The piece explains what Spain’s new employment-information duties require and why they matter when companies organise work for public contracts.
A labour rule, not a new tender procedure
Spain’s Government is introducing new information duties when employers formalise employment contracts, through a real decreto transposing the European directive on transparent and predictable working conditions. The measure does not amend an existing law and therefore does not go through Congress, but it changes the information companies must provide. Employers have 20 days to adapt the wording of new contracts. For contracts already in force, information must be supplied within 30 days when the worker requests it. The change is therefore not a new award method or a tender preference. It is a compliance requirement inside the workforce arrangements that businesses may rely on when delivering public services or works.
Pay and probation must be capable of verification
The contract, or an accompanying document, must identify the tasks, functions and specific experiences assessed during a probationary period, as well as its exact duration. Any extension beyond the legal limit of six months for qualified technical staff must be expressly justified on specified grounds. If an employer ends the relationship for failure to pass probation without setting out and carrying out the relevant tests, a court may treat the lack of information as evidence against the employer and classify the dismissal as unfair or even null. Pay must also be broken down into base salary and each applicable supplement, with written, objective criteria explaining how bonuses and incentives are calculated.
Rotas, algorithms and supplier readiness
Contracts must state the ordinary duration and distribution of working time on a daily, weekly and annual basis. Where work is irregular or organised in shifts, employers must set objective rules for allocating hours, minimum notice for calls or shift changes, required rest periods, overtime arrangements and holiday rules. Fixed-term intermittent workers must receive clear information on active and inactive periods and call-in mechanisms. Workers must also be told about the parameters and rules of algorithms that affect tasks, schedules, variable pay, promotion or termination. For procurement teams, the transferable point is that labour compliance is not confined to the tender file: companies supplying public bodies may need contract, rota and decision records that can explain how work is actually organised.
IN NUMBERS
The Ministry of Labour presents the measure as giving workers stronger evidence for claims about their conditions. Trade unions say it does not address issues requiring legislation, including limits on probationary periods and tougher sanctions. For businesses and buyers, the immediate task is to distinguish contractual transparency duties from any separate tender requirements and to keep employment arrangements traceable as they change.
Reported from expansion.com, 2026-09-08. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
