Spain’s new ‘climate leave’ gives workers four days off during extreme weather

Workers in Spain will be given up to four days of paid leave if they are unable to get to their workplace due to extreme weather.

The country’s Council of Ministers approved the new ‘climate leave’ on Thursday in the hope of ensuring citizen’s safety when there is a serious and imminent risk.

It was trialled in areas affected by the catastrophic DANA weather event at the end of October and will now be rolled out nationwide.

The law on paid leave protects the rights of workers not to go to work in the event of catastrophes or climate-related weather alerts that could put them in danger.

Climate leave, inspired by similar legislation in Canada, will be based on alerts about climate or meteorological disasters from authorities.

The new measures are expected to come into force on Friday 29 November, when the regulation, with the status of law, will be published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). It will have to be validated within a month in the Congress of Deputies.

Unprecedented flash flooding in the Valencia region killed more than 200 people this autumn and left many more without access to essentials like clean running water and food. A number of companies were criticised for forcing employees to keep working during the catastrophe. They say warnings from authorities came too late and didn't have enough information to assess the risk properly.

The new law to protect workers was approved alongside a €2.3 billion package of further aid for those affected by the tragedy.

How will Spain’s new ‘climate leave’ work?

If people are told to stay at home by civil protection agencies and can’t get to work safely, they will now be able to take four days of paid leave. Officials also stressed that the law will protect workers if companies decide to deny the permits.

Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz explained that the permits will mean that “for the first time” Spain will have “genuine climate leave”.

Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo clarified that these permits will be available when people can’t physically go to work and can’t work remotely.

If more days off are needed, companies will also have the option of integrating employees into existing labour procedures for a reduced working day or extending the permit and contributing to paying for it themselves.

Companies will need to have a plan of action for extreme weather

The rules adopted on Thursday also mean companies will need to have risk prevention measures specifically for disasters and adverse weather events. Workers have been given the right to be informed about what these actions will be when a disaster alert is activated.

In the event of serious and imminent risk, companies will have to inform workers about these measures as soon as possible and tell them to stop working until the danger subsides.

They will have 12 months to draw up these action plans, which will need to be adapted to the specific risks of each company.

“The climate risks are not the same for a worker who works in a construction company or outdoors as they are for a worker who, for example, works in an infirmary or a library,” Diaz said in an interview with TVE.

“So we are giving Spanish companies the mandate that within 12 months they must have protocols for action, just like we have protocols for gender violence of the prevention of LGBTI violence.”