerge post-Covid, it urgently needs to be revisited.

* This article was amended on 17 December 2020. A previous version said that Ocado's chief executive, Tim Steiner, was paid as much as the average Ocado worker's yearly salary for just one day. In fact he is paid about 10 times as much as an average salary in one day.

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The Guardian view on shameless CEOs: because they're worth it? | Editorial

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Almost 50 years ago, the American philosopher John Rawls published a celebrated account of what fairness looks like in a liberal democracy. Though scrupulous in its safeguarding of individual freedoms, Rawls's groundbreaking A Theory of Justice incorporated an important rider. His so-called "difference principle" stipulated that resulting inequalities were justified only if they benefited the least well-off in society.

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ina Cummings has worked three 12-hour shifts every week at Amazon's gargantuan New York City warehouse, called JFK8, on Staten Island since it first began operations in late 2018. As a sorter on the outbound ship dock, her job is to inspect and scan a mandated rate of 1,800 Amazon packages an hour - 30 per minute - that are sent through a chute and transported on a conveyor belt before leaving the facility for delivery.

Workers such as Cummings helped Amazon achieve its best ever Christmas this year. Faster shipping drove Amazon's revenues to $87bn for fourth quarter of 2019, adding another $12.8bn to founder Jeff Bezos's $128.9bn fortune. Amazon has just signed a deal to take another 450,000 sq ft of warehouse space on the island to speed delivery to its New York-area consumers.

But while New York customers, and Amazon's shareholders, may be happy, some workers are not. In November, as the holiday rush got into full swing, Cummings was one of 600 workers at the Amazon warehouse who signed and delivered a petition to management calling on Amazon to improve working conditions.

The petition called on Amazon to consolidate workers' two 15-minute breaks into a 30-minute one. Workers say it can take up to 15 minutes just to walk to and from the warehouse break room. Workers also called for Amazon to provide more reliable public transit services to the warehouse. They also called attention to reports of high injury rates at the facility there, which were found to be three times the national average for warehouses, based on the company's injury reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Cummings first became involved with Amazon worker organizing efforts after witnessing several cases where, she claims, her colleagues were treated unfairly - and the safety concerns she works through during her own shifts at Amazon.

A worker sorts through items and places orders at the Amazon fulfillment center on Staten Island. Photograph: Kathy Willens/AP

"There are days I say I'm just at the mercy of God," said Cummings. She said the only changes Amazon implemented after the high injury report was published was to install video monitors around the warehouse that tell workers safety is the company's number one priority.

"There has been no real change. There are still injuries. They were saying the report is not accurate, but it's just a way for them to avoid responsibility," she said.

Cummings said injuries are common among her colleagues, and she often experiences close calls. A few weeks ago, a pin sticking out of the conveyor belt tore off one of her work gloves, almost taking her hand with it. She also said some packages that drop on to her conveyor belt from the chute are either too large to be on it or improperly packaged, so the package's contents burst open on the belt, which she said recently injured one of her colleagues.

When packages, especially envelopes with liquid, burst on the conveyor belt, Cummings often has to stop the belt to clean up the mess, but is still expected to hit her hourly rate. She's been written up once for missing her rate because several of these incidents happened in the same week.

"People get fired regularly," she said. "It just takes two or three write-ups, depending on the severity. You can get fired for anything."

Cummings has impaired vision and is required by law to receive disability accommodations for her job. But she said new managers consistently try to place her in other departments she is unable to do the work in.

"I had a manager ask me: are you sure you can't see?" said Cummings. Her mobility counselor sent Amazon a detailed email with suggestions on safety improvements, such as painting safety lines in the warehouse brighter colors and installing yellow safety strips on all stairs. But Cummings said all the suggestions were ignored.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company has a comprehensive medical accommodations process.

Raymond Velez worked as a packer at the Amazon JFK8 warehouse from October 2018 to November 2019. He was required to pack at a rate of 700 items per hour. He said workers are regularly fired for missing rates.

"That's all they care about. They don't care about their employees," Velez added. "They care more about the robots than they care about the employees. I've been to Amcare [the company's on-site medical unit] a couple times for not feeling well, and you'd get an aspirin and sent back to work."

Juan Espinoza, who worked as a picker at the Amazon Staten Island warehouse, quit because of the grueling working conditions.

'They don't care about their employees. They care more about the robots than they care about the employees.' Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

"I was a picker and we were expected to always pick 400 units within the hour in seven seconds of each item we picked," said Espinoza. "I couldn't handle it. I'm a human being, not a robot."

Ilya Geller, who worked as a stower, told of the pressure workers face from being surveilled by computers to ensure productivity rates are met.

"You're being tracked by a computer the entire time you're there. You don't get reported or written up by managers. You get written up by an algorithm," said Geller. "You're keenly aware there is an algorithm keeping track of you, making sure you keep going as fast as you can, because if there is too much time lapsed between items, the computer will know this, will write you up, and you will get fired."

An Amazon spokesperson told the Guardian in an email: "Like most companies, we have performance expectations for every Amazonian and we measure actual performance against those expectations."

The spokesperson said coaching is provided to under-performing workers.

Jimpat Lacewell started working at Amazon in Staten Island in November as a sorter, but quit after three days because it reminded him of prison - not least because of the 20-minute wait to get through security in and out of the facility.

"I would rather go back to a state correctional facility and work for 18 cents an hour than do that job," Lacewell said. "I'm sure Mr Bezos couldn't do a full shift at that place as an undercover boss."

Other Amazon workers at the New York City warehouse were reluctant to speak on the record for fear of retaliation, but also reported unaddressed safety concerns and frequent worker injuries.

"I've been out of work twice in the past year due to knee pain," said an Amazon order picker. They explained their second injury was a result of their manager ignoring medical restrictions from surgery on his right foot.

Another order picker said they are constantly dealing with chronic lower back pain and knee pain due to the job.

"I take Tylenol or Aleve two to three times a week," the worker said. "Almost every night when I wake up, I have really bad, sharp, needle-like lower back pain. I've had to use my paid time off a lot just to recover or work half days."

An Amazon associate who transferred to the New York City warehouse to help train the new workers said they transferred to a different warehouse because their safety concerns and suggestions were repeatedly ignored by upper level managers.

"It has terrible safety for powered industrial truck (PIT) operators and pedestrian traffic, which is why I left," said the worker.

"I reported several violations to safety there - only to get brushed off and pushed aside."

They characterized the PIT lane as a highway for equipment such as forklifts and electric pallet jacks.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company recently installed guard rails across the dock at JFK8 to eliminate all pedestrian interaction with the PIT lane.

The spokesperson added: "It's inaccurate to say that our FCs are unsafe and any effort to paint our workplaces as such based on the number of injury recordings is misleading given the size of our workforce. While many companies under-record safety incidents in order to keep their rates low, Amazon does the opposite - we take an aggressive stance on recording injuries no matter how big or small.

"We believe so strongly in the environment provided for fulfillment center employees, including our safety culture, that we offer public tours where anyone can come see for themselves one of our sites and its working conditions first-hand."

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'I'm not a robot': Amazon workers condemn unsafe, grueling conditions at warehouse

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ina Cummings has worked three 12-hour shifts every week at Amazon's gargantuan New York City warehouse, called JFK8, on Staten Island since it first began operations in late 2018.

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I recently received an email from Uber Eats telling me I'd made a £40 takeaway food order and that my PayPal account had been charged. The only problem is ... it wasn't me. It soon emerged that my Uber account had been hacked and, to make matters worse, the hackers had managed to set up two-step verification using their own mobile number. I was therefore no longer able to access my account, or shut it down. I've disputed the payment with PayPal but it is not certain that I'll be refunded. I have since discovered a great many other people complaining on Facebook that they, too, were hacked. The customer service I've received from Uber has been woeful. Its security has clearly been breached, but so far they are refusing to take responsibility.
Having spent a bit of time this week looking into Uber Eats, I'm starting to wonder if anyone's order actually passes off without a hitch. I'm sure most do, but the online takeaway delivery service appears to be beset with problems, of which allegedly hacked accounts is just one.

Last week a Scottish woman, whose Uber account had also apparently been hacked, was so frustrated that she spent £14 to send a parcel of dog poo to the address to which her hacker had received a £40 KFC delivery.

I went to the company and it now accepts that, in your case, it did not meet its "usual high standards of customer care". It has also apologised. You have been refunded for the order, which went to an address in west London via PayPal.

You have said you won't be using the site again. However, I'd strongly advise anyone who does use Uber to set up two-step authorisation on their account. You should also consider changing your password to one you haven't used on another website.
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions

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My Uber Eats account was hacked and I was charged, but it won't listen

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I recently received an email from Uber Eats telling me I'd made a £40 takeaway food order and that my PayPal account had been charged. The only problem is ... it wasn't me. It soon emerged that my Uber account had been hacked and, to make matters worse, the hackers had managed to set up two-step verification using their own mobile number.

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Very close to home... migrant workers in Almería

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t is the end of another day for Hassan, a migrant worker from Morocco who has spent the past 12 hours under a sweltering late summer sun harvesting vegetables in one of the vast greenhouses of Almería, southern Spain.

The vegetables he has dug from the red dirt are destined for dinner plates all over Europe. UK supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl and Aldi all source fruit and vegetables from Almería. The tens of thousands of migrant workers working in the province are vital to the Spanish economy and pan-European food supply chains. Throughout the pandemic, they have held essential worker status, labouring in the fields while millions across the world sheltered inside.

Yet tonight, Hassan will return to the squalor and rubbish piles of El Barranquete, one of the poorest of 92 informal worker slums that have sprung up around the vast farms of Almería and which are now home to an estimated 7,000-10,000 people.

Here, in the middle of Spain's Mar del Plastico (Plastic Sea), the 31,000 hectares (76,600 acres) of farms and greenhouses in the region of Andalucía known as "Europe's garden", many of El Barranquete's inhabitants don't have electricity, running water or sanitation.

Hassan's house, like all the others in El Barranquete, is constructed from whatever he could find on rubbish dumps or the side of the road; pieces of plastic foraged from the greenhouses, flaps of cardboard and old hosing tied around lumps of wood. Under Spain's blazing sun, the temperature can reach 50C - at night the plastic sheeting releases toxic carcinogenic fumes while he sleeps.

When he first arrived in Spain, Hassan was stunned by how the workers were treated on the farms. Like other workers in El Barranquete, Hassan says he earns only about €5 (£4.50) an hour, well under the legal minimum wage. "The working conditions are terrible," he says. "Sometimes we work from sunup to sundown in extreme heat, with only a 30-minute break in the whole day."

Now, as Almería faces a wave of Covid-19 infections, workers say they have been left completely unprotected. "We pick your food," says Hassan. "But our health doesn't matter to anyone."

In August, the Observer interviewed more than 45 migrants employed as farm workers in Almería. A joint supply chain investigation by Ethical Consumer magazine has linked many of these workers to the supply chains of UK supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl and Aldi.

Gloves and face masks in the greenhouse? Temperature checks? They don't give you anything

All claimed to be facing systemic labour exploitation before and throughout the pandemic such as non-payment of wages and being kept on illegal temporary contracts. Many described being forced to work in a culture of fear and intimidation. Some of those who complained about conditions said they had been sacked or blacklisted.

Workers employed by Spanish food companies linked to UK supermarkets also claimed that throughout the pandemic they have been denied access to adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) that under Spanish law they are entitled to as essential workers. Many said they were not given enough face masks, gloves or hand sanitiser and have been unable to socially distance at work.

One man employed at a big food company supplying the UK says that he has only been given two face masks in six months.

In response to the investigation, the British Retail Consortium - members of which include Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl and Aldi - released a statement calling on the Spanish government to launch an inquiry.

Commenting on the Observer's findings, Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty, says the situation facing migrant workers in southern Spain is a human tragedy.

"The pandemic has exacerbated the unacceptable conditions facing migrant workers and the Spanish government must urgently act. But two-thirds of all fruit and vegetables consumed across Europe and the UK come from these greenhouses and all the companies and retailers up these supply chains have a responsibility to these workers as well," he says.

Do we have to wait for them to get Covid instead of looking for a much more dignified place, with hygienic conditions?

Diego Crespo, MP

Spain is experiencing the highest numbers of new Covid-19 infections in Europe, with the province of Almería recording more than 100 new cases a day.

Despite the local government in Almería claiming that the virus has not reached the plastic settlements, there have been multiple outbreaks on farms across the province and in the cortijos, the dilapidated housing blocks near the farms in which workers live.

As Covid-19 infections rise, medical charities such as as Médicos del Mundo are supplying masks, gloves and temperature checks in the settlements in scenes more reminiscent of a disaster zone than one of the richest countries in the world.

"People want to protect themselves, but they cannot", says Almudena Puertas from the NGO Cáritas. "They are here because there is work and we need them."

In the past month, the local government in Andalucía has allocated €1.1m to create better health and safety conditions, but critics say they have yet to see any significant improvements.

"I do not understand why these people are not being rehoused in better accommodation. Do we have to wait for them to get Covid instead of looking for a much more dignified place, with adequate hygienic conditions?" says, Diego Crespo, a Forward Andalucía party MP.

Hassan knows that his work and living conditions make him vulnerable to becoming infected with Covid-19. When asked whether he is supplied with PPE at work, Hassan laughs. "Gloves and face masks in the greenhouse? Temperature checks?" he says. "They don't give you anything."

Like many of the people living in the settlements, he say he is more scared of not being able to work than they of becoming ill. If he can't send money home, his children don't eat.

One groups of workers say that they lost their jobs after testing positive for Covid-19 and quarantining at home. Muhammad, a farm worker from Morocco, said that when he and others had recovered and returned to work, some of them were told there was no work for them.

Every worker here has a family, but the only thing that matters is that we get the vegetables to Germany or the UK

"When I contracted Covid-19, I'd already spent two years working for this company without papers and two years on a temporary contract, but when I came back they said there is nothing for me here," he says. He says he and the other workers who did not get their jobs back also did not receive the sick pay they were entitled to as essential workers.

The Soc-Sat union, which represents agricultural workers across Almería, says the failure to provide farm workers with basic PPE speaks to the culture of impunity that surrounds the mistreatment of Spain's migrant workforce.

"Around 80% of fruit companies in Almería are breaking the law," says José García Cuevas, a Soc-Sat union leader. The union says that across the region, widespread fraud is being perpetrated on the farm workers. "People will work 25 days but their employers will only count 10," he says. "Or when you look at the payslips, it says €58 a day, which is minimum wage but that's not what the worker is receiving." He says that according to figures from the General Union of Workers, workers lose out on up to €50m of wages every year.

For decades, the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers in Spain has been widely condemned by UN officials and human rights campaigners, but to little effect.

Soc-Sat says that in 2019 it dealt with more than 1,000 complaints from migrant workers about exploitation and working conditions. This year it also says it has helped workers file legal complaints against food companies in Almería for breaching labour laws and not providing adequate PPE.

"If, under normal conditions, health and safety regulations are not followed, you can imagine what's happening in the current situation with a pandemic," says García Cuevas.

In its statement, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) says its members have zero tolerance for labour exploitation: "Many grocery members have funded and supported the Spain Ethical Trade Supplier Forums ... We call on the Spanish government to launch an investigation into labour conditions in the Almería region to help our members stamp out any exploitative practices."

In a separate statement, Tesco says it was aware of the issues surrounding migrant workers in Southern Spain and that the company worked closely with growers, suppliers and Spanish ethical trade forums to ensure good standards.

The Andalucían Ministry for Labour, Training and Self-Employment in Andalucía said that it had delivered training for businesses on how to protect workers against Covid-19. In a statement it says, "You cannot criminalise an entire sector that is subject to all kinds of controls by the labour, health and other authorities and that must also abide by strict regulations regarding the protection of workers' rights and prevention and occupational health."

In two weeks, the greenhouses of Almería will be at their busiest as the high season for tomatoes, peppers and salad begins. Ali, a farm worker who has been in Spain for more than 15 years, doesn't expect his situation to improve.

"If you complain, they will say: 'If you don't want to work here then go home,'" he says. "Every worker here has a family, a wife and children, but the only thing that matters is that we work to get the vegetables to Germany or the UK. It's like they have forgotten we are also human beings."

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'We pick your food': migrant workers speak out from Spain's 'Plastic Sea'

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t is the end of another day for Hassan, a migrant worker from Morocco who has spent the past 12 hours under a sweltering late summer sun harvesting vegetables in one of the vast greenhouses of Almería, southern Spain. The vegetables he has dug from the red dirt are destined for dinner plates all over Europe.

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You are here

16 March 2021

Eurofound provides research, data and analysis on a wide range of social and work-related topics. This information is largely comparative, but also offers country-specific information for each of the 28 EU Member States, which included the UK prior to its withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020. Most information is available in English but some has been translated to facilitate access at national level.
Eurofound strives to strengthen the ongoing link between its own work and national policy debates and priorities related to quality of life and work. Increasingly important in this context are the EU's policy priorities for a European Green Deal, a digital future, an economy that works for people, promoting and strengthening European democracy. To help repair the economic and social damage caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU leaders have also agreed on a recovery plan that will lead the way out of the crisis and lay the foundations for a modern and more sustainable Europe. The EU's long-term budget, coupled with NextGenerationEU, the temporary instrument designed to boost the recovery, will be the largest stimulus package ever financed through the EU budget to help rebuild a post-COVID-19 Europe.

The European Semester provides a framework for the coordination of economic policies across the EU. It allows Member States to discuss their economic and budget plans and monitor progress at specific times throughout the year. For 2021, the European Semester will be temporarily adapted to coordinate it with the Recovery and Resilience Facility to address the impact of the crisis caused by the pandemic. As part of this, Member States are encouraged to submit national reform programmes and recovery and resilience plans in a single integrated document. These plans will provide an overview of the reforms and investments that Member States will undertake in line with the objectives of the Facility.

Living and working in Spain and COVID-19

COVID-19 continues to have a profound impact on people's lives across the globe, with major implications for quality of life and work. Eurofound has taken a multipronged response to the pandemic, adapting its research focus in a variety of ways. A new database of national-level policy responses, COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch, collates information on measures taken by government and social partners, as well as company practices, aiming to cushion the effects of the crisis. Eurofound's unique e-survey, Living, working and COVID-19, provides an insight into the impact of the pandemic on people's lives across the EU, with the aim of helping policymakers to bring about an equal recovery from the crisis. Two rounds of the survey in April and July allow for comparisons between a lockdown situation in most Member States and the gradual reopening of society and economies. The survey investigates the impact on quality of life and society, working and teleworking, the financial situation and security of people, and the quality of public services during COVID-19. Findings for each country and a range of data pages are now available.

Explore our data pages by country to find out more on the situation in Spain.

The country page gives access to Eurofound's most recent survey data and news, directly related to Spain:
Research carried out prior to the UK's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020, and published subsequently, may include data relating to the 28 EU Member States. Following this date, research only takes into account the 27 EU Member States (EU28 minus the UK), unless specified otherwise.

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Eurofound contacts in Spain

Correspondents in Spain

Correspondents report on topics related to developments in the country's working life and inform Eurofound's pan-European comparative analysis. Read more

Consortium Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona ( UAB- QUIT), and Instituto Sindical de Trabajo, Ambiente y Salud ( ISTAS)

Eurofound Management Board members from Spain

Eurofound's Management Board is made up of representatives of the social partners and national governments of all Member States, European Commission representatives and an independent expert appointed by the European Parliament. Read more

Noel Rodríguez García Ministry of Labour and Social Economy

Miguel Canales Gutiérrez Spanish Association of the Electrical Industry (UNESA)

Fernando Rocha Sánchez Federation of Workers' Commissions (CCOO)

Related content

Other country-specific information may be available in certain areas on demand. Please feel free to contact your country contact at Eurofound for this or any other information at information@eurofound.europa.eu

Living in Spain

Quality of life

Quality of life

The EQLS findings show that both life satisfaction and happiness have decreased slightly from 2011 to 2016 in Spain. Life satisfaction fell from 7.5 in 2011 to 7.0 in 2016 and happiness from 7.8 to 7.3 during the same time period (on a scale from 1 to 10). These 2016 levels are very similar to the respective EU28 averages of 7.1 for life satisfaction and 7.4 for happiness.

However, the share of respondents in Spain reporting at least some difficulties in making ends meet increased from 41% in 2007 to 52% in 2011 and has not recovered, standing at 51% in 2016. This is also higher than the respective EU28 average of 39% in 2016.

Many of the indicators about life satisfaction in Spain are close to the EU28 averages. For instance, 66% of respondents in Spain are optimistic about their own future (EU28 average, 64%) and 57% are optimistic about their children's future (EU28 average, also 57%).

Work-life balance

Work-life balance

The share of respondents in Spain reporting work-life balance problems in 2016 is similar to the 2011 figure. Additionally, the work-life balance indicators in Spain are close to the EU28 averages. Overall, 65% of respondents in Spain report being 'too tired from work to do some of the household jobs which need to be done' at least several times a month, while the respective EU28 average is 59%. Furthermore, 41% of the respondents in Spain feel that 'it has been difficult to fulfil family responsibilities because of work', which is close to the EU28 average of 38%.

Women are more likely to report work-life balance problems in Spain. For instance, 70% of women feel 'too tired from work to do some of the household jobs which need to be done', compared to 60% of men.

(At least several times a month)

Quality of society

Quality of society

Perceived tensions between poor and rich have decreased in Spain. In total, 32% of respondents reported 'a lot of' this type of tension in 2003, decreasing to 25% in 2016 and falling below the EU28 average of 29%. Similarly, perceived tensions between different racial and ethnic groups have decreased, from 42% reporting 'a lot of' tension in 2003 to 26% in 2016, which is much lower than the EU28 average of 41%.

The share of respondents in Spain who felt safe when walking alone after dark stood at 48% in 2016, compared with the lower EU28 average of 35%.

Trust in other people has decreased in Spain during the observation period (2003-2016). In 2003, the mean trust score was 6.0 (on a scale from 1 to 10), falling to match the EU28 average of 5.2 in 2016.

Quality of public services

Quality of public services

Quality ratings for seven public services

Note: scale of 1-10, Source: EQLS 2016.

The perceived quality of health services has improved in Spain, from 6.3 in 2003 to 7.2 in 2016 (on a scale from 1 to 10. This rating is also higher than the respective EU average of 6.7 in 2016. Most of the other quality ratings for public services also show signs of improvement, except the rating given for the state pension system which decreased from 5.7 in 2003 to 5.3 in 2016. The quality ratings for public services in Spain are similar to the respective EU28 averages.

Working life in Spain

About

Author: Oscar Molina

Institution: Centre d'Estudis Sociològics sobre la Vida Quotidiana i el Treball - QUIT, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona - UAB

Published on:

This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Spain. It aims to complement other EurWORK research by providing the relevant background information on the structures, institutions and relevant regulations regarding working life. This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are updated annually.

Highlights - Working life in 2020

Highlights - Working life in 2020

Although it is still too early to assess the medium-term impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the labour market because of the extension of the temporary lay-off and short-time work schemes, it is possible to outline some general trends based on available indicators. Existing evidence suggests that the Spanish economy and labour market will be among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis in the EU. Despite the growth and improved employment opportunities experienced in the period following the 2007-2013 economic crisis, Spain's employment level in 2019 was still below the pre-2008 level; it had a higher unemployment rate and real wages, although rising, were still lower than those registered in 2007. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the post-economic crisis recovery to a sudden halt and threatened to intensify imbalances in the Spanish labour market while aggravating the economic and social risks faced by some vulnerable groups, including young people and migrant workers. Policies implemented to date have focused on limiting the impact of COVID-19 on employment and job destruction, but the pandemic has also provided an opportunity to develop new policies, including on the regulation of telework and the creation of a minimum living income.

The severity of the impact of the pandemic on Spain's economy and labour market required the government and social partners to work closely together to mitigate its effects. As a result, social dialogue has played a central role in designing key instruments to reduce the negative shock on the labour market and employment relations, but also in regulating important aspects such as telework. Among the policy measures negotiated and implemented, the extension of the conditions for temporary lay-offs and reduced work schemes agreed in the early stages of the crisis deserves particular attention.

Some disagreements have nonetheless appeared in relation to the recovery strategy. An example can be found in the negotiations to set the minimum wage increase for 2021, with unions defending the need to increase it in order to support demand and employers considering that under the current circumstances any increase would have a negative effect on the creation and maintenance of employment. Notwithstanding this, the social partners and the government maintain a strong commitment towards social dialogue and negotiated solutions to the crisis. They are currently developing a strong agenda for social dialogue, including negotiations around the central aspects of the plan for economic recovery and resilience presented by the government.

Just as during the Great Recession, the COVID-19 crisis has exposed the weaknesses of a strongly segmented labour market. High levels of temporary employment lead to rapid job destruction during recessions, which has a greater effect on younger workers and migrants. In a context of uncertainty surrounding the final impact of the pandemic on the labour market (once the cushioning effect of temporary lay-offs and reduced work schemes ends), the need to devise innovative policy approaches to tackle these negative employment effects will be crucial. To date, policies to promote structural changes in the economy leading to a more sustainable working life have remained a secondary concern. However, compared with the Great Recession, the momentum enjoyed by social dialogue provides an opportunity to develop an ambitious plan to tackle some of the traditional imbalances.

Key figures

Key figures

Comparative figures on working life in Spain

2012

2018

% (point) change 2012-2018

Source: Eurostat - Real GDP per capita (chain linked volumes [2010], in EUR) and percentage change 2012-2018 (both based on tsdec100). Unemployment rate by sex and age - annual average, % [une_rt_a]; Employment rate by sex and age - annual average, % [lfsi_emp_a].

Background

Background

Economic and labour market context

In 2018 the Spanish economy maintained a positive GDP growth of 2.6%, above the EU average. Even though the economy started to show signs of deceleration, labour market indicators improved considerably in 2018. The unemployment rate went down to 14.6% in the third quarter compared to 16.4% one year before. Male unemployment decreased 10.9 percentage points in the six years considered. Youth unemployment remains high at 34.3% in 2018, in contrast with the EU average of 15.2% for the same year. The total employment rate in 2018 was 73.7%, the same level as the EU average. Youth employment figures decreased between 2012 and 2018 (-6 percentage points) and stood at 33% in 2018, against an EU average of 41.7% for the same year.

More information on:

Legal context

The main labour code for private employees is the Statute of Workers' Rights (1980). It also regulates collective bargaining issues (mechanisms governing coordination between different levels of collective wage setting, opt-out clauses and conditions, etc). It has been modified by different royal-decrees and laws. The last law that modified important elements was Law 3/2012 of 6 July.

The main labour code for public employees is the Basic Statute of Public Workers (Law 7/2007).

Trade union regulation and representativeness is regulated through the Organic Law of Trade Union Freedom (1985).

Industrial relations context

Industrial relations in Spain during the 1980s were affected by the political transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, as well as a process of industrial and economic modernisation in order to prepare the country for its integration into the European Community. During the first years of the transitional period (1978-1982), the unions accepted wage moderation in exchange for institutional recognition and further development of social and labour rights. In addition, it favoured some coordination and centralisation of collective bargaining. The collective bargaining structure that consolidated in those years is still present today and is characterised by its multi-level character, with negotiations taking place at sectoral, provincial and company levels.

From 1986 to 1997, a period of crisis in 'social concertation' negatively affected collective bargaining. The most important problems at this time were the lack of coordination and the poor renewal of the rounds of collective bargaining.

After 1997, social dialogue was revitalised during a period of economic and employment growth. Thus, from 1997 to 2008, different tripartite agreements were achieved. In addition, annual bi-partite peak inter-sectoral agreements on collective bargaining started to be concluded by the social partners. These agreements play an important role in coordinating collective bargaining in Spain. The economic crisis that began in 2008 has strongly affected the industrial relations context. The Spanish system weathered the impact of the economic crisis relatively well initially, but the situation changed dramatically after 2011, when two important reforms on collective bargaining rules were enacted by the government. Both reforms seemed to accept a common diagnosis formulated by different EU and Spanish institutions, which deemed Spanish collective bargaining too rigid, thus impeding companies from modifying working arrangements in order to adjust to shocks. The last reform approved in 2012 has affected some of the most important dimensions of the Spanish collective bargaining system (ultra-activity, predominance of company level agreements, etc.). Several studies have shown how labour market reforms have contributed to the process of internal devaluation and decline in real wages, which have not yet regained pre-crisis levels. During the crisis and in the context of austerity policies, social dialogue experienced a breakdown and only started to recover in 2016. In 2018, social dialogue gained momentum with the signing of some tripartite agreements and bipartite pacts that seek to reverse some of the negative effects of the economic crisis.

Actors and institutions

Actors and institutions

Trade unions, employers' organisations and public institutions play a key role in the governance of the employment relationship, working conditions and industrial relations structures. They are interlocking parts in a multilevel system of governance that includes European, national, sectoral, regional (provincial or local) and company levels. This section looks into the main actors and institutions and their role in Spain.

Public authorities involved in regulating working life

The main ministry dealing with social dialogue and working conditions is the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Social Security and the Employment Departments of the Autonomous Communities. The Ministry plays an important role in fostering tripartite social dialogue. Moreover, these institutions are in charge of registering the collective agreements. Once a collective agreement has been concluded, the signatory parties must send the collective agreement to the public authority (the Ministry of Labour if it is national and the Employment Departments of the Autonomous Communities if it is regional) within 15 days. Prior to the registration, the public authorities make sure that the content of the agreement is in line with legislation. If the collective agreement goes against legislation, the public authority can challenge it.

The main institution ensuring the enforcement of employees' rights is the Work Inspection and Social Security body, which does so through the labour inspectorates. Labour inspectorates are in charge of monitoring working conditions, the unions' relationships and social security duties (registration of workers for social security, contributions paid to social security and so on).

The labour inspectorates are also in charge of monitoring the performance of health and safety regulations. This includes validating and promoting the implementation of the health and safety regulations, advising companies on how to apply health and safety regulations, elaborating reports concerning work accidents and professional diseases, suggesting penalties to the Labour Administration in case of non-compliance and ordering the stoppage of work in case of dangerous circumstances.

Representativeness

In Spain, the concept of representativeness guarantees an erga omnes representation for both trade unions and employers' organisations. Thus, it endows the most representative trade unions and employer organisations with the capacity to negotiate agreements on behalf of all workers in the sector or company in which the agreement is negotiated.

The main legal criterion for determining the representativeness of trade unions is based on the workplace election results of workers' delegates and workers' committee members. Accordingly, the electoral process aiming to choose the employees' representatives at the workplace is used to measure trade union support. For employers' organisations, the criterion for determining their representativeness is based on membership.

Through the concept of 'most representative organisations', employers' organisations and trade unions are entitled to conclude multiemployer collective agreements, to have institutional representation (in other words, to be a part of tripartite bodies, to be consulted by the government and to conclude social pacts) and to take part in extrajudicial systems of labour conflict resolution. Moreover, meeting the criterion of legal representativeness is the basis for getting access to public funds.

Trade unions

About trade union representation

According to the Organic Law of Trade Union Freedom (1985), all workers can join trade unions except members of the Spanish Forces, judges and public prosecutors.

Trade union density in Spain has remained rather stable since the early 1980s. Even though the lack of reliable data make it difficult to assess it, most estimates point to 15-20% as the density rate in Spain since the early 1980s. Even though it has been subject to cyclical fluctuations, it does not exhibit a clear downward trend, as it does in other EU countries. Since the onset of the crisis, however, trade union density has slightly decreased according to the figures provided by the Working and Living Conditions Survey conducted by the Ministry of Employment (17.4% in 2008 compared to 16.4% in 2010). Unfortunately, the survey has not been conducted since 2010. According to OECD figures, trade union density remained stable at 17% from 2010 to 2013.

The main criterion for determining union representativeness is the electoral audience, which is determined by the number of delegates and working committee members obtained in the elections. This, together with the automatic extension of collective agreements explains the low density rates in Spain, as workers have limited incentives to join trade unions.

Trade union membership and trade union density

Main trade union confederations and federations

The most representative unions in Spain are the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras, CCOO) and the General Workers' Confederation (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), which account for 70% of workers' committees representatives elected in 2015 (Alós et al. 2015).

Main trade union confederations and federations

Long name

Abbreviation

Members

Involved in collective bargaining

Sources: *CCOO report "Affiliation and representativeness in 31-12-2015 (Afiliación y Representación en 31-12-2015)".
**article in Expansion newspaper.

In addition to the most representative confederations at national level, there are some smaller confederations, including Trade Union Workers Unity (Unión Sindical Obrera, USO) and General Workers' Confederation (Confederación General del Trabajo, CGT). Moreover, there are the most representative confederations at regional level. These are the Galician Inter-sectoral Confederation (Confederación Intersectoral Galega, CIG) and Solidarity of Basque Workers (Solidaridad de Trabajadores Vascos, ELA-STV). Finally, the third most important confederation in the public sector is the Independent and Civil Servant Central Trade Union (Confederación Sindical Indepdendiente y de Funcionarios, CSIF).

UGT's last congress was held in March 2016, and Mr Pepe Álvarez was elected as the new General Secretary (he replaced Mr Cándido Méndez, who had been General Secretary of UGT trade union for 22 years). CCOO's last congress was held in June 2017, and they named a new General Secretary, Mr Unai Sordo (replacing Mr Ignacio Fernández Toxo, who had spent 9 years in that position).

Since the 1990s, the most important trade unions at national level, UGT and CCOO, have maintained a cooperative relationship and unity of action. They have also maintained their representativeness.

The most important changes relate to the mergers of federations that both trade unions carried out in 2014. CCOO merged the Federation of Textile, Chemical and Related Activities (FITEQA-CCOO) into the Industry Federation (CCOO INDUSTRIA). It also merged the Federation of Commerce, Hotels and Restaurants, Tourism and Gambling (FECOHT-CCOO) with the Federation of Financial Services (COMFIA-CCOO) into the new Federation of Services. Meanwhile, in 2014, UGT merged the Federation of Transport (TCM-UGT) and the Federation of Commerce, Hotels and Restaurants, Catering Trade, Tourism and Gambling (CHTJ-UGT) into the new Federation of Services for Mobility and Consumption (SMC-UGT).

More recently, in May 2016, new federations were created within the UGT structure: Federation of Public Services employees - formed by the previous public services federation (FeSP) and education federation (FEYE) - and FICA,formed by the union of the Federation of Metal and Construction (MCA) and the Federation of Agriculture (Fitag).

For both unions, the mergers were carried out in order to combat the reduction in public financing.

Employers' organisations

About employers' representation

Employers' organisations do not have a legal text that regulates their rights and obligations, like the trade unions do with the Organic Law of Trade Union Freedom (1985).

The procedures to verify the representativeness of the employers' organisations are not clearly established. There is a lack of official and institutional procedures to check if the employers' organisations that claim to be representative meet the legal requirements. In addition, there are no official publications of affiliation figures to employers' organisations. As such, the only figures available are those provided by the employers' organisations themselves.

The absence of figures on employers' organisation membership does not mean a lack of legitimacy or social recognition of the most representative associations at national level. In fact, the 'most representative' employers' organisations - the Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organisations (CEOE) and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CEPYME) - are recognised by the employers, trade unions and government. Moreover, there are no potential competitors that can challenge their status.

In November 2018, Mr. Antonio Garamendi was elected as the new president of CEOE. Mr Garamendi was the only candidate in the elections and was elected by acclamation. He will replace Mr Juan Rosell, who had been president since December 2010. Until the elections, Mr Garamendi was president of CEPYME, the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Employers' organisations - membership and density
*Percentage of employees working in an establishment that is a member of any employers' organisation that is involved in collective bargaining.
Main employers' organisations

The Spanish Confederation of Employers' Organisations (CEOE) and the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CEPYME) are the most representative employers' organisations. There are no official publications of the affiliation figures of the employers' organisations, but CEOE claims to represent 2 million companies and 12 million employees through its 225 federations. CEPYME does not provide figures of companies and employees.

Main employers' organisations and confederations

*Source: CEOE website.
**Source: CEPYME website.

Tripartite and bipartite bodies and concertation

The main tripartite body is the Spanish Social and Economic Council (Consejo Económico y Social). It is a consultative body created in 1991 that submits reports to the government before laws and royal-decrees are enacted. Moreover, it analyses and studies different elements and topics under its own initiative. In most regions, there is a tripartite Social and Economic Council with similar functions and composition to the national one. However, in some regions these bodies ceased their activities due to lack of funding.

The so-called Industrial Observatories are important tripartite bodies operating at the sectoral level. There are 10 observatories in different industry sectors and in the construction sector. These tripartite bodies were created in 2005 in order to improve and extend the analytical information on the sectors. The aim of the observatories is to foster debate and to identify strengths and weakness in order to promote efficient industrial policies. However, their activity has dramatically decreased since the onset of the crisis, and nowadays they are practically dismantled. Finally, another tripartite body is the National Consultative Commission of Collective Agreements (Comisión Consultiva Nacional de Convenios Colectivos), created by Royal Decree 1362/2012. It is a consultative body for aspects such as proposing and determining the functional scope of collective agreements. It is also involved in monitoring collective agreements, including information, studies, documentation and diffusion of them.

The most important bipartite body is the Interconfederal Service of Mediation and Arbitration (Servicio Interconfederal de Mediación y Arbitraje, SIMA). It is financed entirely by the state and managed autonomously by the social partners. It manages industrial conflicts by offering industrial dispute resolution mechanisms.

In spite of the existence of tripartite and bipartite bodies, social pacts and peak inter-sectoral agreements are not negotiated under any of the existing institutional bodies.

With regard to bipartite agreements, since the mid-1990s peak intersectoral agreements for collective bargaining have been signed between the most representative trade unions and employer organisations. These agreements were signed, with only a short interruption in the crisis in 2012, 2015 and more recently in 2018. Even though these are not mandatory agreements and only provide guidelines on different issues, such as pay increases, they nonetheless provide some degree of coordination and a general framework for collective bargaining.

With the advent of the sovereign debt crisis and the implementation of austerity policies, tripartite social dialogue was discontinued. Only since 2014, with the start of the economic recovery, some tripartite pacts on specific issues have been signed. Tripartite social dialogue seems to have gained momentum in 2018 when agreements on youth employment and decent work were signed.

Main tripartite and bipartite bodies

Name

Type

Level

Issues covered

Workplace-level employee representation

The main bodies for workplace-level representation in the private sector are workers' delegates and workers' committees. In the public sector, workplace-level representation is done through the so-called 'Juntas de Personal'.

Workers' delegates are responsible for representing workers in establishments and workplaces between 11 and 49 employees. There may also be a workers' delegate in undertakings with 6 to 10 employees, provided that it is a decision reached by the majority of the employees. In undertakings with up to 30 employees there may be one workers' delegate, and three workers' delegates in undertakings with between 31 and 49 employees.

Workers' committees are employee representative bodies in workplaces with a staff of 50 or more workers. In the case of companies with two or more establishments in the same province or bordering municipalities with fewer than 50 employees in each workplace but with 50 or more employees as a whole, a joint workers' committee may be established (Article 64, TRET).

In addition, workers affiliated to a union can constitute a so-called trade union's section within the enterprise.

Elections for workers' delegates and workers' committee members can be called by the most representative trade union organisations (those that have a membership of at least 10% of company representatives or employees in a workplace by majority agreement). Those who call the elections must inform the company and the public labour authorities of their intentions at least one month in advance. In addition, elections may be called at a more general level in one or several functional or territorial areas, subject to the agreement of the most representative trade unions.

According to Spanish legislation, these bodies can also exercise I&C rights and can conclude company collective agreements. In this regard, it is worth noting that a recent regulation (Royal-decree 7/2011) gave priority to the trade union's sections over work councils in order to conclude company collective agreements, when these trade unions have a majority of seats in the workers' committee.

According to the ECS, the percentage of establishments that have any form of employee representation increased from 53% in 2009 to 57% in 2013.

Regulation, composition and competences of the bodies

Regulation

Composition

Competences of the body Involved in company-level collective bargaining??

Thresholds/rules when they need to be/can be set up

* According to the Law, the most representative trade unions are those that constitute 10% of workers' delegates and members of workers' committees at state level and 15% within the autonomous communities. Similarly, trade unions that have a membership of 10% or more of workers' delegates and members of workers' committees in a specific territorial and functional sphere will be considered representative within that scope.

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining

Collective bargaining in Spain is characterised by a multi-level bargaining structure and high coverage rates. The latter is the result of the 'erga omnes' extension of collective agreements to all workers within the functional scope of an agreement, irrespective of whether they are trade union members or not. Moreover, collective agreements have normative force and their implementation can be pursued by labour authorities.

Wage bargaining coverage

Spain has a high collective bargaining coverage rate. According to the European Company Survey it is close to 90%, which closely corresponds to SES data (92%). Most workers are covered by multiemployer collective agreements concluded at national, regional and provincial level. According to the Spanish Statistics of Collective Bargaining, company agreements signed in 2015 covered around 5% of all the workers covered by collective agreements.

Collective wage bargaining coverage of employees at different levels

Level

Source

All levels

92%

2010 - SES data

All levels

98%

2013 - ECS

All, excluding national level

89%

2013 - ECS

Sources: Eurofound, European Company Survey 2013 (ECS), private sector companies with establishments >10 employees (NACE B-S) - multiple answers possible; Eurostat, Structure of Earnings Survey, companies >10 employees (NACE B-S), single answer: more than 50% of employees covered by such an agreement.

There are no official national figures on collective bargaining coverage. The way in which collective bargaining is usually calculated is by taking the average number of persons affiliated to the Social Security in a given year, divided by the total number of persons whose working conditions are regulated by a collective agreement. Using data for 2016, the last year for which definitive figures on collective agreements are available, and the statistics on affiliations to social security in the general regime (i.e. excluding self-employed workers and special social security regimes like domestic workers), a coverage rate of 81.6% is obtained. However, this estimation presents some methodological problems, mostly related to problems with the statistics of collective agreements.

This last source collects information on all collective agreements, so it is a full register. The basic source of information derives from what is known as the 'statistics sheet', which is completed by the bargaining commissions once the agreement is signed. This sheet is presented along with all the necessary documentation in order to register the agreement. The source is not updated every year. Moreover, figures on the collective agreements for one year are only considered definitive in the annual publication that elaborates the figures of the collective agreements recorded until 31 May two years later. Thus, figures from 2017 will only be definitive once the figures of all the collective agreements have been recorded by 31 May 2019, the economic effects of which started in 2017.

Bargaining levels

The structure of collective bargaining has remained rather constant since the end of the 1990s. The collective bargaining structure in most sectors in Spain is characterised by its multi-level character, with collective agreements signed at national, sector, provincial and/or company level. Since 2002 (with the exception of 2009), peak bipartite cross-sectoral agreements have only established guidelines on working time and pay that are not legally binding. With regard to the number of agreements recorded by economic activity, there is a greater preponderance of company agreements. The second most numerous are the provincial sectoral agreements, followed by the national and regional sectoral agreements. In contrast, most workers are covered by provincial sectoral agreements and national sectoral agreements.

In addition, it is worth noting that multi-tier bargaining models are quite common. Thus, in some sectors the sectoral level establishes the structure of the wage system and the lower levels establish the amount of the wages.

Levels of collective bargaining, 2018

National level (intersectoral)

Sectoral level

Company level

Articulation

The mechanism governing coordination between different levels of collective wage setting was changed in 2011 and 2012 by two legislative reforms implemented by the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the Popular Party (PP), respectively. Before 2011, wages agreed at the sectoral level prevailed over wages agreed at company level. As such, lower bargaining levels could only improve wage standards agreed at higher levels.

In 2011, the Socialist Party government reformed this mechanism as part of a broader reform of collective bargaining rules (Royal-decree 7/2011 of 10 June), through which it gave priority to company-level agreements over sectoral multiemployer agreements (whether national, regional or provincial) in matters such as basic pay and pay supplements. However, the law allowed social partners to establish - whether at the interprofessional level or sectoral level (regional and national) - another collective bargaining structure that could continue to prioritise the sectoral level.

In 2012, the Popular Party reformed this mechanism again as part of a deep reform of the Spanish labour market legislation (Law 3/2012). It gave priority to company-level agreements over sectoral multiemployer agreements (whether national, regional or provincial) in matters such as basic pay and pay supplements even if the social partners decide to establish an alternative collective bargaining structure.

Different articulation models of the components of wage setting were observed in the years before the new regulation came into effect. Most of them were multi-tier models. In some sectors, such as the graphic arts, the sectoral level established the structure of the wage system and the lower levels (regional and provincial sectoral level or company level) established the amount of the wages. In other sectors, such as the manufacturing of gypsum or the chemical sector, the sectoral level exclusively regulated some aspects of the wage level (mostly minimum wages linked to professional groups or categories), allowing the company level to regulate other wage elements (extra payments, etc.). These models still exist.

Timing of the bargaining rounds

In Spain, a general pattern with regard to the month or quarter of the year when collective bargaining takes place is not observed.

Coordination

Since the early 2000s, peak bipartite intersectoral agreements provide a general framework for all the collective agreements and, although every sector and/or company has its own particularities and their collective agreement is adapted to those, interprofessional agreements provide common guidelines and a soft form of coordination for all of them. These agreements establish guidelines on pay, among other aspects, which are not legally mandatory, but the social partners commit themselves to following at different levels. The last national agreement was the IV Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining 2018, 2019 and 2020 ( IV Acuerdo para el Empleo y la Negociación Colectiva 2018,2019 y 2020) . It includes guidelines on salary issues, negotiated flexibility and conflict resolution.

Extension mechanisms

In Spain, once they are signed, collective agreements are extended to all workers irrespective of whether or not they are affiliated to the unions that signed the collective agreement. The same applies to companies. This has not changed in recent years.

In Spain, collective agreements can be extended by legislation, according to article 92.2 of the Workers Statute and Royal Decree 718/2005. This is in order to avoid the damages to workers and the companies from the impossibility of subscribing a collective agreement of those contained in the 3rd Title of the Workers Statute due to the absence of parties legitimised to negotiate it. In this case, the legitimacy to request the extension relies on the social partners, and the competent institution to resolve the issue is the Ministry of Employment and Social Security (in case of a national level collective agreement or collective agreement affecting more than one Autonomous Community) or the Autonomous Community. It is a measure set by the legal framework for certain cases, and not voluntarily by all sides.

However, the previously mentioned labour reform has introduced the possibility for companies to opt out from higher collective agreements because of economic, technical or organisational circumstances. Therefore companies, under some conditions, can decide on the collective agreement extension.

Derogation mechanisms

In Spain, the opening clauses that allow derogation from collective wage bargaining were regulated in 1994 (Law 11/1994). According to this regulation, multiemployer collective agreements had to establish the conditions and procedures that allow companies to derogate from collective bargaining.

In 2010, the socialist government allowed the modification of wages stipulated in multiemployer collective agreements by means of negotiations within the company. According to law 10/2010, companies have to consult the employees' representatives and negotiate the changes within a non-extendable period of 15 days. If they do not achieve an agreement, they will have to apply for mediation procedures established in the multiemployer collective agreements.

Finally, the latest regulation enacted by the Popular Party government (Law 3/2012) makes it easier for companies to derogate from collective agreements. It allows companies to opt out of collective bargaining if the enterprise records a drop in its revenues or sales during six consecutive months. Moreover, the law enables employers to unilaterally modify wages on technical or organisational grounds.

Expiry of collective agreements

The continuation of collective agreements beyond expiry was one of the most important elements reformed by Law 3/2012. This law reformed the so-called 'ultra-activity' principle of the collective agreements, which guaranteed the continuation of a collective agreement, even after its expiry date. Its aim was to protect current working conditions even if an employer refused to sign a new agreement. However, Law 3/2012 states that the ultra-activity principle has allowed working conditions to become static and rigid, so it has reformed this principle by establishing that a collective agreement will cease to be in force one year after its completion. More specifically, it states that from 7 July 2013, all expired and unrenewed collective agreements made before 7 July 2012 will become invalid.

Nevertheless, a recent Supreme Court (rec. 264/2014) decision has annulled the reform of the ultra-activity principle. The Supreme Court has ratified the decision of the Courts of the Balearic Islands on the so-called ATESE case, in which the trade unions brought the company to court because of its decision to decrease wages once the collective agreement ceased to be in force (one year after its completion). The Supreme Court has argued that working conditions agreed in a collective agreement have a contractual juridical status and must be applied even if the collective bargaining of reference has expired, thus annulling the reform of the ultra-activity principle.

With this decision, the Supreme Court has reoriented, in part, the legislation in force regarding the previous labour relations regulation, preventing the 2012 reform from unfolding all the effects. However, this decision highlights two important issues. Firstly, it leaves open the possibility of modifying working conditions using the procedure contained in article 41 of the Statute of Workers Rights, about substantial change in working conditions (if economical, technical, organisational or productive causes are met). Secondly, this decision is not applicable to newly joined workers, because the expired collective agreement has never been applied to them. Because of this, other conditions could be applied to these workers, although new juridical problems could arise (double pay scale and its prohibition according to the jurisprudence) (Source: article in Derecho News)

Ultimately, this decision has created a great degree of juridical uncertainty in the application of the new principle of expiry.

Peace clauses

Broadly speaking, collective agreements have an 'implicit' obligation of labour peace. Meanwhile, ('explicit') peace clauses are not compulsory in Spanish collective agreements, but they can be included. According to article 82.2 of the Workers' Statute, collective agreements can regulate labour peace through agreed obligations. If negotiators decide to apply this possibility, then peace clauses appear. In general terms, collective agreements in Spain can include two main types of clauses: normative clauses and compulsory clauses. Normative clauses refer to the basic contents of the agreement (that is, salary regime, working time, professional classification, etc.), whereas compulsory clauses regulate particular obligations. Thus, peace clauses are compulsory clauses. Peace clauses imply (for the signatory parties) a temporary commitment to not making use of the right to strike during the validity of the agreement.

Other aspects of working life addressed in collective agreements

Generally speaking, collective agreements in Spain are poor in terms of the issues included. This is because of the detailed regulation of working conditions in the Workers Statute, that reduces the spaces for collective bargaining. In most cases, the main issues discussed in collective bargaining are wages and working time. The crisis has negatively affected the inclusion of working life issues in collective bargaining. As in previous crises, trade unions have tended to accept wage moderation and a reduction of workers' rights in exchange for employment maintenance. Even though a trend towards enlarging the number of issues discussed (including clauses related to training, working time flexibility, telework etc.) can be observed, the situation is still characterised by the limited number of working life aspects addressed.

Industrial action and disputes

Industrial action and disputes

Legal aspects

The right to strike is regulated in Royal-decree 17/1977, the Spanish Constitution and a judgment of the Constitutional Court (11/1981).

According to the regulation, legally there are two types of industrial action: the strike ( la huelga) and the lockout ( cierre patronal). The strike is a collective action by workers consisting of the agreed withdrawal of their labour. It is normally directed against the employer to back up the collective bargaining process and force compliance with statutory or contractual regulations.

On the other hand, the lockout is an industrial action taken unilaterally by the employer and consisting of the total or partial cessation of production activity. The premise may be the physical closure of the company or some other action taken to prevent the performance of work. To protect the right to strike, Spanish legislation allows lockouts only when persons or property are in danger, as a policing measure. However, it is a measure rarely put into practice by employers.

In Spain, a strike can be called by the majority of employees' representatives at the workplace, by all the employees of a company (by simple majority) and by the trade unions that are representative in a sector. The decision to call a strike must be communicated to the company and to the labour authority five days before it is to be held. For public companies, the notification period is 10 days. Finally, a strike committee made up of a maximum of 12 members must also be constituted.

During the strike, labour contracts become suspended. The right to strike is an individual right that is collectively exercised. Thus, individual workers are free to choose whether or not to participate.

The only strikes that are forbidden are political strikes, solidarity strikes and strikes that aim to challenge a collective agreement that is in force, but Spain has a tradition of these types of strikes, often taking the form of general strike (because of the prohibition).

Recently, due to the Spanish Penal Code reform (Organic Law 1/2015), a change has been introduced on the strike issue. Article 315.3 states that those acting in a group or individually, but in agreement with others, who coerce other persons to initiate or continue a strike shall be punished with imprisonment for one year and nine months up to three years or with a fine of eighteen months to twenty-four months.

Incidence of different forms of industrial action between 2010 and 2013

Work-to-rule or refusal to do overtime

Work stoppage or strike for less than a day

14%

Strike of a day or more

24%

Blockade or occupation

3%

Note: Percentage of private sector establishments reporting any form of industrial action during the indicated period.
Source: European Company Survey 2013.

Industrial action developments, 2012-2017

Source: 'Strikes developed, workers participating and days not worked, by sectoral, institutional, territorial and motivation aspects' ( Huelgas desarrolladas, trabajadores participantes y jornadas no trabajadas, por ámbitos sectorial, institucional, territorial y por motivación), Official statistics on labour conflicts from the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security.

Dispute resolution mechanisms

Collective dispute resolution mechanisms

In 1996, the Agreement on the Extrajudicial Resolution of Labour Conflicts (Acuerdo de Solución Extrajudicial de Conflictos, ASEC) was concluded. It was renewed in 2012 until 2016 by the UGT, CCOO (the unions) and CEOE and CEPYME (the employers' organisations). This agreement opened the door for the creation of the private foundation administered by the Interconfederal Service of Mediation and Arbitration (SIMA) ( Servicio Interconfederal de Mediación y Arbitraje), financed entirely by the state and managed autonomously by the social partners. It provides free services, similar to those of the joint institutions of the communities.

According to the Agreement, the procedures and aspects covered include:

The interpretation and application of a state legislation, collective agreement, agreement or pact, whatever its effectiveness, or a decision or practice of the company.

Conflicts that arise from the negotiation of a collective agreement that entail its blockade.

Conflicts that lead to a blockade in the negotiation, agreement or collective agreement.

Conflicts that arise from the call for a strike or from arrangements about security and maintenance services in the event of a strike.

Conflicts that affect several work centres of a company, group of companies, or related companies, located in different autonomous communities.

Individual dispute resolution mechanisms

In the case of individual conflicts, first there are conflicts of law, that is, conflicts that concern the interpretation of laws or arise from the implementation of collective agreements. These conflicts can be submitted to a judicial process that will start once the suit has been presented by either party, with a compulsory attempt at conciliation in the administrative headquarters by means of conciliation bodies created through agreements reached between the trade unions and employers' organisations.

As far as administrative conflicts are concerned, the conciliation process will be carried out in the presence of a conciliating lawyer assigned by the state, whose role will be limited to merely facilitating an understanding. He or she will refrain from making proposals. If the two parties fail to reach an agreement, they can call for institutional arbitration. Here, the parties, at their own will, submit their conflict to the decision of a person outside the Justice Administration (a civil servant lawyer who is appointed by the state and is not a judge). He or she will issue a binding award that must be abided by and will have the same effect as a ruling issued by a judge that cannot be appealed. If the process of conciliation and/or arbitration concludes without agreement, the following phase will be carried out in the social courts.

Finally, conflicts can be submitted to the social courts. These are organised according to their juridical competences at regional level (High Court) and at national level (the National Court and the Supreme Court).

The table below presents information on the number of collective conflicts solved through judicial mechanisms and those managed through SIMA and regional out-of-court conflict resolution mechanisms. What we can observe is that with the economic recovery, the number of conflicts solved through judicial or non-judicial mechanisms has declined very significantly.

Use of collective dispute resolution mechanisms

Source: Evolution of judicial conflicts and those managed through SIMA (2012-2017), Boletín de Estadísticas Laborales

Individual employment relations

Individual employment relations

Individual employment relations are the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over the terms and conditions governing the employment relationship. This section looks into the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in Spain.

Start and termination of the employment relationship

Requirements regarding an employment contract

The minimum working age for starting an employment relationship is 16 years. Once the employment contract is signed, the company must tell the Public Employment Service the conditions of the contract and send a copy of it no more than 10 days later. Another copy of the contract must be submitted to the employees' representatives at the workplace.

Dismissal and termination procedures

Employers are required to notify their workforce of planned redundancies 15 days in advance. This applies for both collective and individual redundancies. This notice period applies to all the employees irrespective of their tenure. In 2010, the notice period was reduced from one month to two weeks by Royal-Decree Law 10/2010. The Spanish economy appears to be more flexible now than the average OECD countries in this area, since average notice periods in OECD countries are 3.5 weeks for workers with 9 months' tenure at the time of dismissal, 1.3 months for workers with 4 years' tenure and 2.7 months for workers with 20 years' tenure at the time of dismissal.

In the event of collective dismissal (more than five employees if the whole workforce is affected; at least 10 employees in companies with fewer than 100 employees; 10% of the employees in companies with 100-300 employees; and 30 employees in companies with more than 299 employees), legislation requires that employees are paid a minimum legal compensation of 20 days' pay for each year of service, up to a maximum of 12 months' pay.

In the event of individual unfair dismissal of an employee who has an open-ended contract, legislation requires that employees are paid a minimum legal compensation of 33 days' pay for each year of service, up to a maximum of 24 months' pay.

In the event of individual fair dismissal, legislation requires that employees are paid a minimum legal compensation of 20 days' pay for each year of service, up to maximum of 12 months' pay.

In enterprises with fewer than 25 employees, the Public Fund of Wage Warranty (Fondo de Garantía Salarial) will pay 40% of the legal indemnification of employees in collective redundancies.

Severance pay for temporary contracts was modified by Royal-Decree 10/2010, which established that as of 1 January 2015, severance pay will increase annually by one day per year of service, from the eight days per year of service paid in 2010 to 12 days. Accordingly, in 2014 severance pay for temporary contracts was 11 days per year worked. If the employer dismisses the temporary worker before his or her contract expires, severance pay will be equal to 33 days' pay for each year of service, up to maximum of 24 months' pay.

On this subject, a polemical decision was pronounced by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in September 2016 (C-596/14). Under Spanish Law, permanent employees get 20 days per worked year as severance pay, whereas temporary workers get 12 days when they are laid off, and temporary substitutes ( interinos in Spanish) do not get any compensation. In a judgment issued on 14 September 2016, the European Court of Justice established that temporary substitutes also have the right to receive severance pay, and that the amount received by temporary workers and permanent workers should not be different because of the type of their contracts, on the legal grounds of the Framework Agreement on fixed-term work (Annex of the Council Directive 1999/70/EC).

This sentence has created great uncertainty on the subject in Spain, because according to the Court decision, both temporary workers and temporary substitutes should have the same compensation as the rest of the employees (20 days, up to maximum of 12 months' pay).

Currently, the Spanish regulation is still the same (no severance pay for temporary substitutes), although more similar cases have reached the ECJ and the Spanish High Court and are awaiting sentence. It seems that the legislator will wait until these pending cases are resolved, in order to regulate the issue based on a more consolidated jurisprudence. So, in future the repercussions of the ECJ decision remain to be seen.

Entitlements and obligations

Parental, maternity and paternity leave

In Spain, maternity leave gives mothers the right to take 6 weeks of paid leave after the birth plus 10 weeks that can be shared between the mother and father. These 10 weeks can be taken full time and part time.

Law 3/2007 for the effective equality between men and women introduced an individual right to paternity leave equal to 13 days, irrespective of the mother's right to maternity leave. Social Security statistics show that from 2007 to September 2016, more than two million workers availed of this entitlement. From 2014 to 2015, a slight increase in the use of this right was observed, from 235,678 in 2014 to 238,806 in 2015.

Statutory leave arrangements

Maternity leave

Parental leave

Paternity leave

The duration of parental leave was extended from four to five weeks on 5 July 2018. In September 2017, the Popular Party and Ciudadanos agreed to extend the paternity leave to five weeks from the following year onwards. However, in January 2018, this agreement was still subject to the approval of the 2018 Budget Law, so the extension had not been applied in practice (and parental leave was still four weeks long).The Socialist government finally announced this measure as part of the Budget Law 6/2018.

Sick leave

In order to be eligible for sick leave, the employee must have contributed to the Social Security for 180 days during the five years prior to the date of leave in case of common illness. In case of a labour accident, no contribution period is required.

The benefit amount payable is determined on the basis of contributions that are established according to salaries. For the first three days of a common illness, the employee will not receive any benefit. Between the fourth day and the twentieth day, the replacement rate is 60% of the regulatory base. After the twentieth day, the replacement rate is 75% of the regulatory base. In case of a labour accident, the replacement rate is 75% of the regulatory base from the first day.

Retirement age

The retirement age was increased in 2011 (Law 27/2011) from 65 to 67 years of age. This postponement is being applied progressively between 2013 and 2027, increasing by one month per year until 2018, then by two months per year from 2019 to 2027. Workers are able to retire at the age of 65 years and benefit from maximum pension rights if the contributions they have paid to the Social Security amount to 38 years and 6 months.

The period of contribution that is taken to determine the regulatory basis of the pension has risen from 15 to 25 years. This rise is being applied gradually, increasing by one year from 2013 to 2022.

Women who have interrupted their careers as a consequence of a birth or adoption will be able to claim 9 months of contributions per child before the age of 67 years, up to a maximum of 2 years.

Pay

Pay

Pay: For workers, the reward for work and main source of income; for employers, a cost of production and focus of bargaining and legislation. This section looks into minimum wage setting in Spain and guides the reader to further material on collective wage bargaining.

In 2016, the average annual wage for men was €25,924 (€25,668 in 2011) and € 20,131 (€19,768 in 2011) for women. Since late 2014, the Spanish economy has recorded positive growth rates and employment creation; however, this economic improvement was not reflected in salary levels. The report Graphic analysis of the salary devaluation in Spain published in 2015 by the trade union CCOO concludes that internal devaluation affected particularly those groups who were already earning the lowest salaries, as well as those who lost their job and found a new one (usually with a lower salary). Moreover, the increase in part-time work levels also contributed to the decrease in average wages. Furthermore, the report states that salary devaluation was leading to a decrease in workers' purchasing power. The factors behind salary devaluation were said to be mainly employment destruction, labour precariousness and the 2010 and 2012 labour reforms. It is suggested that salary devaluation was a core strategy in the adjustment plan of the Spanish economy, used as a tool for recovering lost competitiveness.

Figures on average annual wages in 2011 and 2016 are provided in the table below.

Average annual wages per worker (in euro), 2011-2016

Source: Salary Structure Survey (Encuesta de Estructural Salarial). National Institute of Statistics (INE)

Minimum wages

The determination of the minimum wage is regulated in Article 27.1 of the Statute of Workers' Rights. It establishes that the minimum wage will be determined by taking the following four factors into consideration:

the annual consumer prices index (Índice de Precios al Consumo);

the national productivity average;

the contribution of labour to the gross national income;

the general economic context.

However, it is does not set out how every factor will be taken into consideration.

There is no distinction made between youth and adult minimum wage rates.

Even though it is standard practice is for the government to consult social partners about the increase of the minimum wage, and then approve it, unilateral government wage setting without negotiating or even consulting the social partners has been the norm in recent years. The current Socialist government set the minimum wage for 2019 at €900 per month without negotiating or formally consulting the social partners. One of the conditions of the political party Podemos to support the Socialist government headed by Mr Pedro Sánchez was the commitment to raise the minimum wage to €1,000. The Socialist party was more inclined to bring it to €850, but under the pressure of Podemos decided to leave it at €900. In an intervention in the tripartite Social and Economic Council in early December 2018, the Ministry of Employment admitted the lack of any involvement of social partners and apologised for this to the general secretaries of the main trade unions and employer organisations. The Minister justified this unilateral intervention with the need to improve significantly the situation of the worst-off in the economy.

The amount of the minimum wage in 2012-2019 was as follows:

2012: €641.40

2013: €645.30

2014: €645.30

2015: €648.60

2016: €655.20

2017: €707.60

2018: €735.90

2019: €900.00

For more information regarding the level and development of minimum wages, please see:

Collectively agreed pay outcomes

For more detailed information on the most recent outcomes in terms of collectively agreed pay, please see:

Working time

Working time

Working time: 'Any period during which the worker is working, at the employer's disposal and carrying out his activities or duties, in accordance with national laws and/or practice' (Directive 2003/88/EC). This section briefly summarises regulation and issues regarding working time, overtime, part-time work as well as working time flexibility in Spain.

Working time regulation

In Spain, working time is set up by law and collective bargaining. The law provides basic standards that must be respected by all the collective agreements with regard to maximum working hours per day, rest periods and annual paid leave. Collective bargaining regulates the distribution of working time but respects the statutory legal provisions. Sectoral collective agreements provide general guidelines for working time in the sector, and this is then adapted at company level.

For more detailed information on working time (including annual leave, statutory and collectively agreed working time), please consult:

Overtime regulation

The statutory maximum working day is established by law at 9 hours (unless the social partners have agreed on a different number, and except for workers younger than 18 years, who cannot work more than 8 hours per day). The statutory maximum working day can be changed by means of collective bargaining up to a maximum of 80 extra hours distributed throughout the year. The 80 extra hours limit will not apply in cases of emergency or urgent need to repair extraordinary damages, but the additional amount will be paid regardless to the worker.

Part-time work

In Spain, the percentage of part-time workers has traditionally been low - it was 12% before the crisis (2007) and reached 14.8% in the third quarter of 2018. The percentage of women working part time is higher (24.2% by the end of 2018). Although the number of men working part time has slightly increased in the last few years, differences between sexes are still very pronounced. However, the most important feature of part-time work in Spain at this time is its relationship with precariousness. Working part time is mainly an involuntary decision in Spain and this has been exacerbated by the crisis. According to the Spanish Labour Force Survey, in the third quarter of 2018, 52.7% of employees who work part time wanted to have a full-time job.
Persons employed part-time in Spain and EU28 (% of total employment)
Source: Eurostat Labour Force Survey [lfsi_pt_a] - Persons employed part-time (20 to 64 years of age) - total and by sex.

Involuntary part-time

Involuntary part-time workers can be defined as those working part time because they could not find a full-time job. As could be expected, the evolution of involuntary part-time work in Spain follows a counter-cyclical pattern as it increases in periods of crisis (as workers find it more difficult to find a job, and in particular a full-time job) and declines when the economy is growing.

Persons employed in involuntary part-time in the Spain and EU28 (% of total part-time employment)

Source: Eurostat Labour Force Survey [lfsa_eppgai]- involuntary part-time employment as a percentage of the total part-time employment, by sex and age (20 to 64 years of age)

Night work

The work done between 22.00 and 06.00 is considered to be night work. A night worker is a person who normally works during the night period no less than 3 hours of his or her work day, as well as a person who foresees that no less than one third of his or her annual working day will be done during the night period (Source: the Statute of Workers' Rights).

Shift work

Shift work is considered to be all kinds of teamwork organisation, in which workers take up successively the same work positions, according to a certain pace of work- continuous or discontinuous - implying for the worker the need to offer his or her services in different hours over a given period of days or weeks (Source: the Statute of Workers' Rights).

Weekend work

In the Spanish labour legislation there is no provision for weekend work. A similar figure in the legislation is work during the rest days ( Descanso semanal) (Source: the Statute of Workers' Rights).

Rest and breaks

Rest and breaks terms are defined as periods of time when the worker is not obliged to provide their services to the employer. Workers have the right to rest days, which can be accumulated in periods up to 14 days, of a day and a half uninterrupted. As a general rule, it involves Saturday afternoon, or Monday morning, and the entire day of Sunday. Also, there is the right to have a break for 15 minutes if 6 uninterrupted hours are worked during the day.

The government, on the proposal of the Minister of Employment and Social Security and having previously consulted the most relevant trade unions and employers' organisations, can establish extensions and reductions in the duration of the work day and rests, for those sectors and services that because of their particularities demand it. (Source: the Statute of Workers' Rights)

Working time flexibility

Working time flexibility is regulated by collective bargaining or individual contracts under the limits established by the law. According to the Spanish legislation, 10% of the annual working time can be distributed irregularly throughout the year, thus increasing the maximum working hours (40 hours) in some weeks. In addition, overtime can be compensated with rest.

Health and well-being

Health and well-being

Maintaining health and well-being should be high-priority for workers and employers alike. Health is an asset closely associated with a person's quality of life and longevity, as well as their ability to work. A healthy economy depends on a healthy workforce; organisations lose productivity through ill-health of their workers. This section looks into psychosocial risks and health and safety in Spain.

Health and safety at work

Health and Safety at work is regulated in Chapter X of the Workers' Statute, which details those bodies in charge of monitoring the right application of health and safety regulations as well as the employers' obligations in relation to preventing accidents at work.

According to Eurostat figures on accidents at work (see the table below), Spain has improved health and safety at work over the last few years. The number of accidents has continuously decreased since 2009, with a slight increase in 2016. The most pronounced drop in the number of accidents was recorded in 2009 and 2013. Unfortunately, in 2014, a small increase in the number of accidents was recorded. With the economic recovery and the important role of the construction sector, the number of accidents has increased again after having fallen during the crisis.

Accidents at work, with four days' absence or more - working days lost

Source: Eurostat, [hsw_mi01] and [lfsa_eegaed]

Psychosocial risks

Spain does not have specific legislation on psychosocial risks. However, Law 31/1995, which transposed the Health and Safety at Work Framework Council Directive 89/391 to Spanish law, makes some references to these risks. For instance, Article 4.7.d. states that the organisation and management can affect the magnitude of the risks the workers are exposed to. There are other provisions related to psychosocial risks too, such as the duty to adapt the job to the person (Article 15.1.d) and the need to implement prevention actions in a coherent plan that integrates technology, work organisation, working conditions, social relations and the influence of environmental factors at work (Article 15.1.g). The Labour and Social Security Inspectorate is in charge of enforcing these provisions.

More recently, the Spanish Strategy for Health and Safety at Work 2015-2020 ( Estrategia Española de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo 2015-2020) includes the objective of promoting the participation of social partners and Autonomous Communities, and improving working and health conditions at work, especially in sectors, activities, collectives and companies with higher risk. More precisely, it includes developing and disseminating methodologies of psychosocial risks evaluation, which could lead to a better understanding and prevention of those risks.

Skills, learning and employability

Skills, learning and employability

Skills are the passport to employment; the better skilled an individual, the more employable they are. Good skills also tend to secure better-quality jobs and better earnings. This section briefly summarises the Spanish system for ensuring skills and employability and looks into the extent of training.

National system for ensuring skills and employability

Since the Organic Law 5/2002 of 19 June on qualifications and vocational education and training was approved, the main mechanism to identify and define vocational qualifications for both the Initial Vocational Education and Training system (IVET) and the Continuing Vocational Education and Training system (CVET) is the National Catalogue of Professional Qualifications (CNCP). The General Council on Vocational Education and Training (CGFP), together with the technical body, the National Institute of Vocational Qualifications (INCUAL), are in charge of identifying and updating the qualifications of the CNCP. They follow a demand-driven approach that aims to identify the most significant qualifications needed in the productive system.

The methodology for developing the standards is rather participative. It involves employers, trade unions and administrations at both the central and regional levels and works as follows. Professional qualifications are designed by working groups comprised of experts in the professional field and in vocational training. There are 26 working groups (one working group for each professional group). The working groups are proposed by the General Council on Vocational Education and Training (CGFP) and are directed by the INCUAL. The working group's first task is to design and describe the unit of competence. The unit of competence is the minimum aggregate of competences that can be recognised. Units of competences are expressed as professional outcomes. Then the unit of competence is associated with a training module that includes learning outcomes and assessment criteria. Once the unit of competences and learning modules have been established, the INCUAL classifies and controls the outcomes. After that, the Council of Ministers can approve the qualification to be included in the CNCP after consulting with the CGFP, the Scholar State Council and the ministry affected. Qualifications must be updated at least every five years.

Training

The main national public institutions responsible for training regulation and development are the General Council on Vocational Education and Training (CGFP), the National Institute of Vocational Qualifications (INCUAL) and the State Foundation of Training for Employment (Fundae), former Tripartite Foundation of Training for Employment (Tripartita).

On 23 March 2015, the Royal Decree-Act reformed the Vocational Training System, in order to gain efficiency and transparency in the management of public resources, and established Fundae, the State Foundation for Employment Training ( Fundación Tripartita para la Formación en el Empleo). Nowadays, employers' organisations and trade unions are no longer the principal training providers, and do not directly manage training programmes (for that purpose, they are now under the same conditions as other private training centres). However, social partners do take part in the design and planning of training programmes.

The composition of the foundation's patronage has also changed, in that now the proportion of public administration representative members is higher: the state has 36 seats, Autonomous Communities 18 (one each) and social partners only 18 (representative unions 9 and main employers' organisations 9).

According to the Annual Labour Survey (Encuesta Annual Laboral), 73.7% of Spanish companies provided some form of training to their employees in 2017. This number reaches 99% in the case of companies with more than 250 employees, but goes down to 66.1% in companies with 5-9 employees.

Work organisation

Work organisation

Work organisation underpins economic and business development and has important consequences for productivity, innovation and working conditions. Eurofound research finds that some types of work organisation are associated with a better quality of work and employment. Therefore, developing or introducing different forms of work organisation are of particular interest because of the expected effect on productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of companies, as well as on workers' working conditions. Ongoing research by Eurofound, based on EurWORK, the European Working Conditions Survey and the European Company Survey, monitors developments in work organisation.

More information on:

For Spain, the European Company Survey 2013 shows that between 2010 and 2013, 49.4% of establishments with 10 or more employees reported changes in the use of technology, 40.9% introduced changes in ways to coordinate and allocate the work to workers and another 27.6% saw changes in their working time arrangements.

The Working and Living Conditions Survey ( Encuesta de Calidad de Vida en el Trabajo, ECVT) conducted by the Ministry of Employment in 2010 (the last year in which it was conducted) provides some information on work organisation and job satisfaction, but unfortunately it is not very recent.

In general, this survey, carried out in a relatively early stage of the crisis, shows that Spanish workers record positive ratings with regard to subjective indicators on job satisfaction. For instance, on a scale of 0 to 10, employees rate personal development at 7.6, 7.5 for autonomy and 7.2 for motivation. However, according to this same source, 38% of employees had a high or very high level of monotonous routine in their work tasks, 31% had a mid-level of monotony and 30.5% had a low or very low level of monotonous routine in their work tasks.

The contrast between subjective and objective factors related to job quality in Spain has been stressed by some authors (Prieto et al, 2009) who have called for multidimensional approaches to measure job quality.

The Ministry of Employment and Social Security publishes the Annual Labour Survey (Encuesta Anual Laboral). According to this survey, in 2017, some 25.5% of the surveyed companies applied internal flexibility measures. In 2013, the first year when this survey was conducted, 27% of the companies applied internal flexibility measures; however, these figures contrast with the lower percentages of 2014 (24.3%) and 2015 (20.7%). In 2016, 41.4% of all employees were working in companies which applied internal flexibility measures (46.1% in 2013; 42.2% in 2014; 37.2% in 2015). Normally, the use of this type of measure is more frequent in larger companies (54.3% of the companies with more than 499 workers applied these measures). Flexibility is mainly related to working time, whereas changes in wages have lost importance in recent years. In particular, in 2017, 14.7% of all the companies modified the type of working time (full-time or part-time), whereas 11.3% adapted/modified to some extent working time (e.g. distribution of working hours). Just 1.9% of companies changed the wage system or the wage amount (in contrast to 6.8% in 2013).

Equality and non-discrimination at work

Equality and non-discrimination at work

Article 4.2 of the Statute of Workers' Rights formally acknowledges the right not to be discriminated against at work due to sex, civil status, social origin, race, religious or political ideas, affiliation to a trade union or by reason of language.

Law 14/2003 on the treatment of migration in Spain acknowledges as indirect discrimination the adoption of criteria that discriminate against a worker due to his or her nationality, religion, ethnicity or race.

Law 3/2007 on effective equality between men and women established that gender be mainstreamed in public policies in order to achieve effective equality in all areas of economic, social, cultural and political life.

Employees' representatives at the workplace are responsible for ensuring equality at work.

Equal pay and gender pay gap

The main bodies ensuring equal pay for equal work are labour inspectors and employees' representatives at the workplace.

The observed gender pay gap (unadjusted) declined in the years previous to the crisis. There was a recorded a drop from 22% in 2002 to 16% in 2008. However, since the onset of the crisis it has risen again; it was recorded at 18% in 2012. Research conducted by Murillo and Simon (2011) shows the same trend after 2008. According to them, the main factors that explain the new increase in the gender pay gap relate to the improvement of men's wages due to the employment destruction in relatively low-wage sectors and the increase of the 'glass ceiling' effect. A more recent study by FEDEA (Anghel et al. 2018) showed that women earn on average 12.7% less (hourly earnings).

The most important legislative initiative aimed at combating gender pay discrimination was the Organic Law 3/2007, for Effective Equality between Women and Men. One of its main contributions directly affecting pay discrimination was the obligation to companies with over 250 workers to draw up and apply equality plans, which have to contain measures dealing with professional classification, promotion and training, and payroll retributions, among other issues.

An interesting social partner initiative is the Observatory of Measures and Equality Plans in Collective Bargaining, a body created by the General Workers Union (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT) and financed by the European Social Fund and the Women's Institute. This body publishes reports analysing how equality is treated in collective bargaining and in the equality plans. The last report was for 2013.

The Institute of Women, together with the Spanish Statistical Office (INE), publishes the report Women and Men in Spain (Mujeres y Hombres en España), which uses a group of indicators to review the situation of women in different aspects of society, including the labour market. The last report compiling all the data on the subject was issued in 2017.

Quota regulations

Organic Law 3/200 for Effective Equality between Women and Men introduced a quota regulation for electoral lists. Since 2007, a minimum of 40% people of each sex must be included in all the electoral lists for municipalities with a population higher than 5,000.

With regard to disadvantaged groups, Law 13/1982 regulated a quota of 2% of disabled workers in private and public companies with more than 50 employees. However, Royal-decree 364/2005 introduced some exceptions and provides alternative measures that companies can implement if they cannot hire a disabled worker.

Working life links

Working life links

Employers

Trade Unions CC.OO and Affiliates

UGT and Affiliates

Other Union Organisations

Government

Other Links

Bibliography

Bibliography

Alós, R., Beneyto, P. J., Jódar, P., Molina, O., & Vidal, S. (2015). La representación sindical en España, Fundación 1 de mayo.

Anghel, B., Conde-Ruiz, J. I., & Marra de Artiñano, I. (2018), Brechas salariales de Género en España, FEDEA, Madrid.

Funcas (2015), La reforma laboral de 2012: primer balance (mayo - junio), nº 246, May 2015.

Miguélez, F. and Rebollo, O. (1999), 'Negociación Colectiva en los noventa', in F. Miguélez and C. Prieto (eds), Las relacíones de empleo en Espania, pp. 325-346. Madrid: Siglo veintiuno.

Prieto, C., Arnal, M., Caprile, M. and Potrony, J. (2009), La calidad del empleo: Una aproximación teórica y empírica, Ministerio de Trabajo e Inmigración. Madrid.

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This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Spain. It aims to complement other EurWORK research by providing the relevant background information on the structures, institutions and relevant regulations regarding working life.

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We know that it takes an enlightened leader to reposition an organization to provide also value for society and the planet. And we also know that there aren't enough such leaders. However, latest research shows that there is hope: any engaged employee can increase their changemaker potential by inviting external stakeholders to traditionally internal decisions-making meetings. The current digital meetings are a great bridge for this. Learn here more about the magic of external stakeholders in triggering the organizational mindset shift towards creating positive value. What lesson does COVID-19 crisis have for business?
Covid has shown us how important it is for organizations to become resilient. There is one guaranteed way to increase your resilience, and that is by orienting yourself to the burning challenges that society and the world face today. Pioneering organizations do this by matching their core competencies with these challenges in order to develop new business models and revenue streams for their business. This requires you to create value, no longer just for your shareholder, or even stakeholders, but to think beyond the existing markets and clients to think broader. The question becomes: How can you as an organization with all the competencies, resources, and capacities you have contribute to solving societal and environmental challenges that are out there?
How do leading positive impact organizations accomplish this?
The pioneers show that in order to transform from a traditional organization to a positive impact organization, there are two predictors of success:

1. an enlightened leader, meaning somebody who gets the benefits of contributing value to society beyond just looking for creating value for your business, and

2. an organization that is capable to work outside of its business boundaries, as effectively as internally. I call this the co-creative organization. In addition to managing your business internally, you need to learn how to be co-creative outside, and not just the CEO, but actually many people in your organization.

So that's why I talk about two mindset shifts: 1) one of the leader who needs to shift somehow the purpose of the organization to want to create more value than just for shareholders. And 2) the mindset shift of the organization where suddenly a sufficient number of employees in the organization learn how to work creatively outside of their boundaries and make sense for their own organization out of it. This external fluency is an entirely new expertise that typically doesn't get developed in business schools.
But there aren't enough such leaders, are there?
Indeed, there are unfortunately there aren't enough leaders. But our research offers great hope. Since it takes two things, the leader, and a co-creative organization, I have some ways to make sure that your organization can become co-creative. Even if you don't have an enlightened leader, at least you now have one of the two success factors. And we have seen that process of becoming co creative co creative becomes a mindset shift trigger for the CEO. By engaging in the practices to become co-creative, there is a transformation. Even with the leader so you may have initially a leader who doesn't get it.
Are you saying anybody can bring about change?
Indeed, we are calling them intrapreneurs or change-makers. It could be the head of sustainability, the head of strategy, head of innovation, who says: "Hey, we're going to bring in such new practices". In addition, there is a younger generation, an amazing amount of changemakers that are already kind of intrapreneurs that are ready to bring in a lot of energy, new thinking and dynamism, to be the changemakers that can bring in that that can work on that co-creation part.
But what would such a change agent do?
There is a method for turning a traditional organization into a co-creative one. There is a specific way to bring in external stakeholders. I call them Collaboratory events. The change agent invites constructive external stakeholders and together with them the company participants develop a solution to a problem that is out there. In that one-day workshop, particularly if you have the CEO present, our research shows that something happens with people. Exposure to different thinking, arguments, ideas, perspectives opens your mind. And sometimes, the little opening that happens triggers a mindset shift. A mindset shift is nothing else than an expansion of mind. The key to the organizational mindset shift is all about creating triggering incidents where participants minds expands. There are specific proven processes for this. My book " Five Superpowers for Co-creators " is all about it.
So what do you suggest for changemakers out there?
If you have an appetite for helping your organization to identify what are the positive opportunities in there and get together with the innovators and the strategists in your business together, what you need to do is to find a professional facilitator, ideally somebody trained with the SDGXCHANGE methodology, and organize a multi-stakeholder meeting. You pick a day, invite some external stakeholders and a diverse range of your work colleagues - new and long-time serving your organization, all ages, genders, backgrounds and skills. And together with a skilled facilitator, the group has a conversation about what could be the positive role or contribution of your business to address these issues out there. This is what it would mean to put yourself on the "offense" team.
Take-away message
Even if you work in an organization that currently isn't focused on creating a positive impact for society and the world, and your leader doesn't necessarily get the importance of such an orientation, there is something you can do: find ways to bring in external stakeholders to your next meeting you have in your department. Any meeting that benefits from a broader perspective and new ideas will be perfect for this. With this simple act, you will start broadening the mindset of your colleagues and help position your organization for a mindset shift. Be surprised with how the positive benefits start to spread in your organization.

If you need help in how to go about this, feel free to reach out to me katrin@katrinmuff.com.

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We know that it takes an enlightened leader to reposition an organization to provide also value for society and the planet. And we also know that there aren't enough such leaders. However, latest research shows that there is hope: any engaged employee can increase their changemaker potential by inviting external stakeholders to traditionally internal decisions-making meetings.

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Job description: Event Manager

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Listenings

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Training for your Job Interview best english learning program

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Learn how to give interview, best practices English learning videos. for more videos on English learning please log on at http://englishonlinelearning.in/

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Can has run out of money and Alex advises him to find a job

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Folge 07: Getting a Job

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Can ist pleite und Alex rät ihm, einen Job zu suchen, um zusätzliches Geld zu verdienen. Tatsächlich sucht ein amerikanisches Restaurant noch einen Aushilfskellner. Für das Bewerbungsgespräch organisiert Julie eine Generalprobe mit Alex und Nina als Jury. Dank der Übung bekommt Can den Job. Am Ende des Tages hat sich im Restaurant ein besonderer Gast angekündigt: 'Mrs. V. Beckham and friends' haben einen Tisch reserviert. Doch dahinter stecken Julie, Nina und Alex.

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Can ist pleite und Alex rät ihm, einen Job zu suchen, um zusätzliches Geld zu verdienen. Tatsächlich sucht ein amerikanisches Restaurant noch einen Aushilfskellner. Für das Bewerbungsgespräch organisiert Julie eine Generalprobe mit Alex und Nina als Jury. Dank der Übung bekommt Can den Job.

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You may not understand all of it, but you can get some basic ideas of what NOT to do

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World's Worst Interview - Job Interview Don'ts 101

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Rick needs a job by Valentine's Day! Hire me. http://www.youtube.com/user/AksRick/videos Fail compilation 2011-2012 for job interviews. Job interview tips. Me on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1198235486 Twitter: @JustinROCTweets You won't believe the shit Rick says. How do I get a good job? Rick shows you the dos and don'ts of the job interview...

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You may not understand all of it, but you can get some basic ideas of what NOT to do

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Jamie does all the wrong things in his interview and blows his big opportunity to land a role at Viking FM.

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Tell about a job interview

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With Terry Deary and Huck

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Terry Deary ist einer der erfolgreichsten und vielseitigsten englischen Kindersachbuchautoren, der auch als Schauspieler und Filmemacher arbeitet. Der englische Schüler Huck gehört zu seinen größten Fans und möchte später auch ein erfolgreicher Schriftsteller werden. Als Deary dann tatsächlich vor seiner Haustür steht, geht für Huck ein Traum in Erfüllung. Aber Terry Deary hat nicht nur viele Tipps, sondern auch jede Menge Arbeit für ihn.

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Terry Deary ist einer der erfolgreichsten und vielseitigsten englischen Kindersachbuchautoren, der auch als Schauspieler und Filmemacher arbeitet. Der englische Schüler Huck gehört zu seinen größten Fans und möchte später auch ein erfolgreicher Schriftsteller werden. Als Deary dann tatsächlich vor seiner Haustür steht, geht für Huck ein Traum in Erfüllung.