Once you’ve been in the world of work for a while, you start to ask yourself certain questions, such as how to achieve success in both your professional and personal lives so that neither is neglected. At the start of your career, the priority is finding your first job, but once you’ve gained some experience, you start to consider many other factors that will make you a better employee happy and satisfied, or that we turn into workaholic. Would you like to know what work-life balance is all about? And, most importantly: how can you achieve it? We’ll tell you all about it in this post!
What do companies and employees mean by work-life balance?
Let’s be realistic: when we’re young and have finished our studies, we’re desperate to sign our first contract, no matter what the terms and conditions, and even taking on long periods of unpaid work experience just to gain experience.
However, as the years go by, our knowledge and confidence grow thanks to our experience, and that is when we start to wonder what will happen to our personal lives if we want to remain active in our careers.
That’s when the concept of work-life balance comes into play, but what exactly does it involve? Human resources experts define it as the search for a balance between the responsibilities and demands placed on people by both family life and work. This involves developing strategies to harmonise and manage the workload in relation to working hours and the length of the working day. Some of the measures already being implemented across all types of organisations include: flexible working hours, the teleworking or maternity or paternity leave.
What does the Workers’ Statute say about work-life balance?
A good work-life balance is key to ensuring that people do not have to choose between their privacy and their careers, thereby creating a more equal and competitive society. Currently, Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute guarantees employees the right to request adjustments to the length and timing of their working day, as well as to the way in which they carry out their work, including the option to work from home. All of this is designed to help them strike a balance between their family and work responsibilities.
Furthermore, over the past year, it is worth highlighting several new developments in the area of work-life balance, as set out in the Official State Gazette (BOE) in Royal Decree-Law 5/2023, of 28 June, which addresses the new economic and social circumstances that have arisen as a result of such significant events as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
New Family Law 2023
This new law is based on several fundamental principles of the Spanish Constitution, as set out in Article 39, namely: the social, economic and legal protection of families. The following key provisions of the new Family Law are based on these principles:
The right not to be discriminated against for seeking a work-life balance: Article 4.2 of the Workers’ Statute (ET) explicitly enshrines the right of employees not to be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, which includes unfavourable treatment of women or men on account of their exercise of rights relating to work-life balance and shared responsibility for family and work life.
Parental leave: A new Article 48 bis is introduced into the Workers’ Statute, providing that workers shall be entitled to parental leave to care for a child or a child in foster care for a period of more than one year, until the child reaches the age of eight. This leave shall have a maximum duration of eight weeks and may be taken in separate blocks.
Adjustment of working hours: The right to request an adjustment to working hours (Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute) is extended to workers who have care responsibilities towards children over the age of twelve, their spouse or civil partner, relatives by blood up to the second degree, and other dependants.
Changes to paid leave:
- 15 calendar days if the couple registers as a civil partnership.
- Five days’ leave in the event of a family member’s hospitalisation or if you need to rest at home due to your spouse’s or civil partner’s illness.
- Paid leave of two days following the death of a spouse or a relative up to the second degree of kinship or affinity is now extended to civil partners.
Recent developments regarding the invalidity of dismissals: the following are added as grounds for the nullity of a dismissal: (i) taking parental leave, (ii) a request for leave under Article 37.3.b) of the Workers’ Statute (due to a serious accident or illness affecting close family members or persons living with the employee), and (iii) where the employee has requested or is currently making use of an adjustment to their working hours under Article 34.8 of the Workers’ Statute.
Transitional arrangements for permits: Taking the leave provided for in Articles 37.4, 37.6 and 46.3 of the Workers’ Statute shall not result in the termination of maternity or paternity leave.
Both parents work for the same company: The simultaneous exercise of these rights may be restricted on compelling grounds, provided that such grounds are duly notified in writing; in such cases, the company must offer an alternative arrangement.
New circumstances entitling employees to a reduction in working hours and leave of absence to care for family members: For workers who need to care for family members, a reduction in working hours is provided for
Who is eligible to apply for work-life balance arrangements?
If you are thinking of making use of any of these measures but are unsure whether you meet all the requirements, you should be aware that we can all exercise our rights whenever we need to and provided the circumstances are right.
Work-life balance is a right that both working men and women can claim, with the aim of striking a balance between work and family responsibilities. This measure seeks to promote a more harmonious life, enabling workers to fulfil their family obligations without this having a negative impact on their professional careers. Work-life balance is essential for building a more equitable working environment and facilitating a better quality of life for both employees and their families.
And that brings us to the end of our post on the new measures to support a healthy work-life balance. If you’d like to find out more, do feel free to subscribe to Educa.Pro – we look forward to seeing you there!
