- Companies with more than fifty employees will have a year to put equality measures for LGBTI people in place.
- The package must include a protocol against harassment and violence, agreed with staff representatives.
- The law strengthens the employment penalty regime and can close the door on public contracts.
On 1 March 2023 Law 4/2023 of 28 February, for the real and effective equality of trans people and the guarantee of the rights of LGBTI people, was published in the Official State Gazette, entering into force on 2 March. It is a lengthy law, with measures on health, education, family and public administration, but it also contains direct obligations for companies, which are the subject here.
The most relevant is in article 15: companies with more than fifty employees must have, within twelve months of entry into force, a planned set of measures and resources to achieve real and effective equality for LGBTI people, including a protocol for dealing with harassment or violence against them. The deadline therefore runs to March 2024.
What companies must do
The measures must be agreed through collective bargaining and with the legal representatives of employees, so it is not enough for management to approve a document. The specific content and scope will be set out by regulation, so aspects such as format or minimum requirements remain to be defined. The law also provides for collective agreements to be encouraged to include clauses promoting diversity and procedures for channelling complaints.
In practice, many companies will combine these measures with the equality plans and harassment protocols they already have, adapting them to the grounds the law covers: sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender expression and sex characteristics. It is wise to begin with a diagnosis of the workforce and existing policies before drafting anything. The Labour and Social Security Inspectorate will oversee compliance with these rights, and specialised training for its staff will be encouraged.
Penalties and public procurement
The law amends the Law on Offences and Penalties in the Social Order to penalise discriminatory conduct and harassment on those grounds. It also penalises asking for personal data on those characteristics in recruitment processes. This affects forms, interviews and the way job offers are written. Questionnaires, tests and interview questions should be reviewed carefully, as they must not gather this kind of information.
Another consequence is a ban on contracting with public administrations for entities finally penalised for a serious or very serious breach in this area. For companies that depend on public tenders, compliance ceases to be only a reputational matter and becomes a condition for continuing to work with the public sector.
First steps
A reasonable path is to identify whether the company exceeds the threshold of fifty employees, open the conversation with staff representatives, review current recruitment processes and harassment protocols, and plan training for managers and human resources. The law also provides for a badge for companies that excel in these policies and for the collection of good practices. The harassment protocol can be integrated with any existing one on sexual and sex-based harassment, though the particularities of this area should be taken into account.
As this is a recent law with regulations still to come, it is prudent to follow the criteria as they are published. This note is informational; your employment adviser can help you gauge the scope and timetable in your case.
Twelve months is a short time for something that requires dialogue with staff: it pays to start early.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
