What is meant by work-life balance?
Work-life balance has become one of the key issues on the POLICY AGENDA. Both employees and employers are increasingly aware of the advantages of offering greater balance and flexibility in the working day and its place of execution, so that the worker can improve his or her quality of life without the business result suffering.
In this direct, we will detail on the family conciliation, what regulates us the Statute of the Workers.
The concept of “work-life balance” refers to achieving an appropriate balance between career and day-to-day personal and family activities. In other words, it consists of a set of strategies or measures that aim to ensure that members of the company have good opportunities and conditions without their professional career affecting their personal life and family activities.
Where is it regulated?
In Spain, the reconciliation of personal, family and working life encompasses a series of rights, mainly set out in the ET, which establishes various measures in terms of working hours, such as adaptation, paid vacations and leave, leave of absence, digital disconnection, etc. Also in this line are proposals such as the reduction of the working day 2025 in which we go from 40 hours to 37.5 hours of work per week. Although this is a measure that is still in process.
What are these work-family reconciliation measures?
Care of infant under nine months of age:
Article 37.4 ET:
entitles the employee to one hour of absence from work, which may be divided into two fractions. Its duration will be increased proportionally in cases of birth, adoption, foster care or multiple adoptions. In addition, this right may be replaced by a half-hour reduction of the working day for the same purpose, or accumulated in full working days, provided this is negotiated.
It is not possible to transfer this right to the other parent, adopter, guardian or foster parent, although it is recognized for both parents for each child. Finally, the exercise of this right is compatible with the reduction of the working day to care for a minor, disabled or family member.
hospitalization of the newborn:
Article 37.5 ET:
Employees shall have the right to be absent from work for one hour in the event of premature birth of a son or daughter, or who, for any reason, must remain hospitalized following childbirth. Likewise, they will have the right to reduce their working day up to a maximum of two hours, with a proportional reduction in salary.
Reduced working hours for the direct care of children under 12 years of age, disabled persons or families: this is one of the main options for workers to reconcile work and family life, particularly because they are protected against possible dismissals.
Article 37.6 ET.
Anyone who, for reasons of legal guardianship, has direct care of a child under twelve years of age or a disabled person who does not perform a paid activity shall be entitled to a reduction of the daily working day, with a proportional reduction in salary of at least one eighth and a maximum of one half of the duration of such reduction.
The employee must know that his salary will be reduced in proportion to the reduction of the working day, affecting also the salary supplements. Furthermore, it is important to note that the company cannot refuse to grant this reduction, provided that its duration is between the limits of 1/8 of the working day as a minimum and half of the working day as a maximum. It may refuse the schedule chosen by the employee, proposing another one. If the employee is dismissed in a situation of reduced working hours and we are not able to prove its origin, it will be classified as a null dismissal.
Reduction of the working day to care for a dependent child affected by cancer or any other illness:
Article 37.6 ET:
In this case, the reduction in working hours is justified by the existence of a serious illness that must involve long-term hospitalization and require the need for direct, continuous and permanent care. The reduction must be of at least 50 percent of the working day, with no maximum limit. The salary will be reduced in the same proportion as the working day, but there is an allowance in favor of the worker to compensate for the lack of income, although it will only be granted when both parents work, and only one of them can apply for it.
Consequently, the mere attainment of eighteen years of age by the child or minor subject to permanent foster care or guardianship for adoption purposes shall not be a cause for termination of the reduction of the working day, if the need for direct, continuous and permanent care is maintained.
Workers who are considered victims of gender violence, sexual violence or terrorism:
Article 37.8 ET:
It is possible to reduce the working day as much as the employee wishes in these cases, as well as to adapt his or her work station. On the other hand, if a change of residence is necessary, these workers will have a preferential right to transfer.
Other reconciliation measures: adaptations to the working day under Article 34.8 et. seq:
It allows workers to request adaptations to the length and distribution of the working day, as well as to the organization of working time and the form of service, including teleworking.
The adaptations must be reasonable and proportionate in relation to the needs of the worker and the organizational and productive needs of the company.
Some examples are the change from shift work to fixed hours, or from night work to day work, or from face-to-face to telework. It is also possible to exempt the employee from travel or from working Friday afternoons or Saturdays and Sundays.
- If the request is motivated by the need to care for a minor, the employee may exercise this right until the child reaches the age of 12, and any action taken will lapse when that date is reached.
- On the other hand, when the request is motivated by the care of a family member, we must take into account that the law does not specify limits, so it will be necessary to consider each specific case.
The terms of the exercise of this right may be agreed upon by collective bargaining, or between the company and the employee.
Specifically, and in the absence of conventional regulation, once the request has been received from the employee, the company will open a negotiation process for a maximum period of 15 working days, and it will be presumed that the request has been granted if there is no expressly motivated opposition within this period. At the end of this period, the company will communicate in writing its acceptance or refusal, or an alternative proposal. If no agreement is reached, and in the event of denial of this right, the reason must be given.
In any case, there is no such thing as an ‘à la carte working time‘ right. In general, each case will be discussed on an individual basis, taking into account how the proposed measure affects both the company and the other workers.
Keep in mind that it is not possible (or not advisable) to automatically deny any accommodation to the employee: in case the discussion goes to court, the company must demonstrate that it has done its best to negotiate with the employee and that it has duly justified its refusal, based on structural, productive needs, etc.
Finally, bear in mind that these measures are compatible with the reduction of working hours to care for a family member. In fact, they are usually exercised jointly.
Are there any other permits?
Parental leave
A new article 48 bis is introduced in the ET, which provides that employees shall be entitled to parental leave for the care of a child or foster child for a period of more than one year, until the child reaches the age of eight.
This leave, which shall have a duration of no more than eight weeks, continuous or discontinuous, may be taken on a full-time basis or on a part-time basis as established in the regulations.
Work furloughs
Another facet of family and work reconciliation is found in the right to leave of absence. Any worker, whether full-time or part-time, has the right to suspend his or her employment contract on a voluntary basis provided that one of these two causes, set out in article 46.3 ET, is met:
- For the care of a child, whether by nature, adoption or in cases of foster care, pre-adoptive or permanent. In this case, the leave of absence may have a maximum duration of 3 years.
- For the care of a relative up to the second degree of consanguinity, who is unable to care for him/herself due to age, accident, illness or disability and, therefore, does not perform a paid activity. In this case, the leave of absence may have a maximum duration of 2 years, unless a longer duration is established by collective bargaining.
In both cases the leave can be taken in installments. It is important to note that the employer may not refuse to grant this right to the employee. However, in the event that two or more employees of the same company generate this right by the same causal subject, the employer may limit its simultaneous exercise for justified reasons of operation of the company.
Is there a specific judicial procedure to enforce this right?
Yes, the Law Regulating the Social Jurisdiction provides for the following procedure Rights of reconciliation of personal, family and working life recognized by law or by agreement.
Article 139 of the Law Regulating Social Jurisdiction provides as follows
The procedure for the exercise of the rights of reconciliation of personal, family and work life, legally or conventionally recognized, shall be governed by the following rules:
a) The employee shall have a period of twenty days from the date the employer communicates its refusal or disagreement with the proposal made by the employee, to file a lawsuit before the Labor Court.
In the claim for the right to the conciliation measure, the action for damages caused to the employee may be accumulated, exclusively for those derived from the denial of the right or the delay in the effectiveness of the measure, from which the employer may be exonerated if he has complied, at least provisionally, with the measure proposed by the employee.
The employer and the employee must bring their respective proposals and alternatives to the acts of conciliation prior to the trial and to the trial itself, which may be accompanied, where appropriate, by a report from the joint bodies or the monitoring bodies of the company’s equality plans for their consideration in the judgment.
(b) The proceeding shall be urgent and preferential processing shall be given. The hearing shall be scheduled within five days following the date of admission of the claim. The judgment shall be rendered within three days. No appeal shall be allowed against it, except when a claim for compensation for damages has been accrued which, due to its amount, could give rise to an appeal for reversal, in which case the decision on the conciliation measures shall be enforceable as soon as the judgment is rendered.
2. The above procedure shall be equally applicable to the exercise of the rights of the female worker victim of gender violence established in the law, to the reduction of the working day with proportional reduction of the salary and to the reorganization of the working time, through the adaptation of the timetable, the application of the flexible timetable or other forms of organization of the working time used in the company. An action for damages directly caused to the worker by the denial or delay of the right may be added to the aforementioned claim. The adoption of the precautionary measures regulated in paragraph 4 of Article 180 may be requested, if necessary.
At Martinez Caballero Abogados, we offer this legal service to our clients.
We advise on work and family reconciliation issues, as well as prepare the initial requests to companies.
What are the benefits of work-life balance?
A good balance between work, personal and family life has many advantages for employees at an individual level, among which are the following:
- Improves the well-being of employees, both personally and in relation to their work.
- Contributes to employee health and reduces stress.
- A good work-life balance also improves work motivation.
- Workers can devote the necessary time to their personal day-to-day tasks and spend more time with their families.
As a result, work-life balance also benefits companies in the following ways:
- They reduce possible professional conflicts and improve the work environment and professional relationships among the different members of the team.
- By increasing employee satisfaction and motivation.
- There is an improvement in performance and increased labor productivity.
- Absenteeism is reduced.
- It is beneficial for talent retention and management.
How to improve work-life balance?
These are some of the ways in which companies can improve the work-life balance of their employees:
- Avoid any type of communication, such as e-mails, for example, during non-business hours, with the exception of possible emergencies, and encourage digital disconnection.
- Offer labor flexibility.
- Provide personalized advice and support to all employees in different aspects, such as training and professional development.
- Conduct talks or information sessions on equality in the workplace and work-family reconciliation.
- Ensure good internal communication, measure employee well-being and be informed about employee concerns, opinions and needs.
- Offer workers the possibility of working intensive hours, for example, in the summer month.
What would these recommended work-life balance strategies be?
Among the best-known strategies for work-life balance, it is important to highlight the following:
Hybrid work
Hybrid work is a modality that combines face-to-face work with remote work. Among its main characteristics is the use of technological tools and the flexibility it offers workers. It has many advantages for employees, who obtain a better work-life balance, and for the company, which reduces costs and improves the experience and commitment of workers.
Telework
Teleworking also offers many different advantages, not only to the employees, but also to the company. Among other benefits, it allows workers to save time in commuting and helps to increase productivity. It is important to know the situation of teleworking in Spain and to know that it has a voluntary character for the workers and for the company, and that both must reach an agreement in case they want to follow this modality.
Sheila Quiroz Sifuentes
Lawyer Expert in Labor Law
M&CAbogados
