Companies will have to specify the formulas they use to set salaries or working hours

Barcelona"Today we are taking another step in the fight against job insecurity in our country." The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the transposition of a European regulation that will guarantee that workers have more "transparent" access to their working conditions. As the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has explained, the rule will allow for combating precariousness by guaranteeing "adequate and immediate" access to the essential characteristics of the employment relationship.

From now on, any contract must incorporate the start date, remuneration, supplements, working time, and the probationary period, among others. Thus, as Díaz explained in the press conference following the approval of the decree, companies will be obliged to inform workers of the algorithmic systems they use to determine their working conditions.

Contracts must also include working time, the duration and distribution of the working day, the assumptions for modifying the working day, overtime, and its remuneration. Furthermore, people who already have a contract in force where this information does not appear will be able to request the details from the company, which will have a maximum period of 30 days to provide them.

But, exactly, what will this change translate into? An example can be found in how the salary will be communicated: while until now in many cases the annual salary was indicated or it was said that it would be paid "according to the agreement," with the new decree both the base salary and the supplements must be specified separately, as well as the method by which variable concepts are calculated, thus providing more information on where the final salary comes from.

Probationary periods, under the spotlight

The measure, as pointed out by the Minister of Labor, will also help to combat fraud regarding the use of the probationary period. The decree establishes that new employees must receive information about the specific duration of the probationary period, whether it is within the six-month limit provided by law or if it concerns a longer period set by collective bargaining agreement. This duration exceeding six months may only occur in justified cases.

The regulation, which will foreseeably come into force in 20 days, states that all information must be conveyed in an accessible and appropriate manner to people with disabilities who are part of the company's staff. Furthermore, it includes three specific cases with their own regulation, such as the case of people hired to carry out their work abroad, who must be informed in writing, for example, of the currency in which they will be paid. Also, workers in the fishing or merchant navy sectors, for whom information regarding rest periods will be reinforced, or, in the case of the latter, the conditions that must be applied, for example, in the event of repatriation due to an accident.

In fact, the regulation will be applicable to fishermen on board fishing vessels flying the Spanish flag or registered under full Spanish jurisdiction, regardless of the duration. Likewise, the fishermen's contract must be carried on board and be available to the authorities, except in the case of vessels under 24 meters in length, provided they do not dock in a foreign port. In the case of fishing, it must include, among other elements, the identification of the shipowner, the fisherman, and the vessel; the routes intended to be taken; the place and date on which the worker must report on board, and the category or professional group in which the contract and salary are registered.