Spanish Business Law: Employment, Obligations, and Contracts
Lecture 4: Employment Law
Collective Agreements and Worker’s Statute
This lecture covers collective agreements between unions and employers, outlining minimal rights and obligations as per the Worker’s Statute. Key topics include minimum content, risk prevention, joint trade unions, and social security protection.
Working Contracts and Employment Relationships
We delve into working contracts, agreements where workers provide services to employers for payment. The distinction between employment relationships (employees) and civil-mercantile relationships (self-employed) is explored.
Employment Contract Characteristics
The lecture emphasizes that only individuals under an employment contract can have employment rights. Key characteristics include:
- Duty to obey employer’s instructions
- Acting on behalf of the employer (liability for damages)
- Dependency on the employer
Exclusivity Clauses and Contract Types
We discuss exclusivity clauses that prevent employees from working for others after their primary job. Contract types, including written (obligatory for temporary work) and oral, are explained, along with requirements for registration and content.
Payment and Severance
The lecture covers minimum wage regulations, payment frequencies, and severance pay calculations (20 days of salary per year worked).
Self-Employed and Representation
The rights and obligations of self-employed individuals, governed by civil and mercantile law, are discussed. Contractual requirements and registration processes are explained.
Types of Representation
The lecture differentiates between legal representation (representing individuals or entities), organic representation (for legal entities requiring a physical person as administrator), and voluntary representation (direct or indirect, in civil or mercantile spheres).
Lecture 5: Obligations and Contracts
Sources of Obligations
This lecture explores the concept of obligations, which create debts and liability. The main sources of obligations are contracts (private law), unlawful damage (compensation for financial damage), and the law (must be clear and unambiguous).
Monetary Obligations and Payment
We focus on pecuniary obligations involving the delivery of money. Payment methods, stabilization clauses (to maintain exchange value), and debt interest rates are discussed.
How Obligations Work
Payment and Discharge
The lecture outlines the three requirements for valid payment: coincidence of payment with the due obligation, full payment, and undivided payment.
Breach of Obligations
We examine different modes of breach, including refusal to pay, defective compliance, and delay in payment. Causes of breach, such as willful misconduct, negligence, and force majeure, are explored.
Liability and Enforcement
The lecture discusses liability for failure to comply with obligations, emphasizing the creditor’s role in protecting the loan and assessing the debtor’s creditworthiness. Enforcement mechanisms, including individual (monetary and non-monetary debts) and collective (bankruptcy and insolvency), are explained.
Businessperson’s Civil Liability
We delve into the concept of civil liability as a guarantee on assets, where the debtor must respond with present and future assets in case of failure to comply.
Types of Liability
The lecture differentiates between contractual liability (quasi-objective, focusing on willful misconduct) and extra-contractual liability (based on guilt/negligence, risk theory, or objective causes of damage).
Assets Subject to Liability
We discuss the possibility for individual businesspersons to limit their liability through the “entrepreneur with limited liability” status.
Contracts and Regulations
The lecture explores contracts as instruments of economic exchange and sources of obligations. Key regulations include:
- Trade procurement regulations (limited provisions in the Commercial Code)
- Common rules on civil contracts (fundamental rules in the Civil Code)
- Law on the protection of consumers
Special Cases: General Conditions and Clauses
We examine general conditions of contract clauses, pre-established terms used by companies. The importance of clarity, simplicity, and good faith (non-abusive clauses) is emphasized.