Workplace mobility is entering a new regulatory phase. Law 9/2025 on Sustainable Mobility introduces the obligation for certain companies to develop Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plans (WSMPs), establishing specific requirements, new deadlines, and potential legal risks in case of non-compliance.
In this context, it is essential to anticipate and fully understand the scope of the regulation.
Ana Godino Reyes, partner at Sagardoy, outlines the key aspects: legal obligations, deadlines, required measures, formal requirements for validity, and the sanctioning framework.
1. What are the minimum legal obligations that a mobility plan must meet for large companies?
Law 9/2025 on Sustainable Mobility establishes a general obligation for all companies—public or private—with more than 200 employees per workplace or more than 100 employees per shift to implement a Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plan (WSMP).
At a minimum, the plan must include measures aimed at transforming commuting patterns toward more sustainable models. Core obligations include:
- Promotion of active mobility, such as cycling and walking.
- Encouragement of collective transport, whether public or company-organized private transport.
- Implementation of low-emission mobility solutions, including shared or collaborative models.
- Installation of charging infrastructure for zero-emission vehicles at the workplace.
- Consideration of remote working arrangements, where the nature of the role allows.
- Road safety measures and prevention of commuting and business travel accidents, including training initiatives.
- A comprehensive mobility analysis covering not only employees but also suppliers, visitors, and customers.
In addition, these plans must align with local municipal mobility planning instruments, ensuring consistency with local strategies.
This is not merely a declarative document, but a structured set of concrete actions designed to improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of work-related travel.
2. What deadlines does the regulation establish, and what recent changes have been introduced?
Initially, the law set a 24-month implementation period from its entry into force (5 December 2025), placing the deadline at 5 December 2027.
However, Royal Decree-Law 7/2026, approved on 20 March 2026, has brought forward the timeline, reducing the implementation period from 24 to 12 months. This effectively requires companies to accelerate implementation by one year.
As a result, companies with more than 200 employees (or 100 per shift) must have a WSMP in place by 5 December 2026. This acceleration is justified by the current energy crisis and the urgent need to reduce commuting and associated costs.
Furthermore, the new regulation requires biennial evaluations of implementation progress and mandatory monitoring reports to be submitted to the designated authority.
This change has significantly increased the urgency for companies to prioritize mobility diagnostics and negotiate measures within the shortened timeframe.
3. What specific measures are considered essential for a compliant plan?
The regulation establishes a set of mandatory measures that must be included in any WSMP. Key measures include:
- Active mobility: Incentives for walking and cycling, including secure parking and changing facilities.
- Collective transport: Priority for shuttle services, agreements with public transport operators, or reinforcement of existing routes.
- Low-emission mobility: Use of electric or hybrid vehicles and shared fleets; restrictions on high-emission private vehicles.
- Shared and collaborative mobility: Carpooling, bike-sharing, and electric scooter/motorbike solutions.
- Remote work and flexible schedules to reduce peak-hour commuting.
- Electric charging infrastructure at the workplace.
- Road safety measures: Employee training and accident prevention initiatives.
- Carbon footprint offsetting where certain travel cannot be reduced.
The law positions these plans as comprehensive instruments addressing sustainability, occupational health, energy efficiency, and safety simultaneously.
4. Is it mandatory to negotiate or consult the plan with employee representatives? What formalities are recommended to ensure legal validity?
Yes. Negotiation is mandatory.
Law 9/2025 amends the Workers’ Statute and introduces the obligation to negotiate WSMPs with employee representatives. This is not merely a consultation or information requirement, but a genuine duty to negotiate.
This obligation entails negotiating either with works councils or employee representatives, where they exist, or with the most representative trade unions in the sector, ensuring proportional participation where no formal representation is in place.
Recommendations to ensure legal validity:
- Formally convene employee representatives in writing, specifying date, time, and agenda.
- Document all negotiation sessions, even in cases of disagreement.
- Provide the necessary technical information (mobility diagnostics, emissions data, surveys).
- Draft and sign minutes of meetings by both parties.
- Incorporate the plan into the collective bargaining agreement, particularly where negotiations were initiated after 5 December 2025.
- Register the plan with the competent regional or municipal authority, as required by applicable regulations.
Negotiation is therefore a critical requirement both for the plan’s validity and for avoiding sanctions.
5. What sanctions or legal risks do companies face if they fail to properly implement the plan?
Failure to implement a WSMP constitutes an infringement under sustainable mobility regulations. Financial penalties may range from €101 to €6,000, depending on the applicable legal framework.
In addition to financial penalties, companies face further risks:
- Loss or repayment of subsidies, particularly those linked to sustainable mobility or energy efficiency, if a valid plan is not in place within the required timeframe.
- Reputational risk, given increasing public and institutional scrutiny regarding sustainability practices.
- Labour inspection exposure, as WSMPs fall within the scope of occupational health, safety, and workplace organization, potentially triggering additional inspections.
