Spain: How to calculate the computation of paid leaves
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) filed a claim before the National High Court, which was dismissed in July 2016, requesting to respect the right of employees to compute paid leaves for marriage, birth of a child or death of a family member from the first business day (‘dies a quo’) after the causal event.
The ruling of the Supreme Court dated on the 13th of February of 2018, gives the reason to the CGT and to the unions CCOO and UGT that adhered to the claim and the court revokes the ruling of the National High Court.
According to the new judgment of the Supreme Court, the said paid permits will begin to be counted from the first business day after the causal event, even if this happens during a public holiday. That is, if the death of a relative occurs on a Friday, the two-day permit will begin to count from the following Monday, and not starts the weekend, or if it occurs on Sunday and the following Monday is a public holiday it will begin to count from Tuesday.
The Supreme Court points out that “the rubric of the conventional precept ‘paid leaves’ shows us that permits are granted for their enjoyment in business days; on holidays it is not necessary to ask for them because they do not work”.
Additionally, the Supreme Court states that another solution could lead to the absurdity of depriving these employees of the permission, or depriving them of days of permission, in the assumptions in which the causal event happens at the beginning of several consecutive public holidays, which is contrary to the spirit of art. 37.3 of the WS.
