The new regulation for LGTBI equality and non-discrimination will be mandatory for companies with more than 50 workers – who must apply it in three months – and voluntary for smaller businesses. This is the first agreement reached by the Government with the employers after a year.
Employers, unions, and the Government have reached, for the first time in more than a year, a new pact at the social dialogue table. As announced by the Minister of Labour and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, the tripartite agreement designs the regulation, which is waiting to be published and which regulates article 15 of the Trans Law, for the development of a “work environment”, “egalitarian and safe” for people of the LGTBI community.
With this agreement, the regulations materialise that will comply with the labour measures already provided for companies with more than 50 workers in the field of non-discrimination and the protocols against workplace harassment, and which includes protection measures for both women as for LGTBI people.
From the date of publication, companies with more than 50 workers will have three months to negotiate and implement it, although those businesses and companies that do not have legal representation of the workers must create a negotiating commission to carry out the measures in the terms of RD 901/2020. For small businesses, its application will be voluntary.
Among the specific measures incorporated in the agreement is a new protocol to support trans people at work, “a decisive and pioneering measure,” according to the Ministry of Labour.
Medium-sized companies are obliged to have measures that guarantee real and effective equality for trans people and protect the rights of LGTBI people. These measures will be part of the action protocols and specific resources, legislated in Law 4/2023.
As established by the regulations, the causes of discrimination in labour relations were expanded to other factors such as sexual orientation or identity, gender expression or sexual characteristics of the members of the group, and penalties ranging from 200 euro to 150,000 euro were collected.
Now, with the agreement between the Government and social agents, the protocol against harassment and violence must include preventive practices and mechanisms for prevention, detection and action against them, in addition to the new guideline for supporting trans people at work.
The new regulations will also incorporate training for equality and non-discrimination as a “key” element and will include “specific modules that affect equal treatment and opportunities, and also non-discrimination,” reported the Ministry of Labour and Social economy.