Companies must already report salaries and schedules before hiring

BarcelonaAs of this Monday, companies must transparently inform their employees about a series of working conditions. Specifically, companies must state in writing in employment contracts the existence of algorithmic or automated systems that intervene in decision-making regarding employees' working conditions.

As explained by the College of Social Graduates of Barcelona, Girona and Lleida (CGSBGLL), "this obligation includes informing about the guidelines, criteria, and rules of operation of these systems when they are used to determine or modify aspects such as working hours, task assignment, salaries, professional progression, the workplace, or even the termination of the contract". And this information must not only be provided for new hires, but companies must also provide it to all employees who request it, within a period of thirty business days from the receipt of the request.

Furthermore, as explained by Jorge Pérez, delegate in Catalonia of the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate, during a conference organized by the College, "in temporary contracts, the cause that justifies the hiring and its connection with the expected duration must be precisely identified". The new regulation also expands the information that companies must provide regarding other aspects of the employment relationship, such as the applicable collective bargaining agreement, contract termination procedures, Social Security coverage, and equality plans and reconciliation measures.

What does it imply?

But, in practical terms, what does this measure imply for workers? From now on, before starting the employment relationship, the employee will be able to know, among other things, what the base salary will be, the supplements and, if applicable, the variable components. Details regarding overtime hours and their remuneration must also be provided. In addition, companies must also detail the employees' working hours, as well as the maximum deadlines within which they can be modified. "It is over that they set your schedule for the next day the night before; now companies will have to comply with the deadlines that are contracted prior to starting the employment relationship," explains Juanjo Guijarro, a labor lawyer and member of the College of Social Graduates.

Guijarro also highlights that the contract includes information as relevant as knowing which mutual insurance company one belongs to, if there are equality plans in the company, and the procedures for contract termination. "With the measure, labor law has been brought towards the spirit of consumer law, since all the peculiarities of the employment relationship are detailed." The new regulation also incorporates more transparency regarding the use of artificial intelligence and other automated systems in the workplace; and it also aims to end, as indicated by the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, the "fraud" of probationary periods.