Understanding Labor Laws: Overtime, Contracts, and Worker Rights
Overtime
Each hour of work performed on a working day beyond the contracted hours is considered overtime. It often results from unforeseen circumstances within the company. The maximum overtime allowed is 80 hours per year.
Types of Overtime
- Structural: The employee agrees to work additional hours beyond their obligated hours.
- Non-structural: The employee decides to work extra hours, rather than being obligated. These hours can be agreed upon at the time or in advance.
- Overtime due to Force Majeure: Performed to prevent or repair damage or address other extraordinary and urgent situations. These hours are compulsory and have a maximum limit.
Overtime Pay
Overtime pay depends on the existence of a Collective Agreement (CA) or an individual contract. One hour of overtime will be paid at a fixed amount, which cannot be less than the value of an ordinary hour. Alternatively, overtime can be compensated with equivalent paid rest days. If the CA does not specify payment terms and no agreement is reached, overtime will be compensated with rest within the following four months.
Night Work
Night work is defined as work where at least three hours fall within the nighttime working period, or when at least one-third of the annual working hours are performed at night.
Contract Work
Contract work is a legal relationship where a person provides services for remuneration, voluntarily, under the direction and control of another person (the employer).
Features of Employment Contracts
- Nominated: A typical contract must have specific characteristics.
- Bilateral: Requires the employee to provide services and the employer to pay.
- Consensual: Completed with the agreement between the parties.
- Consideration: Generates financial obligations.
- Commutative: The value of the consideration is predetermined.
- Standardized: Subject to legal regulation.
- Tract Successive: The contract is signed once, but the obligations are ongoing.
Form and Validity of Employment Contracts
A contract exists when a person provides a service for a fee. It can be verbal or written. Written contracts are mandatory for:
- Fixed-term contracts lasting more than four weeks.
- Internships and training contracts.
- Part-time, fixed, and respite contracts.
- Work-from-home arrangements.
- Contracts for specific projects or services.
- Workers hired in Spain by Spanish companies abroad.
Content of Employment Contracts
The trial period must be specified in writing. If not specified, the maximum duration is six months for qualified technicians in companies with 25 or more workers, two months for companies with fewer than 25 workers, and three months in other cases. After the trial period, an employee cannot be dismissed for incompetence.
Employee Rights and Duties
Rights
- Right to strike.
- Right to assembly.
- Right to collective bargaining.
- Promotion and training at work.
- Physical integrity, health, and safety.
- Effective occupation.
Duties
- Fulfill contractual obligations.
- Contribute to product improvement.
- Observe health and safety measures.
Temporary Agency Work
Temporary work agencies employ workers and assign them to different user companies on a temporary basis.
The Contract Provision
This contract is between the temporary work agency and the user company. The worker is transferred to the user company and is subject to its direction. It must be in writing, and its duration is such that the worker can always be hired by the company.
Obligations of User Companies
- Inform the worker of job risks and preventive measures.
- Inform worker representatives of each contract within ten days.
- Register contracts with the Employment Office.
User companies cannot:
- Replace striking workers.
- Assign workers to dangerous activities.
- Transfer workers to other employment agencies.
Employer’s Authority
Obligations and Duties of the Worker to the Employer
The worker must perform the agreed-upon work under the direction of the employer or their delegate. Workers must also exercise due care and collaborate in accordance with laws, collective agreements, and the employer’s instructions.
Refusal to Obey Orders
An employee may refuse to obey an employer’s order if it poses an imminent and unreasonable risk to the worker’s health or threatens their personal and professional dignity.
Employer’s Rights
The employer has the right to take appropriate measures to monitor and verify worker compliance. The employer may also verify the health status of an employee who is absent due to illness. Refusal to undergo a medical examination may result in the suspension of payment.
Disciplinary Authority
The employer has disciplinary authority to address worker misconduct. Agreements typically establish three levels of offenses: minor, serious, and very serious. Written communication is required for very serious misconduct, and the employer must inform the works council and employee representatives. Sanctions cannot include a reduction in holidays or other rest rights, or fines.
Prescription of Sanctions
Minor offenses are prescribed after 10 days, serious offenses after 20 days, and very serious offenses after 60 days. After one month, a worker cannot be sanctioned for a past offense.