Employment
The Workers' Statute, sector-wide collective agreements and social courts
Employment rests on the Workers' Statute, which sets minimum terms that sectoral collective agreements build upon. Dismissal is tightly controlled, and disputes go to specialised social courts after a compulsory conciliation step.
Key rules
- Dismissal must be justified; an unfair dismissal triggers compensation or, in some cases, reinstatement.
- Sectoral collective agreements apply to all employers in the sector and are widely determinative of pay.
- A statutory minimum wage is set annually by the government by royal decree.
Governing law
- Workers' Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores)
- Labour Procedure Act (Ley Reguladora de la Jurisdicción Social)
In practice
Pre-litigation conciliation before the regional mediation service is mandatory, and short limitation periods for dismissal claims run from the date of termination.