Executive Summary
The year 2021 was legally intense in the labour and compliance sphere. The approval of the **labour reform** in the final days of December marked the close of a year of intense tripartite negotiation and generated a business adaptation agenda that would extend throughout the first half of 2022. Simultaneously, corporate **compliance** consolidated its position as a strategic discipline, driven by the AEPD's enforcement activity and by the growing demands of institutional and financial stakeholders.
At BMC, the legal department managed more than 140 remote working agreements formalised for clients during the year, adapting contractual frameworks to the requirements of the Remote Working Act and to the specific needs of each organisation.
Key Highlights
The Remote Working Act (Act 10/2021, published in July) entered full force, requiring all companies with workers habitually working from home to formalise the corresponding individual agreement, register an inventory of equipment provided and guarantee the right to digital disconnection. Non-compliance with these obligations was subject to the first labour inspection actions specifically in this area.
Labour litigation increased significantly, with a 22% rise in employment claims compared to 2020, many related to conflicts arising from ERTEs: challenges to proceedings, claims for pay differences and disputes over reinstatement conditions. Employment tribunals accumulated an exceptional workload that extended resolution timescales.
Data protection continued to be an area of high activity. The AEPD imposed cumulative fines of €4.9 million during the year, with proceedings affecting companies of all sizes. The most sensitive areas were digital marketing (invalid cookie consent), workplace video surveillance and management of security breaches.
Practice Area Analysis
Corporate law and M&A: The year’s transactional activity — driven by the M&A reactivation — generated intense demand for legal due diligence services, deal structuring and drafting of share and asset purchase agreements. Due diligence processes became more sophisticated, incorporating specific ESG and cybersecurity risk analysis.
Health and safety at work: The new hybrid working reality raised unprecedented health and safety challenges. Companies had to update their risk assessments to include home workstations, the psychosocial risks associated with isolation, and compliance with ergonomic requirements in domestic environments.
Regulatory compliance: Compliance programmes gained prominence as supervision by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and sector regulators intensified. Elaboration or revision of compliance systems based on the UNE 19601 standard was one of the most demanded tasks by growing mid-sized companies.
Regulatory Changes
Beyond the labour reform and the Remote Working Act, 2021 brought other relevant regulatory developments: the transposition of the Whistleblowing Directive (although the Spanish law would be delayed until 2023), advances in the EU corporate sustainability due diligence directive, and new obligations regarding background checks for organisations working with minors.
Outlook
The labour reform approved at the end of 2021 would set the agenda for the following year, with adaptation of existing temporary contracts, renegotiation of collective bargaining agreements and management of the transition to new hiring models. Companies had to act swiftly in the first months of 2022 to comply with the transitional deadlines set out in the legislation.
Our employment law and compliance team provided comprehensive support through each phase of the regulatory adaptation process, combining legal rigour with deep understanding of each client’s organisational realities.
