What labour law developments should companies review in 2026?
The new year has begun, and we would like to take this opportunity to inform and warn companies about those labour law developments in respect of which we recommend carrying out a review and forward planning, given that they will be subject to increased scrutiny by the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate (Inspección de Trabajo y Seguridad Social) in the inspection and verification actions to be carried out during 2026.
In this context, as the authority responsible for ensuring compliance with labour legislation, the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate continues to implement the programme established under its Strategic Plan for 2025–2027, within a framework marked by increasing digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence, labour market reform, and a strong focus on improving working conditions in order to raise employment quality standards. As a result, inspection activity will focus on reviewing compliance in areas with greater social impact and a higher risk of fraud or non-compliance by employers subject to inspection.
Both the aforementioned 2025–2027 Strategic Plan and recent legislative and case-law trends allow us to anticipate the main labour law issues that companies will need to review in order to avoid sanctions and labour disputes. In our view, these are the following:
1. Employment contracts and the fight against fraudulent temporary work. Special focus on the correct use of permanent discontinuous contracts
Although, following the labour reform, open-ended contracts have become the standard form of employment, the use of permanent discontinuous contracts (contratos fijos-discontinuos) has become widespread, in some cases being applied to situations that may not properly fall within the legal scope of this type of contract.
It should be recalled that permanent discontinuous contracts may only be entered into for work of a seasonal nature, work linked to seasonal productive activities, or work which, although not seasonal, is performed intermittently and has certain or foreseeable periods of execution, whether determined or undetermined.
Accordingly, in relation to this type of contract, the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate will pay particular attention to verifying the genuine existence of discontinuity or seasonality in the employer’s activity. Peaks in workload or production will not be regarded as sufficient if they are not genuinely linked to seasonality, in order to prevent the improper use of permanent discontinuous contracts as a disguised substitute for temporary contracts.
In addition to this core issue, and despite longstanding calls from practitioners for more detailed statutory regulation, the Inspectorate will also review compliance with call-back procedures as established in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Employers must respect the agreed order of call-back and be able to demonstrate full documentary traceability. Companies must therefore exercise particular care in the administrative and documentary management of these contracts, as failure to justify or evidence call-backs may result in sanctions and in the worker being deemed a full-time permanent employee.
Although the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate has clearly focused on permanent discontinuous contracts, it will also continue to scrutinise compliance with the increasingly strict requirements governing temporary employment contracts, particularly the genuine justification for their use, their actual duration, and any unlawful chaining of contracts.
It should be emphasised that, in order to detect patterns that may be considered anomalous, such as repeated hiring and termination or very short-term contracts, the Inspectorate will continue to rely on automated data cross-checking between the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) and the General Treasury of the Social Security. A higher number of automated inspections is expected, resulting in direct formal requests to companies.
2. Working time recording and control of working hours
Although a reform of the working time recording system was envisaged to introduce a mandatory digital system with direct access for the Labour Inspectorate and employee representatives, we consider that the main issue companies must focus on is ensuring that the system in use is reliable, accessible and tamper-proof, accurately reflecting actual working time and ensuring clear traceability and consistency between recorded hours, effective working time and remote work.
Accordingly, it is essential to ensure the existence and correct implementation of daily working time records, the reliability and accuracy of time-recording systems, compliance with statutory limits on working time, and, where applicable, the proper compensation of overtime or excess working hours performed by employees.
These issues will be particularly relevant in sectors with a high incidence of extended or atypical working hours, such as hospitality, retail, transport, private healthcare and service companies. In addition, inspection activity will be reinforced through cross-checking payroll data, contribution bases and working time records in order to detect irregularities.
3. Work–life balance rights, leave entitlements and digital disconnection
Another key labour law development is the extension of birth and childcare leave to 19 weeks per parent, which will be fully applicable in 2026. Inspection activity is expected to focus on ensuring compliance with the relevant legal obligations and preventing fraudulent practices.
This issue is also linked to potential extensions of paid leave announced by the Spanish Government. The Inspectorate will therefore seek to identify situations that may be considered discriminatory, resulting from unequal or deficient management, or involving breaches of fundamental rights that hinder the enjoyment of legally established leave entitlements.
4. Equality, non-discrimination and equality plans
Closely linked to the above, the maximum validity periods of equality plans implemented by companies with more than fifty (50) employees are beginning to expire, giving rise once again to the obligation to negotiate and implement new equality plans.
This renewed negotiation process allows for the introduction of updated measures to promote effective equality between women and men. Inspection activity will focus in particular on verifying the obligation to have a valid, up-to-date equality plan that has been properly negotiated, registered and effectively implemented within the company.
Special emphasis will be placed on monitoring the gender pay gap and potential direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex, age, origin, disability or other personal or social circumstances. Companies will be required to maintain pay registers and carry out pay audits demonstrating the absence of such disparities.
5. Remote work and teleworking
There has been a decline in the use of remote working arrangements, as employers increasingly question productivity levels, while at the same time such arrangements are increasingly requested by employees as a means of achieving work–life balance.
Accordingly, in order to ensure proper compliance with employees’ work–life balance rights, inspections will focus on verifying the existence of written remote working agreements, compliance with legally required minimum content, reimbursement of expenses arising from remote work, and, in particular, respect for the right to digital disconnection.
In addition, increased scrutiny is expected in relation to hidden excess working hours in remote work arrangements, as well as occupational risk prevention in the employee’s home, especially with regard to ergonomic and psychosocial risks.
6. Other relevant labour law developments
Other labour law issues that companies should also monitor in 2026, albeit with less intensity than those outlined above, include the following:
Wages, social security contributions and employment registration
The Inspectorate will verify correct social security contributions in respect of all salary items, the possible existence of undeclared work or failure to register employees, and the improper use of contribution rebates or reductions. For this purpose, it will rely on automated data analysis tools to more accurately identify situations of under-contribution or simulated employment relationships.
Occupational risk prevention and working conditions
Specific inspection campaigns will continue in sectors with high accident rates, such as construction, industry, agriculture and transport. Key areas of review will include up-to-date risk assessments adapted to actual working conditions, preventive activity planning, employee training and information, and the proper investigation of workplace accidents and occupational diseases.
Increased inspection activity is expected in relation to psychosocial risks, including work-related stress, workload and burnout, as well as the prevention of workplace and sexual harassment.
Subcontracting and contracting chains
The review of subcontracting chains will remain particularly relevant in sectors such as construction, logistics and services. Inspections will verify correct application of the applicable collective bargaining agreement, compliance with social security obligations, joint or subsidiary liability between companies, and respect for labour rights in contracting and subcontracting arrangements.
The Inspectorate will pay particular attention to complex corporate structures designed to dilute labour responsibilities. Close attention should also be paid to potential legislative initiatives aimed at strengthening employers’ obligations within subcontracting chains and in relation to labour market intermediaries, significantly expanding the scope of employer liability.
Labour law developments in 2026: conclusions
In light of the above, we consider it essential for companies to anticipate inspection activity by the Labour and Social Security Inspectorate and to adopt a more proactive approach to regulatory compliance. This involves regularly reviewing labour policies, documentation and actual practices, not only to reduce the risk of sanctions, but also to foster fairer, safer and more sustainable working environments.
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