Spain: beyond statutory requirements, businesses take innovative equal opportunity measures

Reminder.  Spain adopted this law (see our dispatch No. 070315) drawing upon two European directives (2002/173 and 2004/113) on equal opportunities. As a general rule, large companies (250+ employees) operating in Spain must negotiate an equal-opportunity plan with workers’ representatives. For smaller companies, the arrangement and implementation of this plan is voluntary. In any case, this plan must fulfil some minimum requirements. Namely, it should involve a gender baseline study at the workplace level and, based upon the results obtained, should establish measurable targets on the basis of indicators covering, at the minimum, the following business areas: (1) recruitment and selection, (2) career development and promotion, (3) wage and salary policies, (4) training, (5) work-family reconciliation policies, (6) prevention of sexual harassment, gender harassment, and mobbing. Additionally, a gender-balanced committee responsible for negotiating, drawing up, implementing, monitoring and evaluating outcomes, and composed up of the employers’ and employees’ representatives, must be set up.