The employment contracts in Spain They prepare to incorporate new changes. The Government plans to approve a royal decree that will increase the information that companies must provide to their workers about the conditions under which they will carry out their activity.
The intention is that certain aspects that until now could have remained poorly defined are known from the beginning of the employment relationship. Among them are the trial period, remuneration, job duties or distribution of working hours. Information related to certain automated systems will also be reinforced when they intervene in employment decisions.
The reform will serve to adapt Spanish legislation to European regulations on transparent and predictable working conditions, whose transposition is accumulating delays. The European Commission even took Spain before the Court of Justice of the European Union for not having incorporated all its provisions in time.
The company will have to explain what it expects during the trial period
One of the main novelties affects the probationa stage that many workers go through when they start in a company.
New contracts must specify the criteria the company will use to determine whether the employee is suitable for the position. The tasks and conditions that must be met during this stage and the tools used to evaluate their performance will also have to be clearer.
In this way, the worker will be able to know from the beginning not only how long he will be on probation, but also What is expected of him and with what criteria his continuity will be decided.
The future regulation also aims to limit trial periods longer than six months. When this period is to be exceeded, there must be a justification and the possibility of extending it must be identified in the legal basis or in the corresponding collective agreement.
Currently, the Workers’ Statute establishes, when the agreement does not provide otherwise, a maximum of six months for qualified technicians and two months for the rest of the workers, with some exceptions.
More information about salary
The changes do not remain only in the trial period. Companies will also have to offer more information about how the salary is composed.
Contracts will have to include the remuneration structure in more detail, including the different concepts that may affect salary. The objective is once again for the employee to know the economic conditions of his position without having to wait for the employment relationship to progress to discover certain elements.
The regulation will also include other essential aspects of working conditions, including the day and its distributionas well as certain services or benefits linked to employment.
Algorithms also enter the employment relationship
Another point of the reform has to do with a reality that is increasingly present in companies. And that is, the use of algorithms and automated systems to intervene in certain decisions.
Spanish regulations already recognize workers’ representatives the right to receive information about parameters, rules and instructions of algorithms or artificial intelligence systems that may affect working conditions, access to employment or its maintenance.
The new regulation It aims to reinforce this principle and expand the information that the worker receives directly about their employment relationship.
It does not mean, therefore, that any company has to technically explain all the algorithms it uses. The change affects those automated systems that can intervene in issues related to working conditions.
More transparency from the beginning of the contract
The overall goal of the new framework is to reduce the uncertainty that can exist when someone starts a new role.
The worker must have more information to know What functions you will perform, how your day will be organized, what remuneration you will receive and under what conditions your relationship with the company will develop..
The reform pays special attention to the trial period because it is precisely one of the stages in which there is greatest uncertainty. With the new demands, the intention is that the employee does not find himself for months without knowing exactly what the company expects of him or what criteria it will use to decide whether to continue in the position.
In short, the change does not only mean adding more content to the employment contracts. The Government’s intention is that the essential conditions are known in a clear and predictable manner from the beginning of the employment relationship, especially in matters as relevant for any employee as salary, working hours or evaluation during their first months.