Spain – Employment suspension and leaves

Under Spanish law a labour contract may be suspended by the following causes:

• Mutual agreement of the Parties.
• The legitimate causes consigned in the contract.
• Temporary incapacity of the employee.
• Maternity, paternity, risk during pregnancy, risk during breastfeeding, and adoption or family placement.
• Military service.
• Holding a representative public charge.
• Deprivation of the liberty of the employee, as long as a condemnatory sentence does not exists.
• Suspension from duties without pay for disciplinary reasons.
• Temporary force majeure.
• For economic, technical, organizational or production causes.
• Forced leave of absence.
• For exercising the right to strike.
• Legal closing of the company.
• For decision of the employee as a consequence of gender-based violence.

The suspension of the contract exonerates the reciprocal obligations of working and remunerating the work.

Leaves

The leave can be voluntary or forced. The forced leave will give the right to return to the same workplace and to the computation of the seniority, this leave will be given cause by the designation or the election for a public charge which makes impossible to assist to the work. The readmission has to be applied on the following month since the cessation in the public charge.

The employee with seniority in the company of one year has the right to ask and have the opportunity of having the voluntary leave for a period of time between four months and five years. This right is only possible if four years since the last leave have passed.

The employees will have the right for a leave period for no more than three years to attend the care of every son.

The employee in leave will keep only a preferential right to re-entry in a vacant in the same or similar category in relation with his position.