Pérez-Llorca analyses the latest regulatory and case law trends in its ‘Pérez-Llorca Labour Law Update’ session

Pérez-Llorca has analyzed the Reforms, Algorithm Case Law, and Job Termination Security at its latest Labor Seminar. Partners of the practice Daniel Cifuentes and Isabel Moya attended the event, alongside with Of Counsel Yolanda Valdeolivas. Together, they provided a comprehensive view of the trends that will mark the end of 2025 in the workplace.

Daniel Cifuentes began the seminar by reviewing the most significant regulatory developments, including the new draft Royal Decree on working time registration, which aims to develop article 34.9 of the Workers’ Statute. As Yolanda Valdeolivas noted, "this reform aims to provide greater legal certainty as to what is considered working time and to ensure more effective control of overtime."

The firm’s Of Counsel also pointed out the significance of the Sustainable Mobility Bill, which will oblige companies with more than 200 workers, or more than 100 per shift, to negotiate sustainable mobility plans, and the Strategic Plan of the Labour and Social Security Inspection Authorities for 2025-2027, aimed at controlling working hours, equal pay and the prevention of psychosocial risks. This part of the session also covered the guidance document on reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities, which came into force in May 2025, and the recent European Working Conditions Survey, which, according to Valdeolivas, "shows an improvement in the quality of employment in Europe, but also highlights persistent inequalities in terms of gender and working conditions."

Cifuentes then went on to review the most significant rulings handed down by the Supreme Court, the Spanish High Court and the Constitutional Court over the past few months. These included decisions on the consideration of certain activities as own-activity contracts, the justification of travel for per diem purposes, the adaptation of working hours for the care of disabled descendants and possible discriminatory situations arising from temporary disability. The Pérez-Llorca partner highlighted in particular the Spanish High Court ruling of 4 July 2025, the first to analyse workers’ legal representatives’ right to information on the use of algorithms in the workplace. "This is a pioneering ruling that will set the standard for trade union transparency and control over automated labour management systems," Cifuentes stressed.

Cifuentes also covered decisions examining employer conduct that may violate freedom of association or constitute a substantial modification of working conditions, as well as others concerning collective bargaining and the proper use of trade union credit. In this regard, a number of rulings on pay, remote working and effective working time were also addressed, along with a resolution on transfers as a form of geographical mobility.

Then, following the usual ‘Pérez-Llorca Labour Law Update’ session format, Cifuentes and Moya presented the top three most significant judgments from recent months. This time, first place went to the Supreme Court Ruling handed down on 16 July 2025, which deals with severance pay for unfair dismissal. The ruling establishes that the compensation established in Article 56 of the Workers’ Statute cannot be increased through the courts to include additional compensation based on the specific circumstances of the case, as this would violate Article 10 of Convention 158 of the ILO and Article 24 of the revised European Social Charter. "This is a judgment of particular practical significance, which reaffirms the criterion of legal certainty in compensation matters," Cifuentes said.

To end the session, Cifuentes and Moya offered a practical guide on how to deal with a dismissal, addressing the main risks that may arise from a termination decision. They analysed the thresholds that determine whether there is a collective dismissal, the procedures and deadlines for communicating this dismissal, as well as economic and contractual aspects such as variable remuneration, taxation of severance pay, post-contractual non-compete agreements and implications for data protection. "The aim is for companies to make informed decisions, taking into account not only the immediate costs, but also the associated legal risks," Moya concluded.

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