October Labour Update in ECIJA Spain
The Supreme Court has endorsed the reduction in remote working through the termination of existing agreements and the signing of new ones
Supreme Court judgement of 22 September 2026 (STS No. 745/2026, Appeal No. 192/2025).
The Supreme Court has confirmed that a company may request the termination of individual remote working agreements and offer new ones with a lower percentage of remote working, provided that the applicable collective agreement permits this. This does not constitute a substantial collective amendment, but it does require the individual consent of each employee, as the proportion of on-site work cannot be changed unilaterally.
The priority given to regional agreements does not require the establishment of a new negotiating unit
Judgment of the Supreme Court, Labour Chamber, of 23 September 2026 (Plenary Session, STS No. 751/2026, Appeal No. 187/2025).
The Supreme Court concludes that Article 84.3 of the Workers’ Statute permits the negotiation of regional collective agreements with priority in application, but does not require the employer to open a new bargaining unit whilst negotiations on the national collective agreement are still ongoing. The employer’s refusal, in such circumstances, is justified and does not infringe the right to organise in relation to collective bargaining.
Public holidays that fall on days designated as holidays do not result in an additional day off
Judgment of the National High Court, Labour Division, of 16 September 2026 (SAN No. 147/2026, collective dispute proceedings No. 232/2026)
The National Court has ruled that public holidays falling within a holiday period calculated in calendar days do not entitle employees to an additional day off. The collective agreement for the contact centre sector provides for 32 calendar days’ holiday, a period which includes public holidays and exceeds the minimum requirements laid down by Spanish, international and European Union legislation.