New obligations regarding terms and conditions of employment
Royal Decree 723/2026 of 9 September, which entered into force on 5 October 2026, expands the information what employers are required to provide to employees and establishes that, generally, such information must be provided before the employment relationship begins. These obligations generally apply to employment relationships lasting more than four weeks.
Key Developments
The required information may be included in the employment contract itself or provided in one or more supplementary documents where the contract does not contain all the required details.
Information may be provided in paper or electronic format, provided that it is accessible, can be stored and printed, and the employer is able to demonstrate that it has been transmitted or received. Information must also be provided in an accessible and comprehensible format to employees with disabilities or limited intellectual capacity.
The information that employers should review includes the following:
- Fixed-term employment: the reason justifying the fixed-term nature of the contract, the specific circumstances supporting it and their relationship to the expected duration of the contract, as well as the relevant centre or place of work.
- Remuneration: basic salary and salary supplements, shown separately, together with the method used to calculate variable remuneration.
- Working time: the duration and distribution of working hours, shifts, overtime, annual leave and, where applicable, irregular working-time arrangements.
- Position and duties: the nature of the work to be performed, duties, occupational category or professional group, and a sufficiently precise description of the position.
- Probationary period and training provided by the employer.
- Applicable collective agreement, including the information required to identify it.
- Contract termination procedures and, where applicable, notice periods.
- Equality plan and protocol on sexual harassment and harassment on grounds of sex, as well as, where applicable, work-life balance policies and measures relating to LGBTI matters.
- Certain information concerning Social Security protection, voluntary supplementary benefits and pension plans or funds promoted by the employer.
- Additional information where the employee is expected to work abroad on a regular basis.
Algorithms and Automated Decision-Making Systems
The new legislation expressly establishes an obligation to provide information on the existence of algorithmic or automated decision-making systems.
Where such systems are used to make decisions concerning working conditions, including working hours, task allocation, remuneration, career progression, place of work or termination of employment, employers must also provide information on the systems’ operating procedures, criteria and operating rules.
Employers should therefore review which tools of this kind are currently used in their Human Resources processes and determine what information must be disclosed in relation to their use.
Subsequent Changes and Existing Employment Relationships
The obligation to provide information is not limited to the time of recruitment. Any subsequent change to previously communicated terms and conditions of employment must be notified in writing as soon as possible and, at the latest, on the same date on which the change takes effect.
No further notification will be required where the change arises directly from a statutory or regulatory provision, or from a collective agreement, to which a valid prior reference has been made.
In any event, these information obligations are supplementary in nature and do not replace any requirements, procedures or safeguards established under the Spanish Workers’ Statute that may apply to changes in terms and conditions of employment.
As regards employment relationships already in force on 5 October 2026, employers are not required to automatically reissue all the information. However, if an employee requests it, the employer must provide any information required under the new regulations that has not yet been made available to that employee, within a maximum period of thirty working days from receipt of the request.
What Should Employers Review Now?
In light of these new information obligations, employers are advised to review both their contractual documentation and their internal Human Resources procedures, with particular attention to the following:
- Employment contract templates and supplementary documentation provided to employees, to ensure that they contain all the required information.
- Onboarding processes, to ensure that information is provided at the appropriate time and through the legally prescribed means.
- Internal procedures for handling information requests from employees whose employment relationships are already in force.
- Procedures for notifying subsequent changes to working conditions, ensuring that such changes are properly documented and communicated within the applicable time limits.
- Algorithmic and automated tools used in Human Resources processes, identifying the circumstances in which their use may trigger specific information obligations.
- Document management and audit trail systems, ensuring that the employer can adequately demonstrate that the relevant information has been delivered, transmitted or received.
Failure to comply with the obligation to provide written information on the essential elements of the employment contract and the main terms and conditions of employment constitutes a minor infringement under the Spanish Law on Social and Labour Offences and Penalties.
GIMÉNEZ TORRES ABOGADOS
