Pérez-Llorca analyses the trends that will shape the labour market in the coming months in its ‘Pérez-Llorca Labour Law Update’ session

• The firm held the first ‘Pérez-Llorca Labour Law Update’ session of 2023

Pérez-Llorca’s Employment, Compensation and Benefits practice area held a new ‘Pérez-Llorca Labour Law Update’ session. Partners Manel Hernández, Isabel Moya and Laura Pérez, and Of Counsel Yolanda Valdeolivas attended the seminar. During the event, the speakers addressed the main trends that will affect the labour market in the coming months and discussed the latest judgments handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Spanish Supreme Court and the Spanish High Court on employment matters.

Manel Hernández opened the session by analysing the most significant judgments issued by the Spanish and European courts on various matters such as collective dismissal, the Equality Plan, workers’ representatives, collective bargaining, workers’ privacy, remote working and substantial modifications to working conditions, among other issues.

Then, following the usual ‘Pérez-Llorca Labour Law Update’ session format, Isabel Moya and Laura Pérez presented the top three most significant judgments in employment law matters from recent months. Firstly, Moya discussed the Supreme Court ruling of 29 November 2022 on collective dismissal. In this case, the High Court considered that fraudulent dismissal is only null and void when provided by the labour legislator. In this regard, the Pérez-Llorca partner highlighted that this court is increasingly narrowing the grounds for nullity of dismissals and, in particular, collective dismissals.

Laura Pérez then highlighted the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 22 December 2022 on the obligation of companies to pay for prescription glasses or contact lenses for all workers who, through a medical examination, can prove that they need them for the use of display screens. Specifically, the judgment indicates that the employer may comply with this obligation by delivering the special corrective devices directly to the employee or by reimbursing the costs incurred by the employee for their purchase.

Finally, Isabel Moya presented the Supreme Court ruling of 15 November 2022 on the indemnity guarantee. This ruling establishes that, as a general rule, an internal complaint by an employee does not activate the indemnity guarantee, except in the case of immediate dismissal and without the existence of breaches, as it is temporarily impossible to bring a legal claim.

Yolanda Valdeolivas went on to explain the main trends in the labour law sector. Among other matters, Valdeolivas analysed the impact on companies of issues such as the rise in the Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI), the Draft Law for the real and effective equality of transgender people and the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people, the Draft Law on Sustainable Mobility that seeks to promote the use of collective transport and collaborative mobility in large companies, as well as the preparation of the future Law on the Use of Time that aims to regulate working time through measures that guarantee the possibility of adapting the working day and favouring work-life balance.

The session ended with a discussion on the impact of some existing or pending legislation on the ability of companies to dismiss workers. Other issues discussed included the prohibition of dismissal in situations of sick leave, expanding the concept of indemnity and retaliation, the European Social Charter and its possible impact on severance pay and the new powers of the Labour and Social Security Inspection Authorities in collective dismissals.