Change Is Coming to Spain’s Minimum Wage, Visa Process, and LGBTQ Protections

Quick Hits

• Spanish authorities are preparing to increase the minimum wage and shorten the workweek to 37.5 hours.
• Spain’s government approved a measure to simplify the visa process.
• Employers must take steps to protect LGBTQ workers from discrimination, harassment, and violence at the workplace.

Shorter Workweek and Higher Minimum Wage

On December 20, 2024, the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy published a draft law to reduce the workweek from 40 hours to 37.5 hours at the same pay rate. Anything above that amount would be considered overtime.

If the law passes Parliament, businesses and trade unions will be expected to comply with it by December 31, 2025. Companies will be required to maintain digital, real-time records of workers’ hours. Spanish law grants employees the right to disconnect, meaning the right to not respond to work-related emails and texts outside of work hours.

The Spanish government also has proposed raising the minimum wage to €1,184 per month in fourteen payments. If approved, this will take effect retroactively from January 1, 2025.

Changes to Visa Process

The Council of Ministers recently approved the new Regulation on Foreigners, which streamlines the process for immigrants to obtain work and residence permits. Initial visas will be valid for one year. Most renewals will last four years. The jobseeker visa, which previously lasted two years, has been reduced to one year.

The regulation will take effect May 20, 2025.

Protections for LGBTQ Workers

Under Royal Decree 1026/2024, employers in Spain with more than fifty employees must take steps to prevent discrimination, harassment, and violence against LGBTQ individuals in the workplace. Employers must provide adequate training on the rights of LGBTQ individuals, and written policies must prohibit discrimination in the workplace with specific references to sexual orientation and gender expression. Access to employee benefits, including paid leave, must occur without discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender expression.

This measure took effect on January 10, 2025. Employers that don’t comply may be fined up to €150,000.

Next Steps

Employers may wish to prepare to pay a higher minimum wage later this year and keep digital records of workers’ hours. If the reduced workweek is approved, some employers may wish to reassess their hiring and scheduling protocols to ensure that staffing levels are adequate. Some employers may face higher labor costs if both of those measures receive approval.

Employers may wish to review their policies, practices, and benefits to ensure they do not discriminate against LGBTQ employees. They may wish to provide additional training on the rights of LGBTQ workers and the workplace protocols for preventing and reporting harassment or violence.

Ogletree Deakins’ Cross-Border Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will provide updates on the Cross-Border, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Immigration, Wage and Hour, and Workplace Violence Prevention blogs as new information becomes available.

Skye Hao is an associate in Ogletree Deakins’ Atlanta office.

Kaitlin M. Thompson is an associate in Ogletree Deakins’ New York and Boston offices.

This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.

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