At a glance
- The Spanish government has approved a new artist statute (sector-specific labour regulation) covering performing arts, audiovisual and music professionals, as well as technical and support staff.
- The reform strengthens protections against harassment and violence, including a mandatory intimacy coordinator for productions involving intimate or sexual scenes.
- For the first time, the employment of children under 16 in artistic activities is comprehensively regulated at national level, with uniform authorisation rules across Spain.
- The regulation introduces greater transparency on pay, intellectual property remuneration, working time and rest periods, while allowing collective bargaining to expand digital rights protections.
Spain’s government has approved a major overhaul of the employment framework governing the cultural and entertainment industries. The new regulation modernises the special employment relationship applicable to artists working in the performing arts, audiovisual and music sectors, while also extending coverage to the technical and auxiliary workers on whom these industries rely.
The reform is notable for its focus on the peculiarities of the sector such as short engagements, intermittent employment, and project-based work. To address these realities, anti-harassment procedures must now be adapted to ensure speed and effectiveness, even where employment relationships are brief.
Producers will also be required to appoint an intimacy coordinator whenever intimate or sexual scenes are performed, with enhanced safeguarding obligations where minors are involved.
A second pillar of the reform is the protection of children. For the first time, Spain has established a detailed, nationwide framework for artistic work carried out by those under 16. The government has made clear that the only permissible arrangement will be an employment relationship authorised by the competent authorities, thereby eliminating informal or family-based alternatives. The regulation also imposes specific health and safety obligations, limits working time according to age, regulates night work for older minors and creates an extensive catalogue of rights designed to protect their educational, social and professional development.
The decree also addresses the increasingly important intersection between employment and intellectual property. Employers must separately identify remuneration paid for the assignment of intellectual property rights where collective management systems do not apply. Collective agreements may additionally introduce stronger protections relating to employees’ personal data and digital rights.
Finally, the regulation seeks to bring greater predictability to a notoriously uncertain sector. It strengthens transparency around salary and non-salary payments, clarifies what counts as working time, including certain pre-production, post-production and promotional activities, and introduces stricter requirements to provide workers with advance written information about work schedules, rehearsals and other activities. Rest-period protections are also brought closer to those applicable under Spain’s general labour legislation.More to explore
