New legislation on workers' rights with disabilities in Spain

At a glance

• The newly enacted law in Spain (Law 2/2025), published on 30 April 2025, marks a significant shift in the rights of workers with disabilities.
• Law 2/2025 mandates reasonable workplace adjustments for workers with disabilities before considering contract termination, effective 1 May 2025.
• Contracts can only be terminated if adjustments impose a significant burden, no compatible positions exist, or the worker rejects a new position.
• Law 2/2025 will modify a series of existing legislation.

The newly enacted law in Spain, published on 30 April 2025, marks a significant shift in the rights of workers with disabilities. Inspired by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, European legislation, and recent jurisprudence from the European Court of Justice, this law emphasises the need for reasonable adjustments in the workplace before considering contract termination. Law 2/2025 comes into effect on 1 May 2025.

Key objectives and provisions

The primary goal of the law is to ensure the right to work under equal conditions for individuals with disabilities. The law eliminates the automatic termination of contracts due to severe, absolute, or total permanent disability unless:

• adjustments cannot be made without imposing a significant burden on employers;
• no compatible vacant positions exist; or
• the worker rejects the proposed new position.

Modifications to existing legislation

Statute of Workers

• Article 48.2: Recognises the suspension of employment with job reservation for up to two years following the declaration of permanent disability.
• Article 49.1: Limits the causes of contract termination to death and introduces a new clause regulating termination due to permanent disability only if reasonable adjustments cannot be made.
• Procedural changes: Establishes a ten-day period for the worker to express their desire to maintain the employment relationship and a maximum of three months for the employer to make adjustments or terminate the contract, with a clear threshold for 'excessive burden' for small businesses.

Ley General de la Seguridad Social

• Article 174.5: Adjusts the regulation to maintain the economic effects of temporary disability until the resolution of permanent disability and regulates the suspension of pensions if the worker returns to work with adaptations or to another incompatible position.

Procedural law

• Establishes that contract termination cases under this situation will be treated urgently and given preferential processing.

Terminological changes

• Replaces references to 'great invalidity' with 'great incapacity' and 'non-contributory invalidity' with 'non-contributory incapacity' in relevant legislation.

Government mandates

• The law mandates the government to present a proposal within six months to address the compatibility between work and permanent disability and within twelve months to reform the regimes for the Guardia Civil, National Police, and Armed Forces.

Law 2/2025 represents a paradigm shift, emphasising the real and justified impossibility of maintaining employment with necessary adaptations rather than the disability itself as the cause for termination. This reform strengthens the principles of equality and non-discrimination, consolidating an inclusive approach to labour and social security rights in Spain.

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