Spain: transfer of a business and occupational risk prevention

The change in ownership of a company, of a working place or of an autonomous production unit will not extinguish by itself the employment relationship, and the new employer will be subrogated in the labour rights and obligations and in the Social Security obligations from the previous employer.

Company Succession shall be considered to exist when the transmission affect to the economic entity which maintains his identity, understood as an organized grouping of resources which has the objective of pursuing an economic activity, whether or not that activity is central or ancillary.

The transferor and the transferee shall be jointly and severally liable during three years for the labour obligations born beforehand the transmission and which had not been satisfied.

The transferor and the transferee have to report to the legal representatives of the affected employees by the change in the ownership about the following:

• Expected time of the transmission.
• Reasons for the transmission.
• Legal, economic and social consequences of the transmission to the employees.
• Measures envisaged in relation to the employees.

If there are no legal representatives of the employees the transferor and the transferee shall provide that information directly to the affected employees.

Occupational risk prevention

The law 31/1995 of Prevention of risks at the workplace has the objective of promote the security and the health of the employees’ through the application of measures and the development of the necessary activities to the prevention of risks derived from work.

For that purpose, the Law establishes the general principles concerning the prevention of professional risks for the protection of the life and health.