BMC’s Employment Law department provides dedicated advisory to companies operating in Spain across the full employment lifecycle — from the first hire to the most complex collective redundancy. Unlike firms where employment law is a secondary practice within the legal department, our team focuses exclusively on employer-side employment matters.
Spanish employment law is among the most employee-protective in Europe. That makes people management a permanent source of legal risk for businesses. A poorly documented dismissal, an unregistered equality plan, or a mishandled collective redundancy can generate contingencies that far exceed the cost of preventive advisory. Our mission is to prevent that from happening.
What our employment law department covers
Individual employment relations
Every employment decision — from hiring to termination — carries legal risk that can be managed proactively or paid for reactively.
- Employment law advisory: Permanent advisory on employment contracts (permanent, fixed-term, training, remote), job classification, contract amendments, disciplinary procedures and termination. Every decision affecting headcount has a legal dimension worth reviewing before execution.
- Wrongful dismissal defence: Pre-dismissal cause analysis, drafting the dismissal letter, conciliation before the SMAC and litigation before the Social Courts. Favourable outcomes are overwhelmingly driven by impeccable prior documentation.
- Collective dismissal (ERE): Preparation of the file, negotiation of the consultation period with employee representatives, social measures agreement and, where needed, defence against individual or collective legal challenges.
- Employment lawyer in Madrid: Local presence in Spain’s main labour market for urgent Social Court appearances.
Labour compliance
The regulatory build-up of the past five years has transformed labour compliance into a standalone obligation for mid-sized employers.
- Labour compliance: Audit of current compliance with working time records, classification of contracts, Social Security contributions and internal disciplinary procedures.
- Equality plan: Mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees under Organic Law 3/2007. We manage negotiation with employee representatives, pay gap diagnosis, salary register and periodic monitoring.
- Workplace harassment protocol: Design and implementation of prevention and response protocols for sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and other forms of workplace harassment. Mandatory for all companies since Organic Law 10/2022.
- Remote work policy: Remote work agreements compliant with Royal Decree-Law 28/2020, digital disconnection policies and management of company-provided IT equipment.
Restructuring and collective relations
When structural change is needed, the employment dimension is frequently the most complex and the one that most readily derails the operation if mishandled.
- Collective bargaining: Advice on negotiating or opting out of collective agreements, company-level agreements and non-statutory pacts.
- Geographic and functional mobility: Advisory on relocations, temporary assignments and substantial amendments to working conditions under Art. 40 and 41 of the Workers’ Statute.
- SMAC conciliation: Representation at pre-litigation conciliation hearings — a mandatory procedural step for both individual and collective claims.
The employment department as a standalone pillar
Employment law lived for too long as a subdivision of the legal department in Spanish advisory firms — handled by generalists who lacked the deep knowledge of Social Court jurisprudence, trade union negotiation dynamics, and Labour Inspectorate practice that effective employer-side defence requires.
BMC reversed that approach. Our employment department has its own dedicated team with specialist knowledge of the Workers’ Statute and its most recent reforms — including Royal Decree-Law 7/2026 on restrictions on dismissals in certain sectors — and works closely with the business services division for payroll management and HR administration.
The ongoing labour reform and its impact on your business
Spanish employment law has been in structural reform since 2021. The 2021 Labour Reform overhauled the contracting system, strengthened the causal requirement for fixed-term contracts and reinforced the continuity of collective agreements. Reforms in progress in 2026 point to further reductions in maximum working hours, expanded employee representative rights and tighter requirements for dismissals on operational and organisational grounds.
Staying current is not optional: reforms in progress may affect headcount decisions your company takes in the coming months. Our employment team publishes regular updates in the insights hub and ensures you are informed before changes take effect.
When to contact BMC’s employment team
We recommend getting in touch when you are:
- Planning a dismissal with risk of being declared wrongful or involving a union representative.
- Negotiating a collective redundancy (ERE), temporary lay-off (ERTE) or opting out of a collective agreement.
- Facing a Labour Inspectorate requirement or a SMAC conciliation notice.
- Required to implement or renew a mandatory equality plan.
- Designing or reviewing your standard employment contracts, remote work policy, disciplinary procedure or harassment protocol.
- Managing a restructuring involving geographic mobility or substantial amendment of employment conditions.
- Unsure about the correct classification of workers as self-employed or the Social Security treatment of specific employee groups.
A free initial employment law consultation is the right first step to identify your company’s specific risks and determine the scope of ongoing advisory support you need.
Related Insights
Go deeper with our most recent analysis:
- Employment law updates: what your company needs to know — Latest regulatory changes in Spanish employment law affecting HR and management
- 37.5-Hour Workweek: Practical Implications — How the reduced statutory working time affects scheduling, payroll and agreements
- Applicable Collective Agreement: How to Know Yours — How to identify the correct sector agreement and resolve classification disputes
- Hiring Foreign Workers in Spain: Employer Guide 2026 — Work permit types, social security, and employer sponsorship obligations
- Beckham Law: Employer & HR Guide 2026 — What HR teams need to know to support employees applying for the impatriate regime
