Barely a couple of weeks have passed since Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 came into force in Spain. Thanks to teleworking, new improvements were introduced so that workers achieve greater conciliation. Among the first novelties that we present, the extension of the option of requesting an adjustment in the working day to be able to better attend to the care of the children stands out. It is expected that thanks to remote work, new ones will be contemplated for family situations where you live with elderly people in our charge or dependent people.
While many companies have insisted that their employees return to the offices, many workers are not satisfied with this decision, since teleworking allows them to reconcile work with their personal and family lives by avoiding travel losses.
Teleworking has become one of the options most requested by workers to be able to make their workday more flexible and reconcile their personal life with work. This is especially important when you have dependent children or family responsibilities, since the hours lost commuting to the office or workplace make a big difference.
One of the most outstanding novelties of this new law is the elimination of the age limit, allowing the adaptation of the working day beyond the age of twelve of the children. In addition, this measure also applies to those people who are responsible for dependent family members, such as spouses or common-law partners, blood relatives up to the second degree and other dependent people who can prove they live at the same address as the worker requesting teleworking. .
With the implementation of the new Royal Decree-Law 5/2023, the possibility of requesting the adaptation of the working day to care for children is recognized, giving workers greater flexibility in this regard.
New changes in the law for teleworking
The new labor regulations introduce important changes and specific permits for situations considered to be of family urgency. As would be the case of caring for the elderly or dependents who reside at the same address. One of the outstanding novelties is the possibility of working remotely in these cases, which was previously considered voluntary. In addition, the new law also provides protection to those employees who request the adaptation of the working day for conciliation reasons. It is established that the dismissal of employees in these circumstances will be considered void, thus offering greater job security.
Likewise, companies are obliged to adapt the working hours of those employees who meet the established requirements. In order to comply with the law and satisfy the needs of the employee, it is proposed that hybrid work models be an adequate solution more adapted to family reconciliation.
How to request an adaptation of working hours to telework
To request an adaptation of the working day to telework for conciliation reasons, workers must submit their request in writing. Once the request is received, the company is obliged to start a negotiation process and must provide a response within a maximum period of 15 days.
